Smoking 5KCSTQ ??

[hill@mast.eng.pko.dec.com (Paul Hill 223-2154)]

'86 5KCSTQ

First, thanks to all the people who sent me mail on the "ABS off" light
problem.  Of course, since I asked the question, the problem has not shown
up again (not that I'm complaining).  A much more disturbing problem did
show up this morning however.

I have noticed that the oil filler cap has been leaking for a while, but 
this weekend it was getting to be a dribble, so I bought a new cap which I 
fitted last night.  On my way to work this morning I was being followed by 
a large white cloud of smoke which gradually got bigger and bigger until I
was forced to stop because I thought the car was on fire.  It turns out the 
smoke was coming from the tail pipe, not from oil burning on the outside 
of the exhaust.  My nice new oil filler cap was not leaking at all, but I 
decided to take it off anyway to admire it up close and pooooph!!  there was
a major pressure relief - like 25 to 35 psi of pressure relief (the engine was
still running).

I left the cap off and continued the couple of miles to work.  No more smoke.

Throughout this whole affair, the car ran perfectly.  Started easily, ran and 
idled smoothly, pulled strong and smooth, both with and without the filler cap
in place.

The only other thing of note is that I have been noticing some milky white 
crud on the filler cap recently, indicating that there is some water in the 
oil, although it did not look too bad.

So what's the verdict on the diagnosis?
Send your entry on a large denomination US bill, or on the back of an Audi
gift certificate....

Paul