i highly doubt it had anything to do with it, but i installed an alta oil catch can as their instructions said so, (only mods to my 2003 MCS are the catch can and an alta CAI) and about 25 miles or less later, my engine started to smoke (oil leaking from back of engine right over exhaust amnifold sheild, comming in contact with hot manifold and burning) resulting in my engine catching on fire. Has anyone ever heard of a problem such as thins resulting from a catch can. ( i dont personally think it would, but parents would like to know. moms spasing out and yelling at me.)

 

sorry to hear it . do a search on the alta cc much info . also a sticky i believe on how-to do it right

 

Could be a problem with the catch-can if you hooked it up wrong causing positive pressure to build up in the crankcase that could blow a main seal. Is the catch can properly vented? If not, vent it and perhaps the main seal leak isn't permanently damaged (perhaps wishful thinking).

 

Almost the same thing happened to me. The hose that goes under the manifold or there abouts was pinched and caused the oil pressure to go high and blew my head gasket.

The oil was everywhere from the bottom of the engine all the way back to the exhaust. Had it taken back to the same shop and found that it was the hose that was pinched while being installed.

 

pinched or did the tubing collapse?

I'm not familiar w/ the ALTA tubing but the best stuff is the Black OEM type tubing which can be picked up at most auto stores. I tried a pretty aftermarket blue tubing and it collapsed.

 

I would check for a kinked hose somewhere, going to or from the catch can. I had a simular problem, but it was my own fault. In the winter when the weather is colder the cc's catch quite a bit of condensation (water), I hadn't drained it for a some time, and in below freazing weather the can froze, causing a build up of pressure in the valve cover - hence blew a valve cover gasket, I guess it could happen if a hose was kinked or pluged.

Nik

 

The bottom of the manifold was pinching the hose but didn't collapse it.

 

turns out it is the valve cover gasket. any one here know about how much that runs $$ wise ( in labor at dealer)

 

I don't know about labor - I replaced mine myself, I think the gasket was less than $20.00. It took a couple hours, but I work kinda slow....

Nik

 

http://new.minimania.com/web/Item/NME7670/InvDetail.cfm
$15 here. Not going to find it any cheaper anywhere else, I'm willing to bet. Labor, maybe an hour or 2. I wouldn't expect it to be much.

 

A leak from the VCG indicates an install problem with the catch can installation. You must be generating positive crankcase pressure and blowing oil out the weakest seal it can find (typically the VCG regardless of make/model). Check the install instructions posted up here as they have the CORRECT way to route hoses to guarantee positive crankcase ventilation.

After my last Audi S4 (appropriately named the Exxon Valdez) I have picked up a few things regarding pressurization of the crankcase and its effect on oil leakage. In that scenario, a check value in the PCV "Spider Hose" went TU due to extreme engine bay heat so the turbos were pressurizing the crankcase... and with boost as high as 26 psi, the oil found a way out in a big hurry!

 

This morning after changing oil, replacing PCV fitting and rejiggering my catch can I had a major discharge of white smoke. It was POURING out my exhaust to the point that I couldn't see the car, road, city of St. Louis behind me anymore (the arch is 630' tall and 3 miles away--hard to miss). Clearly I have a problem. A blown VCG makes sense given the nature of what I was working on, but I don't know that anything ties it concretely to that theory. Here's what I got. Please offer me your insights!

-The smoke comes and goes with acceleration--not RPMs unless I'm moving up the scale. The smoke output ranges from thin & whispy to "lawn at a Dave Matthews concert." It is pretty much white but in higher quantities has a negligeable yellow tint. And to some degree, it is smoking if I'm moving, but not at idle, coasting, or startup.

-There is oil in the exhaust. I'm positive it's oil. It rims the exhaust tip and some spattered on the boot. No sign of coolant, but the reservior could be low, or it might have been like that prior. Since the oil is fresh, its pretty identifiable.

-It started during acceleration from on ramp onto highway... Higher boost obviously under the acceleration.

-No warning lights, fault codes, or even appreciable loss of power/compression. I even ran a scan with my scan gauge that turned up no codes.

-No increase in engine temp on car's gauge or scan gauge.

