Blue smoke, feel like crying..

[S3_Mitch]

Hi all,

My cars decided to start puffing out blue smoke and the timing couldn't be worse..

Smoke appears on startup cold or warm really, when pulling away and if I rev from idle I get a nice puff. Can't say for certain whether it appears under boost haven't noticed it though.

The turbo has done 127k as far as I know.

I recently fitted a catch can and all the pcv pipes were split, I am almost certain the intake mani gasket is leaking though. Since the catch can the car was and still is running more efficiently than ever but I still have boost leaks.

The real question is, where do I start? What could it be and how can I be certain before attempting a fix.. How many thousands is it going to cost?

I really just want the car sorted, haven't been able to enjoy it since I bought it and it's stressing me out..

I am due to visit my girlfriend for a week tomorrow (500miles motorway/a road driving throughout the week I would guess). Can I still drive the car without worrying? It feels normal to drive.

Any help is appreciated, I understand diagnosis is impossible without seeing the car.

 

[scotty_24]

Check the hard pipe off the turbo and see if there is lots of oil. The PVC system recirculates oil vapour back into the intake so there will be small amounts of oil there. Now you have it deleted, keep an eye on this, if more and more oil keeps coming it can possibly indicate the turbo seals have had it and are leaking oil.

If the smoke its bad on start up it could indicate worn valve stem oil seals. The oil seeps through and sits on the piston crown and is chucked out the exhaust as the car starts up.

Have a mate follow you and boot it, if when your backing off there is a plums of smoke this can indicate stem seal issues apparently.

Few places to start.
Keep an eye on oil and coolant levels, white smoke can indicate burning coolant, and S3's have a habbit of cracking heads, more so on mapped cars producing more heat.

Ive just found this out the hard way and im currently refurbishing a BAM head ready to swop with my knackered AMK head

Hope it helps, some of the more experienced guys will be along soo to both give their opinion and expertise !

 

[S3_Mitch]

Cheers for the reply, the car seems to produce smoke consistantly if i stand and rev it when warm/after a journey. My main concern at the moment is whether i can drive it normally for the next week till i can look further into the issue?