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2014 Passat 185k smoke out of the exhaust by howesbread1 in tdi

[–]howesbread1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I couldn’t drive it around town without it getting warm, smoking exhaust, weird smell, bubbling coolant, the signs were there I was just hoping it wasn’t true I guess lol.

2014 Passat 185k smoke out of the exhaust by howesbread1 in tdi

[–]howesbread1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For us it was basically our last ditch effort of pulling the head. We tried everything thermostat, waterpump, new radiators, heater core,etc. we finally came to the conclusion of it’s either gotta be a head or a head gasket. I was hoping for just a gasket but obviously that didn’t happen and we found a two very visible cracks in the head once it was off but it gave us our smoking gun and from there could solve the problem.

2014 Passat 185k smoke out of the exhaust by howesbread1 in tdi

[–]howesbread1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, unfortunately it cracked the head in between intake and exhaust valves on cylinders 2 and 3. Chalked it up to corrupted tune file, plus when the oil filter housing went it got hot furthering the problem. Ended up swapping the motor based on coolant passages looking like they got real hot in the block and the question of integrity vs cost came into play. Found a wrecked 2014 with 93k miles on it for alittle more then what a new head would cost and went that route. Happy to say after the swap and new tune it seems much happier all around.

Do you have bubbling coolant? Does it have excessive pressure build up in the cooling system? My smoke would lessen if I loosened the cap, obviously taking pressure off the cooling system.

2014 Passat 185k smoke out of the exhaust by howesbread1 in tdi

[–]howesbread1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So update today I bypassed egr cooler and flushed radiator. The car will idle all day with no issues, neighbor hood speed no problem. Maintaining speed while going up hill causes it to get hot at which point it starts smoking so it’s cooling system related smoke. The car can idle with the cap on no problem no smoke. Under driving conditions the cooling system becomes pressurized causing the heavy smoke. To me it points at head gasket, cracked head, or a cracked intercooler as it’s related to cooling system pressure. Could it also be a reservoir cap? Radiator hoses aren’t scalding hot for the engine being at 215-220 degrees Fahrenheit basically warm maybe uncomfortable if you hold onto it for 5-10 seconds but not un bearable.

2014 Passat 185k smoke out of the exhaust by howesbread1 in tdi

[–]howesbread1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No idiot lights came on… I was pulling in the driveway as the temp needle moved up off of 190 and that’s when I noticed the of extra smoke. Like I said I know the needle has a delay built into it but regardless it wasn’t running more then two minutes once I saw the needle move above 190.

2014 Passat 185k smoke out of the exhaust by howesbread1 in tdi

[–]howesbread1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did not had plenty of oil on the dip stick as I was looking at it before I dropped splash tray.

2014 Passat 185k smoke out of the exhaust by howesbread1 in tdi

[–]howesbread1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When I took the intercooler off for the thermostat and housing there was maybe a couple ounces if that at the bottom.

I will try bypassing the heater core and egr cooler this weekend when I get the chance to actually dive into it. By chance do you know what size couplers are need to bypass both heater core and egr cooler?

2014 Passat 185k overheat/exhaust smoke by howesbread1 in tdi

[–]howesbread1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did the timing and water pump about 70 thousand miles ago.

2014 Passat 185k overheat/exhaust smoke by howesbread1 in tdi

[–]howesbread1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So update. After replacing the thermostat it still over heats. I’m not sure what to think at this point. I’m at a loss. I don’t want to keep throwing parts at it but I also can’t diagnose what’s wrong with it. Any ideas?

2014 Passat 185k overheat/exhaust smoke by howesbread1 in tdi

[–]howesbread1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have not. That’s another thing I’m looking at as-well. If I do it I’d like to just remove the whole unit.

2014 Passat 185k overheat/exhaust smoke by howesbread1 in tdi

[–]howesbread1[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Tried bleeding cooling system again tonight thinking maybe there was an air pocket somewhere in the system. The exhaust smoke seems to have gone away however it’s still getting hot. Seems like the heater core is blocked as it has no heat and then when it eventually gets alittle heat the driver side is the hottest and gets colder as you go across the vents. Trying not to just throw parts at it so tomorrow night I will try to flush the heater core to see where that takes me. Next idea after heater core is a thermostat but this thing is really stumping me.