S4zAudihere

K so i start up my car today, after driving it last night, and it seems fine, let it warm up a bit, and start driving. maybe 30 seconds into the drive i knotice thick smoke, mind you it's COLD today, but not cold enough to keep the smoke floating through the houses and lingering. It only happens when i give it gas. if i'm at idle it doesnt smoke. but when i was driving, only for about 3 min, it's like i'm driving a getaway vehicle with a smoke screen.
could it be the turbo's leaking oil?
Anyone have Turbo's for sale?! shoudl i just go RS4 turbos? are they going to be much more?

niceguy77

You think its a seal ?

S4zAudihere

at this point i dont know, i'm waiting on caa to bring the car to a shop to see. Anyone know a good diy site to pull my motor i'll try it if it'll save me 4000 in labour. plus i'd throw in ko4's if my motor is out i might as well do everything i need w hen it's out. i dont want to take it out more than once.

Black_RS4

are you sure it's not just your exhaust not being warm enough?

Does the smoke smell like antifreeze?

K04-S4

How cold is COLD ?

What color is the smoke ?

Can you thaw the car in a heated garage and try driving it again ?

If it smokes again, turn engine off, remove the oil filler cap, listen to check if crankcase is pressurized (it should not be).

S4zAudihere

something fishy is going on. the frist mechanic i brought it too said the turbo's are gone, but he filled it up with oil, and said i could drive it home....so i did, low rpms nice and slow......no smoke but of a smell but that could be from the entire engine's oil going in to the exhaust. PLUS i never got a cel, wouldnt that much oil in the exhaust put off the o2 sensor? so when i'm listening for "pressurizing" what do you mean exactly?

K04-S4

Are you sure it's a Turbo Failure or is it possibly an engine seal failure causing oil leaking onto (and not into) hot exhaust?

Typical signs of a failed Turbo are:

1. The Dentist Drill

This one has sticky shaft speed reduction and has not completely failed yet

Turbo Noise video on Automotive

This one has obviously failed... Vbulletin redirect failing on this link so google search "S4 Turbo Failure site:youtube.com" and click on first link to hear Turbo Goes Woo Woo!


If still unsure:

2. Pull Cat back, tilt Downpipes downward and look for buckets of oil leaking out.

3. Pull lower Intercooler hoses and look for buckets of oil (an ounce or so is actually normal)

4. The ultimate and a bit of work - Pull the Downpipes and inspect for excess Turbo shaft play. Barely detectable shaft play is normal, clanking or flopping side to side or end to end is a failure.

Many Turbo's have failed without triggering CEL.

Early 2.7T's had a vacuum booster pump that was prone to fail with age. It would cause PCV failure and crankcase cannot breath. Know that under boost, the 2.7T case does actually get pressurized and with no PCV, valve cover gaskets and cam seals blow out causing serious oil leaks. Fixing the seals will only lead to more seal failures, until PCV gets fixed. To test, warm up car a little (not too hot), boost a few times, then shutdown and quickly remove Oil Filler cap. If significant pressurized air audibly escapes, your PCV is not working and risk of seal failure is high.

AudiWorld Forums: Cam tensioner seal leak and vacuum booster failure summary post.

K04-S4

Meant to add that oil seals can fail on their own without a PCV problem and cause burning oil smell when driving due to oil dripping on hot exhaust, and visible puddle when parked. The PCV failure issue obviously accelerates oil seal failures and causes "too coincidental" recurrances of same until PCV is fixed.