hey guys have just bought an 03 a4 1.9 tdi quattro and i need some advice i have asked a few guys about it and have have had different answers. I am not very good with cars but i am thinking the engine is not good because when i pull the dipstick out i can see white smoke coming out and when i remove the oil cap more white smoke and oil splatters out. Theres 130000 miles on the clock and the car idles badly and there is black smoke when the car is revved high also the car sounds noisy compared to other a4s i have driven. It does not seem to be under powered. Could these problems mean i have a bad engine or could there be something else wrong that might be able to be fixed. Thanks in advance for the help.

also there is a noise which i cant really explain when i lift my foot off the accelerator. cheers

 

Take it to a mechanic to have it checked out... the symptoms are kinda hard to diagnose...

 

dont open your oil cap with the car running...then due to heat anything will spatter out and steam will come out.

 

it's a diesel, diesels are typically noisier than other motors. Black smoke usually means a poor fuel mixture, which might mean injectors or air filter. Try some fuel conditioner (for the injectors) next time you fill up (can get at canadian tire). when was the last time you replaced your air filter? make sure (or have a mechanic make sure) that your air intake system from the filter out, is clean. Restricted air flow can cause a poor fuel mixture especially at higher rpms.

Still a good idea to bring these questions to a mechanic, but what you are experiencing doesn't neccassarly mean a bad engine... at all.

 

TDI's pump a lot of air throuhg the crank case. If you remove the oil fill cap you will feel a lot of air. It is the middle of winter, so that may explain the smoke (steam) you see. If it was summer and smoking, I would tell you the rings are shot. However, if it starts easy in the moring at cooler winter temps, you most have good compression and therefore good rings.
If you have black smoke, it could be four things - 1. your N75 valve is not working, 2. the vane actuator on the turbo is sticking (in vane open position, this will make the engine louder than usual, as the vanes muffle the engine sound, you will also have less low RPM power, but roughly the same full power at higher RPMs. 3. boost leak, which is very common - replace intercooler orings on a regular basis. 4. you have a bad *** tune like mine.