:screwy: my escort blows black smoke out the exhaust and it idles rough.. anyone have any awnsers....???

The black smoke is an overly rich mixture. The air cleaner filter could be clogged up. If you have a carburator the choke could need adjusting.

Could be burning oil too... watch to see if your oil level is going down... if so it could be a bad head gasket or even worn rings.
AN easier way to tell is a compression test, but I am assuming you don't have the tools.

Could be burning oil too... watch to see if your oil level is going down... if so it could be a bad head gasket or even worn rings.
AN easier way to tell is a compression test, but I am assuming you don't have the tools.


yeah i have the tools ,, do u happen to know the compression ratios. for a 87 ford escort gl 1.9l ... just being specific.:)

I don't know the specs, but you could do the test and just look for a significant difference between the cylinders. If one or two of them are much lower than the others then you know something is wrong. I am sure a little googling can find you the spoecs though.

You will find the specs on AutoZone.com.