Re: '90 Coupe Q. Blue Smoke, Help!

[VINCELYONS@aol.com]

In a message dated 97-03-27 08:42:16 EST, you write:

<< 
 In message <970327065122_-1537939612@emout17.mail.aol.com>
VINCELYONS@aol.com writes:
 
 > << I was idleing
 >  for about 10 minutes before I actually got it inspected. When I got to
 >  the booth where they slap the sticker on, the guy pointed out the blue
 >  smoke eminating from my tailpipe, and then he paced I nice red failed
 >  sticker on my windshield. When I got home, after driving at highway
 >  speeds, the smoke was gone.
 >  
 >  Question: What could be causing it?
 >  	Valves?
 >  	Piston rings?   :-(
 >  Is anything common for these cars?
 >  
 >  It has 80k miles on it. 
 >  It looses about a quart of oil everything two thousand miles.
 >   >>
  >>
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Nope... Dave Alcot wrote that...
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Vince Lyons wrote:

>I'd look for the simple stuff first, was the car on level
ground or inclined sharpley for those ten mins.  

O'kay I guess I have to bring it up...
Sorry listers...
What "weight" ( I'm not gonna open it any further ) oil
aka: viscosity are you using is it possibly too thin for
your climate or at least too thin for the massive heat 
that happens after idling for so long ?
>

And the reason I wrote that is CAFE... It's an American 
thing that stands for Corporate Average Fuel Economy...
The US big 3 strive to keep their CAFE up... A number
of years ago they discovered that one way to do it was
to specify thinner oils. My wife drives a Chrysler Mini-Van,
I quote from the owners manual: ".... You are highly 
encouraged to use 5W-30 engine oils to aid in low
temperature starting and for improved fuel economy."
Chrysler in this manual suggests that 5W-30 should 
be used between -20F & 100F ( -29c to 38c ).  

Audi on the other hand suggests that 5W-30 be used for
a range of -20F to 20F ( -29c to -10c ) in the owners manual
of my '86 5KTQ and that for warmer climates something 
along the lines of a 15W-40 to a 20W-50 is more suitable.

Now, what I was suggesting with my original response was 
two fold. 

First, that it's always possible that while this 
90cq was idling for 10 mins that it was at some peculiar 
incline that promoted oil pudling in the wrong place in the
cylinder head ( valve galley ) and that perhaps a "puddle"
overflowed a valve stem seal. 

Second, that perhaps this vehicle was the victim of a 
quick change oil shop that does 50 American MiniVans
a day ( If the post came from USA & I don't know that it did )
and doesn't inventory a seperate oil supply for 
the one Audi they see per month. Afterall, even in a 
moderate climate an idling engine becomes a heat soaked
monster under the hood and that perhaps theremal 
expansion wasn't compatible with sewing machine
oil.  

The reason I was looking for such alternatives is that 
I truly believe that it's virtually impossible to destroy
an Audi ( or VW ) water cooled engine unless it is 
overheated or run sans oil. Valve stem seals ?  Well 
I think that was more of a late '70 or early 1980's thing.
Although they will go brittle & crack on any engine that  
gets too hot.

BTW, my bosses MV is pumping 15W-40.

Vince Lyons