Page 3 of 3

Re: Big white exhaust cloud

Posted: 20 Jun 2018, 15:12
by itchyfeet
If you have a bloke who.knows his onions no.point asking on here
on the other hand just maybe he never saw a cracked WBX head before which releases coolant into the exhaust hot and not cold.

burning oil usually happens hot and cold but soundslike this is only happening hot.

But clearly he has alot of experience so you have to go with that.

Re: Big white exhaust cloud

Posted: 09 Jul 2018, 11:34
by tforturton
Okay, so I feel a bit of a fool...
My local VW expert finally managed to fit my van in to check the engine over, and guess what? It's okay! Looks like the smoke screen was mainly my fault (though there are extenuating circumstances). The sudden oil plume was down to overfilling, and (please forgive me) using the wrong oil. There was also a collapsed breather pipe, and a small airlock in the coolant system. He's drained and replaced the oil, and changed both the oil and air filters. He's also sorted out the coolant, and also the pressure sender I was having problems with. Oil pressure is fine, and piston compressions are all around 8bar. He tells me the engine is in good nick, and is running well - and it definitely sounds better. So where did it go wrong?

So.... over the last few months, I've felt that the van was overheating, even on short journeys. Not enough to send the dial crazy - it stayed well within the black, and the fan kicked in when required - but it 'felt' hot (you know, when the cab area feels a bit warmer than it should). So when I got home, I'd check the oil and water, and if necessary top them up. In hindsight, this may have been down to the airlock, but at the time, I was concerned that it was burning/losing oil and water, and so was topping them up. More than once. And the last time I did, the only oil I had to hand was the stuff that goes in my Audi.... semi-synthetic. Not good, apparently - though I didn't realise that at the time. It's possible that this was also what caused the oil pressure sensor buzzer to go off in the first place.

It looks like a small airlock caused enough concern for me to overfill the engine oil, AND use the wrong oil, which led to it squeezing past the rings, and burning in the cylinders.
So maybe I've learned a few things here. Don't always think the worst - it might be some thing simple. When in doubt, seek expert help. And always use the right oil.

Re: Big white exhaust cloud

Posted: 09 Jul 2018, 11:48
by itchyfeet
Well done for owning up :ok

If you overfilled your air filter will probably be blocked with oil, often it foams up past the breather and thats how it gets burnt, worth checking if if the garage didn't.

Re: Big white exhaust cloud

Posted: 09 Jul 2018, 11:59
by 937carrera
tforturton wrote: Don't always think the worst - it might be some thing simple.

Yep, well done for owning up and bringing a conclusion to the thread.

The bit quoted is something I am forever reminding myself about :)