ugh!!!

Just did a compression test Cylinder 1 180psi cylinder 2 105psi the first time, I did it a second time to make sure it was tight and got 85 psi and cylinder 4 60 psi. clearly I'm dealing with much more. This would explain the power lose and most of the problems I have been dealing with. I just did those 3 cylinders to get a base line and didn't feel it was necessary to remove all the stuff in the way to do the rest. Piston rings are clearly shot and maybe they just finally gave out all the way and that's the blue smoke im dealing with I don't know. I am looking at either swapping motors or totally rebuilding this one I haven't decided yet. I do know that I will replace the coil with a cheap used one and run'er till she blows and keep my eye out for a different motor. I am waiting to hear back about a 2.7t from a 2000 a6 Quattro though. If you have any other thoughts or opinions to offer I'm all ears. Cheers!

That motor (the 2.8) has a long reputation for being solid. Cast iron block, they've been making it forever. If I had to bet, it's timing belt and bent valves. That would also give you low compression and bad valve guides making the smoke. And it fits girlfirend's story better than bad rings.

I'm going to drop a small amount of oil in the cylinders to see if there are any changes in the compression. I have been leaning towards bad valves/heads in general just the way its been acting. I jumped the gun on the rings didn't even think about the valves. I have had an oil leak for sometime now so that will be my next project. It has never blown blue before so I haven't gave it a second thought. I've been taking care of a lot of small things up to this point. I would so love a turbo charged engine with a manual gear box in this car though. Wishful thinking I guess. Ha. Thanks for the input it has been greatly appreciated! I will post updates as I come upon them. Cheers!

replaced the coil and it was in spec. the fuel pump I got turned out not to work so I checked the old one and it still worked so I replaced it again and it just cranks doesn't even act like it wants to start.

First off, did you actually do a compression test? You mentioned some numbers in one of your previous posts, but only for a few cylinders. Before you do anything else, do a proper compression test. Pull the fuse for the fuel pump and thread the gauge into each spark plug hole. While cranking, hold the throttle wide open. Repeat for each cylinder. If the compression on some cylinders is very low, it is likely that valves have contacted the pistons and are not sealing. You can check the timing by rotating the crank pulley until the mark lines up and then check the upper cam sprockets. If the timing has jumped, no coil or fuel pump is going to solve the problem.

I appreciate the input bshusted. I only did those cylinders because I saw the numbers were very low and didn't feel that doing the rest was going to prove anything useful other than the valves are fudged and I was running out of daylight with a rented test gauge. I am getting no spark now.

Also what is the little black deal that comes off the end of the plug that connects to the ignition coil. I have spent hours looking for info on this and I cant find anything. The part number on it is 0 310 000. 2.2uf 110v.

I don't have the time or light left to take the front end off to check the all the timing marks. when I have time I will look into it. Thanks again

Your picture doesn't seem to work, but based on your description, what you're describing is a capacitor. They are commonly used in ignition systems to filter out RF noise for the radio.