Hi

Any ideas what is causing the following? More details after the pictures.

Car is 2002 A4 (B6) 1.8TQ



And short video! (click on the image) or follow this link http://s1185.photobucket.com/albums/...4Exhaust-1.mp4



This only seems to occur after starting the car cold and begins to smoke steam when it has been left to idle for 10 minutes or so.

It doesnt do it when driving or when left to idle once it has been driven.

The smoke does not smell of oil and seems moist.

I have had some surging in the coolant tank which seems to also lose water occasionally via the pressure relief valve in the lid.

At the moment there is no sign of oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil. I have also checked the plugs for coolant in the cylinder but there is no apparent sign of coolant that i can find on them.

No codes are being thrown up to indicate ignition problems etc and the engine is running sweet.

My thoughts initially were blown head gasket which is still a possibility but is there any other way that coolant can get into the exhaust system - is the turbo water cooled etc?

So any ideas let me know - Thanks!!!!!!

 

maybe coolant flange?

 

white smoke is coolant does the steam seem to lean more towards the passenger side of the car?

 

It could be oil sludge. I had the same thing happen to my 2003 Audi A4. Your car is burning oil and sludge forms in the engine. There is a lawsuit against Audi for this problem and if you can provide recites for your oil changes then they will replace your engine for free. I got a new engine last month.

 

Thanks for you replies everyone,

Pa4ul i cant say that i have noticed if there is a side that it comes out of more than another, when you say passenger side i'm guessing your stateside and mean the right hand side when driving? Do you know of a reason that it would come out one side more than another?

ilackav8 i was hoping the head gasket wasnt blown but dont know of any other gaskets or flanges where it can get from the cooling system to the exhaust system other than via the head gasket into the cylinder.

charlesb that would be good but although i probably have the receipts for the last 6 years or so i havent got them prior to that so i doubt i would get any mileage out of that route but it would be nice!! Do you have any info on where/why this sludge builds up? or where i could look to read up on it.

Like i say thanks for your help, i will play around with her again tomorrow and see if i can replicate the problems ive had.

 

this exact problem happend to me!!!! smokey when idling yet goes away within 20 ft of driving. i hate to say it but its your turbo. mine was shot after we pulled it out so we rebuilt it and no more smoke, just an increase in power if anything

 

Did you notice any other side effects like coolant tank problems or performance issues? She runs sweet at the moment no problems other than steamy cold idles and occasional coolant tank problems.

I did some work on the vacuum tubes as the car was running rough and throwing a few codes, since i replaced them (secondary air system) i havent had any further problems with surging in the coolant tank - but - this also coincided with hot weather arriving and therefore aircon being on and not the car heater (it must be said i cannot think of a reason why better vacuum would stop problems with the coolant tank).

Apparently a way to determine head gasket probs is to whack the heating full blast and look for bubbles forming in the coolant tank - i tried it the other day and managed to get some movement in the header tank but it wasnt surging and discharging via the pressure relief valve like it was before i repaired the vacuum hose.

As far as i'm concerned the jury is still out on the head gasket at the moment but i am struggling to find any other link between the coolant surging problems and steam in the exhaust. My engine expertise ends at coolant leakage into the cylinder via a damaged head gasket and pressure going the other way overpressurising the coolant system. I cant think of another place where coolant can leak into the engine or exhaust system to cause steamy cold idles or surging coolant problems!!!

it would be nice to find the cause of the problem as I want to replace the timing belt (and water pump etc whilst its apart) and put a new gasket on the head cover but theres no point if it needs to be all stripped back again because ive found the head gasket is shot.

Anyway moan over!!!!

Thanks for you help and suggestions - i will post any developments - if there are any