Problems, problems.

Well, the VR4 is running like crap. I barely pulled away from a riced (but not highly modded) Civic hatch. Here are the symptoms:

1. My g/f was behind me and said when I floor it, there was white smoke out the exhaust.

2. It hasn't been pulling good at all...struggling with Malibu's and Mazda 6's.

3. The other night I went into 2nd and floored it, nothing happened for a couple seconds, then it went to 5k, cut out for a sec, and then back in and continued to pull (similar to a prob I experienced when my wires were bad).

4. The oil light spuratically comes on and the oil temp drops.

If anyone has any thoughts on possible problems, please let me know. I am hard up for money and would love to sell the car, but it won't sell this time of year for what I need to get for it. 153k on the odometer. Thanks in advance.

What year is your car?

I have the same simptoms, when it was running now it just doesnt want to move :(

When i punched it in second gear it took a loooong time for it to actually move and my friend that was behind me said it blew alot of smoke out of the back.

Then it was idleing at 300-400 rpms and thats all she wrote.

U need a new clutch!!!! Stop driving the car or u well mess the car up. Wait till you get a clutch.
to make sure take it to a dealer or a shop and let them check out.
But I am sure that you need new clutch.
I have no idea what is up with the white smoke. Maybe its becasue it is cold and you can c the smoke.

Not having anything to do with the problem, check you oil level. The oil light should not come on, nor should your oil PRESURE gauge ever drop to 0 when the car is on.

As for the white smoke you could be burning coolant, A blown head gasket maybe? I agree, you should bring it to a dealership or your mechanic.

As for the white smoke you could be burning coolant, A blown head gasket maybe? I agree, you should bring it to a dealership or your mechanic.

Great diagnosis...95% of the time if you get a white smoke...its burnt coolant, which means head gasket...smell the smoke..if it smells sweet...its prolly coolant.Def bring it to a dealr to check it out

How much does it usually cost to fix the head gasket problem thing?

to be perfectly honest, im not quite sure...my sister had a neon, and it cost her 800 + so...my guess is around that figure..not sure though.

to be perfectly honest, im not quite sure...my sister had a neon, and it cost her 800 + so...my guess is around that figure..not sure though.

If it is the head gasket, don't let it overheat because it will damage the head itself and then they will send it to an engineering shop to see if it can be repaired (they check the head to see if it is faced) in other words the side that gets bolted to the engine block has to be 100% flat or the head will leak / blow again. If they check it and it is too warped to re-face you will need to replace it.
The oil light coming on I think is due to your idle speed too low, get the cylinders pressure checked to determine if it is a head gasket. A leaking head gasket allows some water/coolent to cross over into a cylinder and mix with your fuel causing white smoke. From your explanation you get the white smoke when pushing her real hard, this means that it is not bad yet but just starting, if you can't afford to fix it right now you will have to wear thicker socks so that when the little Honda's with all the lights and fat exhausts pull up, you won't feel the itch under your foot.
Regards
Sam

It's a '93. Thanks for the replies...one mentioned the clutch and I have burned it a few times, and I noticed the other day the clutch stayed engaged for like 5 seconds when I didn't even have the pedal depressed. Weird. Anyway, I will have it checked out. I need to stop buying these types of cars when I have no $$$!

If it is the headgasket, it will be around a grand at least to get fixed at a dealership...I wouldn't let them touch my car. Take it to a mechanic you trust.

If its the headgasket, you'll continue getting white smoke, and it will get worse...don't confuse this with condensation that you willl be getting due to the cold weather. Also you will start getting lower coolant levels in the reseviour, you will be getting bubbles in your oil...

Definantly check your oil, as talskinyguy said, it shouldn't be down to 0 pressure no matter what.

As far as the clutch..it is possible, but it might not be it. The symtoms about the clutch were that you were flooring it, your rpms were going up, but you weren't accelerating...this could be a worn clutch...but it could also be related to the headgasket...so don't jump to conclusions about the clutch.

Compression test == your best friend