after driving, i always pick up a scent of burning from under my hood. popped the hood and there is white smoke coming from the passenger side of my engine. No CEL or misfiring. not too much smoke but smoke nonetheless.



the red arrows shows the area where the smoke originated from. seems to be coming more towards the rear of the engine. also, under further inspection, the rectangle to the right shows a hose that can be seen as wrapped in duct tape. i payed close attention to this because i saw that this hose was loose and i was able to pull it off very easily(as in the hose isn't connected). so what i did was get a metal clamp and clamp the hose to the valve it was "supposed to connect to" (you can see the metal clamp, directly to where the right arrow is pointed to; that is where the valve and hose are disconnected but i somewhat clamped together.). this hose in question wraps around the front of the engine and leads to the area where the 3 circles are. those three circles are the coils and those are what the faulty hose connects to.

any tips? from what i could maybe deduce form this, maybe i have a loose seal somewhere on the passenger side of the engine which leaks oil and causes the smoke. as for the duct taped hose to the right...i have no clue

AF community...my *** needs ur help...the kind of help a dumb *** kid needs when he is in over his head.

 

That hose is the PCV breather hose - the 30v doesn't have a PCV valve but this hose connects the oil vapor pressure relief openings on each valve cover and feeds the oil vapors into the intake to be burned. The hose, for being nearly $80, is a flimsy POS and I've never seen an engine that didn't have at least one section duct-taped. You've probably got some sludge clogging up the outlets or the hose itself. Combine that with a leaking valve cover gaskets (another common issue on our cars) and you'll definitely have smoke issues. I'd bet on new valve cover gaskets ($50 for the set from ECSTuning and easy to change) and a seafoam treatment, and you'll probably be fine.

 

yo devil,

where do i send the keg man? i think you deserve it. **** i was scared because i thought my cam chain tensioner was fucked and leaking oil. but then again my engine sounded fine. thanks for the heads up dewd. quick question, why the hell do the valve cover gaskets range from 30-60 dollars on ecstuning(which one do you recommend?)? seems like something that'd be important. do you recommend getting a new valve cover as well or degrease'ing and cleaning the stock one? also, do you recommend changing out the camshaft plugs/ seals etc...? can't find a DIY for those at all but replacing the valve cover gaskets seem like cake.

 

thanks again for the help...for 60k miles on my 98 a4, you think this is normal btw?

 

Wow, where the hell did you find a car of that year with that kind of mileage?!

In any event, I wouldn't say normal so much as "not surprising" - most of us have had valve cover leaks before and gasket replacement is the fix. If you take the beauty covers off and look at the sides of the heads, you'll see the seam where the gasket is - if you're leaking oil from them, you'll see staining and/or residue on the heads (or if you unplug the spark plug wires and find oil on the boots) it's time to do the gaskets.

We usually leak from that outer edge where the oil drips down onto the exhaust manifold and burns. Look at the manifolds themselves and see if you see staining on them from the oil hitting.

As for which ones to get, I paid $25 per side for the gaskets which gives you the outer gasket around the head as well as the ring gaskets that seal around the plugs. You can do the cam plug seals if you'd like, as long as you're in there, and head that problem off at the pass.

 

Oh and just cleaning up the valve covers will work fine. A little seafoam poured onto the backside of the cover can do wonders for breaking down all the crap. You can pull the breather hose off (carefully!) and try to clean it out as well, but it may be more aggravation than it's worth.

 

haha some old lady who didn't need it was selling it on craigslist.

i looked down the sides and front of the valve cover and engine, there is no leaking. but i reach around (behind the head) and theres definitely a leak cus i felt up a lot of oil. didn't get a good look at it though since it is behind the head.gonna head to a mechanic on monday just to have him double check before i go take the valve cover off and replace the gasket.

about the pcv valve, i took off the metal clip, bought some good ol' duck tape, and re-taped the valve. ill clean it eventually. after i fix the leak, replace the spark plugs, but before an oil change.

wish i lived in new york area man, i'd buy you a 24 pack.

 

Man that's a great score. You'll be able to drive that thing forever. Makes sense on the leak and not a bad plan from the sounds of it. When you change the gaskets, having a 1/4" drive ratchet with a 6" extension and a swivel will make life much easier on you for the lower nuts on the VCs.

Where do you live? Are you anywhere near NY, or close enough that you could make it to the meet next month?

 

Definitely try to clear out any sludge in the pcv hoses or replace them. If they are badly clogged, the pressure can't escape and it may cause the new valve cover gaskets to start leaking earlier then they should.

 

LOL devil,

man i wish i lived near new york. i used to live in Philadelphia but the blizzards forced me to migrate my frozen ***** over to southern California. otherwise i would definitely contact you about this (including the brewkies). and again, thanks for all the help. its definitely appreciated. wish i could do something to repay you. especially since there are TONS of rip off mechanics in Los angeles. its ironic actually. the devil saved my life???