White Smoke

[dfgu]

Hi.. I know this question has been hacked so many times.. I've done a lot of research and found no right remedies for my problem yet.
I have a 91 tsi awd... It blows out white smoke when at idle and a whole bunch when you open the throttle...

I put a glass next to the exhaust where the smoke is comming out, and it definately is not oil... It's water and a lot of it...

THe car is not heating up, and there is no radiator fluid missing either...

I know white smoke equals water being consumed somewhere, but the awkward thing is, the resevoir tank is at half where it should be, and the radiator fluid is full where it should be...

I know there are 2 things that could be wrong when white smoke appears... Either the Head Gasket or the Water Pump.. If it was either one, wouldn't radiator fluid be lower? It's still at the top and I never added any in..

I just purchased the car about a week ago with this problem. I got a good price so I didn't mind. I did notice that I was almost 2 quarts low. But if oil is burning, it should be a blueish smoke and if I put a piece of glass where the exhaust smoke is comming out, shouldn't I get oil?

I'm hoping the previous owner just didn't fill it up all the way or something so that's why i'm missing oil. I know the previous owner didn't drive the car for at least 2 months before he sold it to me..

I know, I should do a compression test/leakdown test. But I would like to see if there's anything I can do to narrow it down myself first. Like I said, if it was HG or Water Pump, I should not be full on radiator fluid right? And the engine should be getting hotter too..

I checked the pcv valve and its fine.. Not sure if that's relevant..

Any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated...


Thanks..

 

[WhiteCloud]

I wouldn't consider a compression test a complex procedure that should be done as a last resort--do it! If you have 165 across the board and 145 on cylinder 3, you know where your HG problem is. Just make sure you do the test on a warm engine, and you get a good reading. If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, take it to a mechanic for a compression and leakdown test. A leakdown test will tell you for sure if your HG is failing.

It is possible that the seals in your turbo are leaking water and it is getting expelled in the exhaust from there. I would bank on it being a HG though.

 

[dfgu]

I wouldn't consider a compression test a complex procedure that should be done as a last resort--do it! If you have 165 across the board and 145 on cylinder 3, you know where your HG problem is. Just make sure you do the test on a warm engine, and you get a good reading. If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, take it to a mechanic for a compression and leakdown test. A leakdown test will tell you for sure if your HG is failing.

It is possible that the seals in your turbo are leaking water and it is getting expelled in the exhaust from there. I would bank on it being a HG though.

I thought that the turbo is oil cooled. How would the antifreeze get in there?
And my main point about it probably not being a headgasket is that it's not over heating, or for that matter, not getting hot at all past the norm.

THe funny thing is.. if there is water being consumed somewhere, wouldn't the fluid in the radiator be low?

Lets just say that the turbo is burning some water, wouldn't it do it only when it's boosting? it's blowing out white smoke when it's at idle too.

Thanks for your input, now I have something to think about..

 

[Hitchhikkr]

If you are loosing coolant and your radiator cap is doing its job, the lack of coolant will appear from the overflow tank. Before you do anything else, make sure you dont have coolant in your oil. If you pull the dipstick and it looks like a chocolate milkshake, you can almost guarantee a HG problem. Do a compression test before throwing parts at it.

 

[dfgu]

Thanks.. I"m going to do a compression test tonight.. But I'm not loosing any coolant at all and the dipstick is clean... strange i tell ya..

 

[exzercist]

i had a celica with a bhg, but my fluid was going down. it doesnt take much to make white smoke.