Hey guys, I have had this problem with my tt z for a little while now. When I start the car from cold and drive it - no smoke at all. However if I go for a drive, then get home and wait about 30 mins or so and then start the car - I get a fair bit of white smoke out of the exhaust. It comes out of both sides but mainly the drivers side. But then if I go for a drive and come back it wont smoke at all, even at idle or wot. I don't believe it smokes when driving either. I'm pretty sure its coolant coz the smoke is white and i get little tiny bits of water like substance dripping out of the drivers side exhaust when its smoking. However after driving or cold start there is no such water or smoke. I was thinking maybe my headgasket is leaking a little bit but wouldnt it smoke all the time? I know that my o2 sensors arent reading properly (especially drivers side) but i think that if it was running rich than i would get black smoke. I'm pretty much stumped with this - if anyone has any ideas - plz post!
Bluish smoke is oil But white is water vapor. Are you losing coolant? Have a CO2 test and/or rad pressure test done.
Hey mate, Nah not loosing any coolant. No milkshake in the engine filler cap either. THe problem has only really gotten worse since I changed the oil the other day. But i'm quite sure that it is not overfilled. Anyone know how much oil a tt is supposed to have? I read the manual and its says 3.6 litres (which i find hard to believe coz i needed to put in over 4 litres before anything showed up on the dipstick).
If you've changed the grade to a thinner oil then you'll probably find that it's starting to leak through the oil seal on the exhaust side of the turbo. Tiny amount of oil can create alot of smoke. Initial symptoms of an exhaust seal starting to go are like what your experiencing, thinner the grade of oil...the worse it's going to get. Stick with a reputable 15w synth or semi-synth oil, you can go to a 20w without seeing any real loss of engine response, and this may elongate the amount of time until it becomes a significant and embarrasing problem.
Intermittent can also be due to the PCV valves!!! I changed mine and no more smoke. Was intermittent and at odd times and after an oil change, PCV valves are cheap to change too. 2nded on the thin oil as Andymac mentioned. MattB
I actually just changed to a thicker oil - 20w-50w. I think its a mineral oil tho. Would a synthetic be less likely to smoke? I will check out pcv valves this week. Thanks guys
Not really...sythetic oil has a higher flash point, but still well under combustion or exhaust temps. By well under, meaning it's not even a consideration but I thought I'd increase the knowledge of the herd.
Your not alone im getting the same white smoke, it happens about 5-10 minutes when i start the car, it smokes for a minute or so then disappears i still dont know whats causing this and could it be that is running rich.
Not rich White smoke is either water vapor (normal at cold start) or if bluish and lingering, it's oil.
The best way to determine what residue you have in your exhaust is to smell it. Burning oil is very distinctive, as is unburnt fuel.
White smoke can also be burning oil... But as Pex mentioned, burning coolant & burning oil smell very differently! If you are smoking only at start up, it could be leaking valve stem seal... but hard to say without seeing the car in person.
just turned on the car from cold guys. i found that a little bit of water dripped out when the car turned on (like 3 drops). But only from the drivers side exhaust. No smoke though. I'm pretty sure its water. I touched some and sniffed it and it didnt smell like anything really. But it wasnt green like my coolant is. Its like the normal condensation you get in an exhaust after a night etc and only comes out when you turn the car on initially. Same with the smoke (but only smokes when turning car on when its already hot). So weird.
