White Smoke from Exhaust

necrotone · Post by **necrotone** » Tue May 12, 2009 8:01 am

Hi Guys,

This morning after driving for +-20 mins, I noticed white smoke coming out of the exhaust while I was letting the car idle before turning it off.
It wasn't super thick, but it smelt like burnt plastic.

I turned the car off for about 5 minutes and then back on - it stopped immediately. very strange.

Anyone got any ideas?
Is it something to be worried about?

Sinbad · Post by **Sinbad** » Tue May 12, 2009 8:02 am

Sure it wasn't steam?

necrotone · Post by **necrotone** » Tue May 12, 2009 8:05 am

Sinbad wrote:Sure it wasn't steam?

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it wasn't steam - was a little bit thicker than that and it smelt like burnt plastic.

sugen · Post by **sugen** » Tue May 12, 2009 9:01 am

Could possibly be the turbo.

dood786 · Post by **dood786** » Tue May 12, 2009 4:58 pm

Any weird sounds from the engine bay where the turbo is?

necrotone · Post by **necrotone** » Tue May 12, 2009 5:09 pm

dood786 wrote:Any weird sounds from the engine bay where the turbo is?

Nope, I actually took the car for a drive earlier and there was no smoke at all.
Something must have been stuck on the zorst and started to burn. (hopefully)

The only proper check I can do is when I drive home from work.

rodga · Post by **rodga** » Tue May 12, 2009 5:40 pm

check your oil level
might be overfilled

necrotone · Post by **necrotone** » Tue May 12, 2009 8:24 pm

oil level is normal too... after the long drive home, there was no smoke at all.
false alarm.. thank god!!!

rodga · Post by **rodga** » Tue May 12, 2009 10:27 pm

cool
let us no if it happens again

necrotone · Post by **necrotone** » Fri May 15, 2009 8:39 am

car did it again last night.. WTF

Seems to happen when the radiator fan kicks in.

There are no funny sounds or loss in performance, so I'm probably just being pedantic.

Sinbad · Post by **Sinbad** » Fri May 15, 2009 8:47 am

Could be a blown headgasket, if it only happens when the coolant is hot enough to kick in the radiator fan...? Speculating... Car losing water at all?

Also, brake fluid burns white. Could be a leaking master cylinder/booster causing some fluid to get into the intake?

necrotone · Post by **necrotone** » Fri May 15, 2009 8:55 am

Sinbad wrote:Could be a blown headgasket, if it only happens when the coolant is hot enough to kick in the radiator fan...? Speculating... Car losing water at all?

Also, brake fluid burns white. Could be a leaking master cylinder/booster causing some fluid to get into the intake?

Nope, no water loss at all.

Would VAG-COM throw any errors if there were such problems?

Sinbad · Post by **Sinbad** » Fri May 15, 2009 8:56 am

necrotone wrote:
Sinbad wrote:Could be a blown headgasket, if it only happens when the coolant is hot enough to kick in the radiator fan...? Speculating... Car losing water at all?

Also, brake fluid burns white. Could be a leaking master cylinder/booster causing some fluid to get into the intake?
Nope, no water loss at all.

Would VAG-COM throw any errors if there were such problems?

Doubtful...

You'd need to keep a careful eye on fluid levels and oil colour/consistency

necrotone · Post by **necrotone** » Fri May 15, 2009 9:02 am

I will indeed do that.

strange thing is, it doesn't happen all the time. it happened last night and then 2 day prior to that.

What color shouldn't the oil be?

Sinbad · Post by **Sinbad** » Fri May 15, 2009 9:04 am

necrotone wrote:I will indeed do that.

strange thing is, it doesn't happen all the time. it happened last night and then 2 day prior to that.

What color shouldn't the oil be?

White/milky/creamy. Indicates emulsified water in it...

necrotone · Post by **necrotone** » Fri May 15, 2009 10:16 am

Cool, I'll stop off at a garage and check when I'm on my way home. - thanks for the help dude

yosh · Post by **yosh** » Fri May 15, 2009 12:30 pm

Let's hope that we can duplicate this tomorrow when you stop by...

WICKED GTI · Post by **WICKED GTI** » Sun May 17, 2009 9:19 am

hi, mine did that as well a time ago. after a service at vw. seemed they used the wrong oil. they used a 5w40 fully synthetic oil, but when the engine is very hot after boosting alot it starts smoking at idling, the oil goes throug the turbo's seals into the exhaust, making the white smoke. then they changed the oil to shell 10w40 fully synthetic oil, and the problem was solved.

good luck

yosh · Post by **yosh** » Mon May 18, 2009 11:41 am

Wicked seems to have had the exact same problem...

tyz 79 · Post by **tyz 79** » Mon May 18, 2009 2:51 pm

guys i had the same problem this morning!!!

it is was fine when i left home but i have put oil in at the Engen Garage the other evening. maybe i should start there by do a oil change??

Yuvs · Post by **Yuvs** » Tue May 19, 2009 2:40 pm

I had this exact prob on my VR6 Turbo.

Almost paid 2k to do seals on my turbo

. It turned out to be my breather pipe!!

The oil catch tank was clogged hence the breather pipe blocked. It stopped the white smoke immediately.

Mine also only happened on idle.

yosh · Post by **yosh** » Tue May 19, 2009 3:46 pm

Necro's PCV pipes are caked with oil...I suspect the PCV system is causing it...Uncle Morne will provide expert diagnosis soon...

necrotone · Post by **necrotone** » Tue May 26, 2009 7:30 am

I've booked the cab in for Thursday.

We shall see what the experts have to say

White Smoke from Exhaust

White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust

Re: White Smoke from Exhaust