Hey guys I'm all out of ideas on what can be wrong with my b6 a4. Before owning the car it had an overheating problem right after the water pump was done and then it was parked for 6 months. Since I've owned it I replaced the whole t stat housing and all three sensors along with vw approved coolant, because I wanted to. Now the fun starts.
My problem is whenever I start the car after it sits for a while it smokes like crazy, but the compression numbers are solid and car doesn't hesitate to get into boost. I'm not leaking or consuming coolant, because my overflow is steady at the max line since I did the stat housing and rear sensor on the coolant flange. My car has 165k and I'm leaning towards the turbo and or a really bad sludge problem because the white smoke smells of 93 octane, not sweet or burnt oil. However when I replaced my "pancake" valve or pcv valve by the egr valve it was caked with sludge and oil.
Overall the car runs, idles where it should, and doesn't hesitate getting into boost, plugs and coil packs are brand new also. Also there is no coolant in the oil or vice versa. Does not smoke while driving. Hopefully someone reads this long mess and has a logical solution.

Update: ran the car for a little and relieved pressure in coolant res, shined my flash light in the res and seen little gold dot specks. RIP headgasket I'm assuming.

 

Was it indeed a HG issue?

 

Gold dot specks? Somebody has dumped some Stop Leak in the coolant at some point in the past hoping to fix a coolant leak. It's damn near impossible to get it all out. But it shouldn't pose a problem anyway. However, it's not a head gasket issue since you're not getting oil/coolant mixing and good compression numbers..

White smoke after a car sits for a while is a slow oil leak into the intake or cylinders either buy the turbo or valve seals.

 

Yes also of a car sits for a while and not being driven, and where the climate allows for moisture, you will indeed collect that moisture in the exhaust, exhaust manifold etc etc. Which then you go to drive you'll notice the white smoke. That was the case with me on a STS just a week ago.

 

Good point also.. It really depends what the smoke smells like and if it lingers around a bit long. The type of "moisture" smoke you refer too will dissipate fairly quickly and really doesn't have much of a smell. Oil smoke will not and definitely has a distinguishable smell to the trained nose..

 

No, after all was said and done and a lot of cursing it turned out to be the turbo. It was sucking in small and I mean small amounts of coolant and oil at idle, then when you created a vacuum it smokes super bad. I finally said screw it and ripped the turbo off to find a nice pool of oil sitting by the wastegate flap and excess coolant drops on the bottom of my downpipe.

 

Glad you found it, man. I've really never been that big a fan of turbos and the heat they generate. Not to mention the ungodly RPMs they have to endure..

 

Wow, that's actually really interesting. Glad to hear you found that. That sounds like good diagnostics on your part, that's something You pay a shop to diagnos and hundreds later and they can't find anything lol

 

Quick question.. Was the turbo bad? Or was it the gasket?

 

My money is on the bearing seals failing..