Hello everyone, I am in a bind and I’m hoping someone can point me the right direction!
My audi has been parked for about a year. Prior to that the only issue wrong was it had a major oil leak (faulty oil filter housing). Last year I ran into a brick wall when I couldn’t get the stripped oil filter housing bolts out.
I gave it another shot recently and was able to successfully remove the old oil filter housing - then install a brand new one. Yay for me.
I was incredibly excited when the car started to see there was no more oil leak, after this project has given me so much trouble.
However I noticed that the left side of the engine was smoking quite a bit. Initially I thought it was just burning off gunk and residue.
Then I realized that this whole area seemed to be getting really really hot. I’m pretty sure I didn’t see the engine temp gauge go up on the dash, but I can’t say for certain. I only ran the car for maybe 2 minutes, and towards the end the engine started idling quieter so I was getting worried .
Could it be possible coolant isn’t getting where it needs to go? Do I need to bleed the coolant system?
Any ideas? Any help much appreciated.
I’ll see if I can post these pics I have of the area but with the car off.
Those two metal pipes in the Pic were smoking and got really hot really quick. I think one is the manifold.
when it’s smoking . . .
do you see engine oil dripping?
can you smell engine oil dripping?
have you verified it’s not a leaking engine oil pressure sensor or a valve cover gasket?
I’m assuming you have a jack and jack stands . . . there may be no substitute for getting under the car while it’s running and physically verifying what’s leaking and/or smoking
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I have verified that no oil is leaking.
It seems the manifold(?) above the turbo on left side of engine is smoking considerably. The car has been sitting about a year.
I am just worried that maybe it is getting hotter that it’s supposed to. Not sure why manifold would be smoking from being so hot.
Can you feel and/or hear an exhaust leak from that area?
Maybe that manifold has a hairline crack or maybe a gasket us no longer sealing?
What does this smoke smell like?
Smells like exhaust?
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The exhaust pipe and catalytic converter can reach 500 degrees in a few minutes, 2000 degrees while driving, that is normal.
The smoke was from the oil seepage during the past year from the valve cover, don’t worry about it.
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Is that a crack I see in the exhaust manifold?
Tester
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It looks like a crack to me.
On a side note… When changing the oil filter and installing the new filter seal(s) in the oil filter housing, special attention is required.
: Be aware that this seal can be installed inside-out, which must be avoided to prevent oil leaks.
Circular
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No smoke at all coming from exhaust pipe.
Just turned the car on for a few more minutes.
Engine temp gauge did not even heat up to normal running temp before it started smoking near exhaust manifold again.
Got so hot on manifold/exhaust pipes it’s now tinted black.
The new housing is in on opposite side of smoke/manifold and not leaking at all . Pics are of left side of engine bay where the smoke is coming from. Starts after car has idled for about 1-2 mins. The oil filter housing is on the right side of the engine at the bottom, I got the new one in and it is not leaking. Seems I’m dealing with a separate issue at this point.
I do not see any cracks, I believe that is just the angle of the picture.
Can you hear and/or feel exhaust leaks?
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I will check for those next!
Thanks to all of you guys. I appreciate the input!
Could be running super rich for some reason.
