Intermittent white exhaust smoke

[whitewolf33]

Wondering if you guys can help me diagnose intermittent white smoke coming out of my exhaust. Revo stage 2, car has 80k. Downpipe and intake and otherwise stock. No check engine light, no codes, no leaking oil or coolant, no overheating, heat works good. Car drives fine.

started about 3 weeks ago in a fast food drive thru. The car was already warm, smoked for about 5 min while on line and getting food and stops as Im leaving the parking lot.

this past thursday i start the car on my lunch break at work and after it warms up, starts smoking. Again smokes for a few minutes and stops.

today i drive the car around all morning with no issues, stop at my parents house for about an hour and it starts smoking as Im leaving. Again smokes for a few minutes and stops.

im pretty sure its white smoke not blue. It smells pretty bad while its smoking. Anyone have any helpful info?

 

[tdream1]

I only experienced smelly white smoke once and it was due to my oil catch and lines were frozen, so I had tons of white smoke billowing from the exhaust. I shutdown the car and used my other car at the time. Just waited for a warmer day and drained the OCC.

 

[whitewolf33]

Thanks. I dont have a catch can. Its weird that it only does it for a few minutes and stops. I changed the oil last weekend so its happened with the old oil and the new oil now

 

[DeVfrodan]

maybe head gasket is slowly going and still keeps a proper seal most of the time, hence the intermittent issue?

 

[whitewolf33]

Sounds like a possibility. I dont see any coolant loss though or overheating. I thought blown head gaskets on the TSI’s was rare. Especially at only 80k. When I changed the oil last week the oil and the cap looked normal not with that white foamy stuff

 

[DeVfrodan]

Sounds like a possibility. I dont see any coolant loss though or overheating. I thought blown head gaskets on the TSI’s was rare. Especially at only 80k. When I changed the oil last week the oil and the cap looked normal not with that white foamy stuff

True, it was just a thought, I was just thinking about what causes white smoke. I believe head gaskets dont cause many issues on tsis but maybe you got a freak one, who knows

 

[brat_burner]

How much smoke are we talking? Original pcv?

 

[whitewolf33]

Its the original pcv. The car has never had any parts fail that needed replacement so far. Original water pump... Its hard to gauge the amount of smoke but its pretty dense.

the girl across the street from me had a blown gasket in an old mazda. She had to top off antifreeze a few times a week. Everyday she clouded up the whole neighborhood when starting the car. My car isnt smoking like that but its enough to cause concern.

 

[brat_burner]

Its the original pcv. The car has never had any parts fail that needed replacement so far. Original water pump... Its hard to gauge the amount of smoke but its pretty dense.

the girl across the street from me had a blown gasket in an old mazda. She had to top off antifreeze a few times a week. Everyday she clouded up the whole neighborhood when starting the car. My car isnt smoking like that but its enough to cause concern.

I'd probably look at that pcv first. The randomness doesn't point to other areas of failure for me. If you were burning coolant it would have a sweet type odor to it.

 

[whitewolf33]

Thanks I appreciate the help. I would think the pcv would throw a code if failing and produce a rough idle but who knows. Obviously somthing is going on. It looks like an easy inexpensive job so maybe ill order one and replace it

 

[whitewolf33]

I spoke to someone today thats pretty knowledgeable about cars and they said the smoke definitely smells like oil is burning. Whats the best way for me to try and diagnose where its coming from? I have vag and access to a lift

 

[Thumper]

Thanks I appreciate the help. I would think the pcv would throw a code if failing and produce a rough idle but who knows. Obviously somthing is going on. It looks like an easy inexpensive job so maybe ill order one and replace it

If it's intermittent it might not throw a code. I have had a similar situation in the R, but only happened a couple of times and hasn't for quite some time. I never got around to fully diag'ing it because it went away but in retrospect it did happen pretty close to the times I have drained the catch can and I have been more diligent in doing that now while I wasn't when I first got the car. So could be PCV related if it's stuck or clogged.

 

[whitewolf33]

Thanks. I ordered a new PCV last night so hopefully that fixes my issue

 

[whitewolf33]

Put my new oem pcv on today. Still need to give it a few days to tell if its fixed since the problem was intermittent. I took apart the old pcv earlier and the rubber diaphragm inside was torn so I feel like the problem should be solved. Had a tiny tiny bit it of oil on my ignition coils and inside the pcv hose. Tried to clean it up best I could. Hopefully the rest burns off and no more smoke.

 

[brat_burner]

Put my new oem pcv on today. Still need to give it a few days to tell if its fixed since the problem was intermittent. I took apart the old pcv earlier and the rubber diaphragm inside was torn so I feel like the problem should be solved. Had a tiny tiny bit it of oil on my ignition coils and inside the pcv hose. Tried to clean it up best I could. Hopefully the rest burns off and no more smoke.

If you want to speed up the process, warm it up and then rev at about 3k for a few minutes. If you just cruise around town it won't build as much heat in the exhaust.