Sometimes the obvious isn't the problem, just a statistic. We clarified the porosity issue, the oil is telling us it could just be a tired head gasket or cracked head.
I think a tear down would be prudent.

 

Uhhhhhh... tomorrow's the day. It's smoking a lot, from burned coolant, from all I can smell. I dread this,even though a head gasket seems out of play.

 

You might try to get a dealership to goodwill the repair. The repair is basically a new head gasket with application of RTV on the block side.

 

If it's not the head gasket it could be a cracked head!

 

See if this sounds like what you experiencing, it's a k04 turbo also. https://markitude.wordpress.com/2010...e-replacement/

 

That's exactly it! I decided today against an engine replacement the shop was recommending, and said I'll take it home. 45 miles, lots of white smoke sitting at lights, but little while moving.

Although... my cat is toast, I think. I now am getting little boost (maybe 3 lbs.), and I think it's full of roasted Dex-Cool honey...

So, I'm looking at a turbo replacement, a cat, and apparently a water pump (still have no heat). But I have clean oil, clean coolant that still burns at about 8 ozs. per 45 mile commute.

All told, it's way better than scrapping. I might try and get my son (12) interested in a DIY. The turbo might be fun, especially if we rebuild the old one for parts.

 

BTW, thx to all for your ideas. I am one of those people who used to like to read multiple Sunday papers, and now does that with the internet.

I like all the opinions, thoughts, and suggestions. As an engineer with an auto company, I have a lot of contacts, but here, people have more familiarity with the specifics, and a shared interest in the outcome. I am grateful for dis place...

 

Ok, so it could be the turbo, but it could still be a head or gasket problem, like oldblue suggested in post #11 and 14. I think I would be performing a compression test next if it were me.

 

Yep, that and now the turbo just might be toast, and the catalytic converter.

 

It was both a head gasket and the turbo. I'll post more later once I've had time to look things over.

The low boost was caused by a broken shaft in the turbo. Today we will see, but we think the cats may be OK. If both sides of the turbo don't spin together, it explains boost like 2-3 psi (what it got down to)...