White smoke, oil loss, slow coolant loss...

[BlackTigers]

1998 Ford Escort ZX2
105 on the clock

I was driving to my graduation rehearsal this morning.

My car began idling very low. Like 600 RPM or so.

It then started stalling when I let the clutch out.

It starting making a violent ticking, knocking noise. I pushed it into a parking lot, and there was white smoke coming out from the engine bay. The car refused to start. It would crank and turn over, but it wouldn't start. It was a very slow process.

I removed my oil cap, and there was white smoke coming out there. No oil left.

I put in a full amount of oil, and after sitting for two hours, the oil was still in there. No leaks.

Started it up, and a few minutes later the smoke came back. Coolant levels are fine. There is a very dramatic loss of power, too. After a few minutes of running the engine becomes very sluggish.

....what is thisss? Help please. Worst graduation gift ever.

 

[herm0016]

you blew a head gasket, or seized the bearings in the motor or you broke a timing chain/belt/gear. no oil left? how long was it overheating? how often do you check your oil? i am going to guess that you broke the timing system, and its probably an interference engine so now all the valves are bent/broke and there are holes in the top of the pistions.


wait.. it still runs? it is probably a head gasket then... does the oil look milky now? you may have just lost compression, but usually you will loose coolant also.

in any case, it probably time to look for a new car.

 

[lsd]

Probably blown headgasket.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: lsd
Probably blown headgasket.

^^ This.

Don't turn it on again if you can help it. Either get it sold as-is (still running, but badly), or get it fixed properly by a competent and well-referenced mechanic. Worst thing you could do is continue to hobble on it until the motor seizes or the block cracks.

 

[BlackTigers]

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: lsd
Probably blown headgasket.

^^ This.

Don't turn it on again if you can help it. Either get it sold as-is (still running, but badly), or get it fixed properly by a competent and well-referenced mechanic. Worst thing you could do is continue to hobble on it until the motor seizes or the block cracks.

It runs. The smoke is all coming out of the exhaust.

I'm going to have my mechanic look at it tomorrow, and if he says it's a head gasket I'm going to replace it this weekend.

I hope it's just a head gasket.

And I would replace the whole engine before I bothered to look for a new car. I swapped the transmission to a manual a few months ago, and I'm not about to give the car up for this lol. I could pull the engine and drop a new one in in a weekend if that's what it takes.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: BlackTigers

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: lsd
Probably blown headgasket.

^^ This.

Don't turn it on again if you can help it. Either get it sold as-is (still running, but badly), or get it fixed properly by a competent and well-referenced mechanic. Worst thing you could do is continue to hobble on it until the motor seizes or the block cracks.

It runs. The smoke is all coming out of the exhaust.

I'm going to have my mechanic look at it tomorrow, and if he says it's a head gasket I'm going to replace it this weekend.

I hope it's just a head gasket.

Head gaskets are $$$ to do, primarily due to the labor. If that's what it is, and you haven't recently done the timing belt/water pump, get that done while everything is taken apart.

 

[joesmoke]

sounds like a CV joint to me! 😛

 

[BlackTigers]

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: BlackTigers

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: lsd
Probably blown headgasket.

^^ This.

Don't turn it on again if you can help it. Either get it sold as-is (still running, but badly), or get it fixed properly by a competent and well-referenced mechanic. Worst thing you could do is continue to hobble on it until the motor seizes or the block cracks.

It runs. The smoke is all coming out of the exhaust.

I'm going to have my mechanic look at it tomorrow, and if he says it's a head gasket I'm going to replace it this weekend.

I hope it's just a head gasket.

Head gaskets are $$$ to do, primarily due to the labor. If that's what it is, and you haven't recently done the timing belt/water pump, get that done while everything is taken apart.

Timing belt was replaced, with the water pump, about 25k ago.

From what I'm reading my head gasket is going to be very easy to replace.

 

[slag]

Originally posted by: joesmoke
sounds like a CV joint to me! 😛

Bad muffler bearings would cause the same symptoms and be easier to check. I'd start there and work my way towards the blinker fluid reservoir.

 

[lsd]

DIY!

What does the smoke smell like? Does it have a sweet (coolant) or nasty (oil) smell?

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: lsd
DIY!

What does the smoke smell like? Does it have a sweet (coolant) or nasty (oil) smell?

He said it was white smoke, if it were oil I'd expect it to be blue.

 

[BlackTigers]

Originally posted by: lsd
DIY!

What does the smoke smell like? Does it have a sweet (coolant) or nasty (oil) smell?

haha, I feel like an idiot.

