Hello there everyone. I've posted a few times in the forums here and I think you guys and gals are the best. I've got a bit of a head scratcher here for you though.

When my 1995 Ford Escort is in idle ( maybe while driving too, I don't know ) it makes a hissing noise from the front driver side under the wheel well. At first I thought I had a leak in that tire, but when I shut the car off it stopped. It sounds like a wet leak too. Know what I mean? It's been wet here for the past while, so it may just be air. I didn't notice any fluid or anything leaking, so I'm thinking it may be something with the air intake, or fuel lines ( hope not ) or maybe the exhaust, or transaxle.

Any ideas?

Thanks a ton!

How's the car run? I was thinking maybe a vaccum leak on the power booster.

The car runs good. Good power, a little choppy sounding, but it's been doing that for a while where it's an old car. I'm thinking it may be a vac hose or something with the air intake. I'm not sure though. You guys are more experienced with this stuff than me.

The car runs good. Good power, a little choppy sounding, but it's been doing that for a while where it's an old car. I'm thinking it may be a vac hose or something with the air intake. I'm not sure though. You guys are more experienced with this stuff than me.

Could be exhaust? or a small resonator pipe? Try putting your hand over the tailpipe (when first started so you don't get burned) and see if the exhaust comes out somewhere else.

Check and be sure your air hose and its components are tight

The exhaust is coming from the tailpipe, and there isn't an exhaust smell in the car or anything. I'm going to peek at the hoses and stuff to see if something's loose, but I can barely see where the noise is coming from.

It sounds like it's right behind the front wheel. Is there anything there that might be making this noise? PVC valve or anything?

Thanks again

Well, I was just outside looking at the car, and I can't seem to pinpoint where the hiss is coming from. It looks like it may be something to do with the muffler though. It may also be what looks like the oil pan? I'm not sure. It's right behind the driver's wheel. A black 'pan' and it looked like there might have been a very small amount of oil around the seal. But I couldn't find any sign of leak there. The reason why I think that it may have something to do with the muffler is because I just went around to the tailpipe and put my hand right in front of it and it wasn't hot at all. There was exhaust coming out with a little bit of water spraying out, but it was almost cold.

When I first started the car up today it was hot coming out of the tailpipe with little black specks in the spray out of it. What the frig is that?

Anyways, thanks for looking at this and taking the time!

Check and be sure your air hose and its components are tight

Where might I find my air hose to check it? What does it look like? I've been looking at every hose looking thing in there and I can't tell if they're loose or ok. I've got the Haynes manual, but they're not real specific on the little things like this.

Thanks again!

Also, I should say that the hiss didn't start right away. I had it running for a little while, then backed it further down my driveway. Shut it off, added 1Qt of oil and some washer fluid, started her up again, then it started the noise a couple minutes after that. I'm stumped!

Sorry for being longwinded, but I don't want to forget anything.

Thanks again

The black pan, where is it mounted? is it flush with the firewall? (that's the wall between the engine compartment and the person compartment). If that's the case, you're looking at the powerbooster (round pan looking thing) and I'm still thinking a crack in the vaccum hose going to it.

When you say behind the wheel, you meen behind as if you were standing at the front of the vehicle?

I'm not sure what an air hose is, but if the pcv valve/hose had a crack in it (that's on top your valve cover) i guess that could hiss, as well as if the breather for the pcv sysem, but I don't know where it is other than it comes out of the air filter area.

oh, the symtoms you mentioned with your exaust are normal, unless they are severe. If there's a lot of moisture in the air when your car cools off, water condensed in the exaust system and blows it out when you start up. While the dirty water is evaporating out, the evaporation creates a cooling effect in the feel of the exaust.

The black pan, where is it mounted? is it flush with the firewall? (that's the wall between the engine compartment and the person compartment). If that's the case, you're looking at the powerbooster (round pan looking thing) and I'm still thinking a crack in the vaccum hose going to it.


The black pan is located under the car, near the front, beside the front driver's side tire. I think it's beside the 'charcoal filter'? Is that right? Could it be the fuel injector?

It may be a vaccum hose, but I don't know what to look for. Is there vaccum lines running under the car? I know they connect to the top of the intake manifold, but there's nothing going on there.

Ok, what you're looking at i believe is the oil pan. There's next to no way you'll get any hissing out of that unless the pcv and breather are stopped up causing your oil pressure to build up... still don't see that causing much of a hiss though. leak, yes... one symptom of this is typically oil in/on your airfilter.

There are no vacum hoses under your car. Sometimes a bad gasket on the water pump or thermostat will cause a hiss as water escapes as steam. I don't know the location of these on a Ford.

At this point, after you check for oil in the filter (or just replace the pcv for the fun of it) I might take it to jeffy lube and ask em to check your transmission fluid (they should do it for free) and while they are doing it, mention you hear the hiss in an intrigued way. They could be able to get a better look at the underside of the car, and hopefully you'll get someone that is actually interested in being helpful instead of someone that doesn't want to be there...

[edit: doh, you got jiffy lubes in canada?]

Where might I find my air hose to check it? What does it look like? I've been looking at every hose looking thing in there and I can't tell if they're loose or ok. I've got the Haynes manual, but they're not real specific on the little things like this.

Thanks again!

What I ment was the hose that is attached to the air filter. check out my web page about air scilencer removal and will show you pics of the air hose.