So i got the A4 running the other day and drove it around the block to make sure things were ok. When i backed it up into the garage i noticed smoke comming from the engine bay. I opened up the hood and saw smoke comming from the cat. My guess is the cat is partally plugged and overheating OR a bad valve cover gasket is leaking oil into it OR bad plugs not burning all the fuel off. Please let me know if im in the right direction.

 

Bump. No one can clarify?

 

Where is the smoke coming from exactly? Is it coming from within the cat, or from something burning off the cat?

I don't think it's bad plugs, you would be getting a nasty misfire and flashing CEL if you were dumping that much fuel.

If you just got done with repairs, I would say it's say to assume you got a little oil or somehting on the cat that's just burning off now, and should be fine after running the engine a bit. However, it could be a clogged cat, which would be bad. I do believe that if the cat was clogged, you would trip a CEL, but maybe not. Scan for codes and see what you come up with. But for now, I'd lean towards something got on the cat and is just burning off. Shouldn't be a big deal.

BTW, 1.8T or 2.8?