I just had to go pour some oil and antifreeze on the ground, and burnt them with a torch so I knew which smelled like what.

My car is definitely more of a coolant smell. It's not harsh like the oil I burnt.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: BlackTigers

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: BlackTigers

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: lsd
Probably blown headgasket.

^^ This.

Don't turn it on again if you can help it. Either get it sold as-is (still running, but badly), or get it fixed properly by a competent and well-referenced mechanic. Worst thing you could do is continue to hobble on it until the motor seizes or the block cracks.

It runs. The smoke is all coming out of the exhaust.

I'm going to have my mechanic look at it tomorrow, and if he says it's a head gasket I'm going to replace it this weekend.

I hope it's just a head gasket.

Head gaskets are $$$ to do, primarily due to the labor. If that's what it is, and you haven't recently done the timing belt/water pump, get that done while everything is taken apart.

Timing belt was replaced, with the water pump, about 25k ago.

From what I'm reading my head gasket is going to be very easy to replace.

Hopefully so, make sure you're not thinking of the valve cover gasket(s). 🙂 Big difference in the amount of work! Most head gaskets are a PITA just in time alone, due to having to take all the upper motor components off.

 

[BlackTigers]

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: BlackTigers

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: BlackTigers

Originally posted by: Arkaign

Originally posted by: lsd
Probably blown headgasket.

^^ This.

Don't turn it on again if you can help it. Either get it sold as-is (still running, but badly), or get it fixed properly by a competent and well-referenced mechanic. Worst thing you could do is continue to hobble on it until the motor seizes or the block cracks.

It runs. The smoke is all coming out of the exhaust.

I'm going to have my mechanic look at it tomorrow, and if he says it's a head gasket I'm going to replace it this weekend.

I hope it's just a head gasket.

Head gaskets are $$$ to do, primarily due to the labor. If that's what it is, and you haven't recently done the timing belt/water pump, get that done while everything is taken apart.

Timing belt was replaced, with the water pump, about 25k ago.

From what I'm reading my head gasket is going to be very easy to replace.

Hopefully so, make sure you're not thinking of the valve cover gasket(s). 🙂 Big difference in the amount of work! Most head gaskets are a PITA just in time alone, due to having to take all the upper motor components off.

I wish it was just a VC gasket. =/

Nah, I know which the head is 😛. I found a guy on the ZX2 forums who offered to drive up here next week and help me replace it. He said his first took a few hours to do, so with two of us we should have it done in no time at all.

 

[exdeath]

If you got coolant in the crank case you will need a new engine (it's cheaper than a rebuild).

Oil in the cooling system is ok, you can just do a cooling system flush and replace the coolant.

Coolant in the oil = damaged main/rod bearings.

 

[lsd]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: lsd
DIY!

What does the smoke smell like? Does it have a sweet (coolant) or nasty (oil) smell?

He said it was white smoke, if it were oil I'd expect it to be blue.

In my experience, in the engine bay it is harder to differentiate the white-blue color oil smoke from the white smoke of coolant. It's much easier to tell by the smell.

Op: if you've got coolant smoke and missing oil you can pretty much narrow it down to a HG and worse case possibly a warped/cracked head. Either way the head needs to come off.

 

[BlackTigers]

Okay, I am really confused.

There is no oil loss. I just drained out the same amount of oil that it had in it. The oil is still proper color in nature, with the right smell.

My coolant is still perfectly fine. The level appears to have not moved.

But I still puff white smoke. whatttttttt

 

[njmodi]

Is it still running like crap? A flooded engine will result in white fumes from the exhaust upon startup too..

 

[BlackTigers]

Originally posted by: njmodi
Is it still running like crap? A flooded engine will result in white fumes from the exhaust upon startup too..

It idles fine now, if anything a bit high (but it's colder than it's been in a while.)

I haven't gassed it yet. I'm going to drain my radiator and then refill it, and then start it.

 

[bruceb]

Depending on the car the head gasket can be easy or very hard to get to (like the firewall bank of a transverse V6). Also, depending on how long it ran with the bad gasket, the head needs to be checked for level, trueness and cracks. And while it is out, you should do a valve seat job,
along with new valve stem seals. And if coolant did get into the crankcase, you may need to check the main and rod bearings. I also suggest doing 2 oil changes after the head is replaced so as to get any coolant out of the oil.

 

[LTC8K6]

It doesn't take much oil or coolant to make a lot of smoke/steam.

If antifreeze is coming out the exhaust, it should smell like it. Same for oil.

IIRC, you can have a blown head gasket that does not mix the coolant with the oil. Coolant can go right into the exhaust and not show in the oil.