-No notable drop in oil level visible via dip stick.

-Almost no oil present under bonnet, except for maybe an ounce on the valve cover.

-Possibly related, car threw out a P0507 code recently that I cleared and never had come back. Saw nothing wrong in assessment of induction system.

Help if you can. I'm at work but gotta get what I need to fix this today. Any help appreciated. Thx.

 

Back from the dead! (thread is 4 years old).

White smoke out the exhaust indicates a head gasket issue. There is no way a valve cover gasket could make either white smoke or make anything happen in the exhaust. This wouldn't necessarily throw any codes. The OBD2 system isn't smart enough to know when mechanical parts break, it is all about electronic feedback, circuit continuity, and sensors operating within acceptable ranges.

 

Ok I had my dad pick up both the head and valve cover gaskets. Guess I know which one to return. Thx. Any additional opinions or suggestions are welcome.

 

I'm asking because I don't know, do don't take this as me challenging you... I'm just curious... Wouldnt I notice a performance change with a blown head gasket? I didn't lose any coolant and electixal or not shouldn't the emu catch what would have to be a substantial oil pressure drop? Also, this engine is only a year old. I didn't mention that before. This would seem as ridiculous as my previous engine goin out at 70,xxx. Finally, shouldn't there be oil spray or some substantial external evidence of something?

 

I would remove the catch can and to return to stock configuration and see what happens first.

 

It's 2 AM central time. My issue is officially diagnosed and it's simultaneously a new one, a personal best problem to date (as but one problem among many), and a wonderful social commentary of idiocy and the reckless behavior seemingly inherent to all gangs (those from St. Louis being no different).

It's late and I doubt you all are around your computers, waiting on baited breath to learn of my discovery. Plus, I need to make sure this IS what I think it is before I share it with you all, and I need to gain secondary confirmation from a buddy who is on his way. I'll post pics shortly

 

White smoke out the exhaust indicates a head gasket issue.

 

I don't have a clue how it got there, and with no damage to the bonnet, or air diverter, it must have been either a Marine Corps Scout Sniper, or a one in a million exhibition in dumb luck. My diverter, as it is set up is like a scoop beneath the hood scoop, and it was covering up what I needed to see. Once I took it off to begin the tear-down, there was an obvious issue. There was oil everywhere on the I/C and a good size hole. The pictures show what the investigation gave up... If you don't know what you're looking at, it is what appears to be the remnants of a copper-jacket, hollow-point .45 Long Colt round...

I feel compelled to point out that in this case, my head gasket is just about 100% super splendiforous. Thanks for the help though. I was prepared for much worse. The I/C is now as ruined as Lindsay Lohan, but its an hour each way to my parents' house where my extra OEM intercooler is...

Thought of the Day:
2 hours on the road, in low traffic, on a nice day, on I-64 beats the S*** out of replacing a head gasket. Hope you all have a good weekend and thanks again!

 

more pics

 

I am inclined to think that was probably a ricochet since the bullet is so deformed. How have you established it to be a .45 Colt, and not a .45ACP which are so common? In either event, it sounds like the St. Louis gangs are pretty serious if they are using 45's.

 

This is why I live in the woods, at least out there they're trying to shoot at the little fuzzy critters.

 

so much for the reputation of the R53 as being bulletproof...

 

This is definetly one for the records.
At least it didn't go through the windshield into you.

 

So... Sorry to leave the saga open ended for so long. First, I did not determine it to be a .45 Colt. I happen to own one and was looking at my ammo for comparison. As a result, I typed 'Long Colt' accidently after .45. That measurement, however, does seem accurate.

Anyway, the car still isn't running. So I need help. It starts, barely, and runs like a Wankel Rotory Motor with a vaccuum leak. I've so far replaced the intercooler, pcv valve, supercharger intake duct, intercooler couplers, and removed my oil catch can. All of these showed damage not observed prior to my incident. I'm getting P0301, P0222, and P0123 codes. Does ANYBODY have any ideas where I should be looking for a problem? I just moved and no longer have a garage, but i cant ignore it any longer. I dont think its a major issue. Just something stupid im missing. But I gotta get this thing goin now. Any ideas appreciated.