A smoking '90 CQ?!? No....

[Ramana Lagemann <elmool@tiac.net>]

Hello and Happy Easter Audi folks!

Not intentionally wanting to start another "...smoking Coupe..." thread,
I am going to make this as short as I can.
I checked the oil in my '90 CQ at the local Mobil today while filling
up, and according to the dipstick, I was as low as I could or, for that
matter, should be. I poured the little Castrol Syntec 5W-50 that I had
in my trunk and headed to Auto Palace, where I poured in three more
quarts of the same synthetic stuff into the engine. I did NOT recheck
the oil level with the dipstick. Yes, I probably overdid it, but I was
startled because the oil level seemed so low.

I was driving home a few hours later, and noticed a puff of blue smoke
after shifting from 2 to 3 at about 4500 RPM. I did the same thing down
the road abit, but didn't notice anything, and so I didn't think
anything about what I had previously seen.
Several hours after that, I decided to go out for some Ben and Jerry's
Chunky Monkey, (good stuff I might add, you ought to try it if you
haven't). Well about 10 to 15 minutes into the drive, I did the 2-3
shift, this time at about 5800 RPM. Actually I didn't actually shift
because it was then that there was a massive break in acceleration and a
total loss of power. (Uh ohh...) I glanced at the rearview, and the rear
of my car was absolutely BELLOWING some horrendously thick grey, (or
gray) smoke. (Egads!)
(Insert here an image of any one of many F1 races when an engine lets
go.) Needless to say, I had a little Michael-Schumacher-in-
his-Ferrari-after-the-engine-blew scene of my own. I immediatly coasted
to a stop where the engine shut itself off for me. I popped the hood and
tentatively went to investigate, but everything looked fine from above
and below. (Oh yes, I can't tell you how convinced I was that everything
was fine...) I got back in, crossed my fingers, and the engine fired.
Initially, some feathering of the throttle was required to keep the
engine going, but some of that can be attributed to the new cams I had
installed 1500 miles back. BTW, that was also my last oil change, and I
hadn't checked the oil since.
After a few minutes, the engine ceased to spew forth it's bounty and I
began foreward progression. During the initial hundred or so yards the
engine felt choked, but I nursed the car home never going above 3000
RPM.

So my question for you is, what exactly happens when you overfill the
engine oil? (Yes, I am well aware of who the true dipstick in this case
is...)

-Ramana
Ailing '90 CQ