wierd problems smell/sound

Hi

I have a 1996 Ford Escort LX with 266,000 kms

Today when I was driving into work, it was started to smell real bad like engine/oil/electrical burning kind of smell, also making wierd noises all coming from the engine, it felt like it was going to break down right there on the highway. Does anybody have any ideas whats going on?. I'll be checking out the engine on my lunch break today and give more updates on what i find.

Thanks Chris

First I'd check the fan belt.

First I'd check the fan belt.

Hi do u mean the timing belt?..i just had that changed a few months back..

just an update.. i started it up and checked around the engine and it seems fine, only the coolent is a lil low..hopefully nothing well happen when driving home from work...

anymore ideas well be nice, so I can investigate further.

Thanks Chris

You need to be a little more specfic. If it was bucking like it was running on three cylinders then it could be a spark issue or a valve set going bad. What kinda of noises did you hear? If its a timing belt the car would stop. Did you check engine light some on or is it always on like my car!!! lol

You need to be a little more specfic. If it was bucking like it was running on three cylinders then it could be a spark issue or a valve set going bad. What kinda of noises did you hear? If its a timing belt the car would stop. Did you check engine light some on or is it always on like my car!!! lol

hi yea the engine light has been on since i bought the thing since last year. I tried checking the codes before but the code input doesnt seem to work. I changed the spark plugs to iridum ones last month.

How would I check if I'm running on 3 cylinders?..

Sounds like it could be the belt tensioner. If it goes out the bearings won't spin properly it will make noise from squealing to a grinding hum. The belt will still glide over the wheel but the wheel won't really spin so the belt will get hot and smoke and burn.

Sounds like it could be the belt tensioner. If it goes out the bearings won't spin properly it will make noise from squealing to a grinding hum. The belt will still glide over the wheel but the wheel won't really spin so the belt will get hot and smoke and burn.

When i had the belt replaced the mechanic said he replaced the tensioner "supposedly". Could it be the tensioner is giving away?

If the tensioner was replaced its not likely it would be giving way. But there is another pulley that the serpentine belt goes around. It is an idler pulley, and its location and mounting depends on whether you have an a.c. unit on the car or not. I would advise replacing both the tensioner pulley and the idler pulley when the serpentine belt is changed; then you can forget about it for 100,000 miles.
The way to tell if the engine is running on 3 cylnders: Pull one spark plug wire at a time off and out - to force it to run on 3 cylinders. Shut the motor off to do this, and to change which wire you have pulled off. It will run, or at least idle, but it will shake a good bit. If one of the cylinder is not working, you will notice -zero- difference when the plug wire for the 'bad' cylinder is pulled off. And if one cylinder is not working, then it will barely run with another spark plug wire pulled off.

to futher detail whats going on, i also here squeeking noises coming from the passenger side of the car in the engine compartment..i also drove it to work again today..and no problems just a lil smell and the squeeking..

If the tensioner was replaced its not likely it would be giving way. But there is another pulley that the serpentine belt goes around. It is an idler pulley, and its location and mounting depends on whether you have an a.c. unit on the car or not. I would advise replacing both the tensioner pulley and the idler pulley when the serpentine belt is changed; then you can forget about it for 100,000 miles.
The way to tell if the engine is running on 3 cylnders: Pull one spark plug wire at a time off and out - to force it to run on 3 cylinders. Shut the motor off to do this, and to change which wire you have pulled off. It will run, or at least idle, but it will shake a good bit. If one of the cylinder is not working, you will notice -zero- difference when the plug wire for the 'bad' cylinder is pulled off. And if one cylinder is not working, then it will barely run with another spark plug wire pulled off.

So I turn the engine on/off each time I pull a wire out? and do i put the pulled wires back in each time till i find a bad cylinder?. If all cylinders are good and I pull one wire off the car it should rumble and barely run. Also only if 3 cylinders are working there shouldnt be any difference when i pull out a wire but well rumble when I pull out anther one. correct?

FYI-On my Escort I have changed both of those pulleys that Dave is talking about. When they go bad they squeal.

chrisanthony: You have it right. The bolt for the idler pullery is something odd like a 16 mm or a 5/8", and may be fairly tight. When I put those bolts back in I like to put a little grease on the threads, so the steel bolt wont 'sieze' into the threads in the aluminum alloy bracket that holds the accessories.
Something that can happen is that you got a serpentine belt that is too long - and its not being tightened by the tensioner. At least not tight enough not to be letting the alternator slip - which could cause the belt to get hot enough to smell.

chrisanthony: You have it right. The bolt for the idler pullery is something odd like a 16 mm or a 5/8", and may be fairly tight. When I put those bolts back in I like to put a little grease on the threads, so the steel bolt wont 'sieze' into the threads in the aluminum alloy bracket that holds the accessories.
Something that can happen is that you got a serpentine belt that is too long - and its not being tightened by the tensioner. At least not tight enough not to be letting the alternator slip - which could cause the belt to get hot enough to smell.


Thanks i'll try the cylinder solution this weekend. I'll also look at all the pullerys and so on. Hopefulyl its nothing really serious, because i already spent to much on the car already.

Hey just an update. I did the cylinder test. It seems like its running on all 4. So i really think one of the wheels that drives the timing belt is loose. Its the wheel at the far back buttom that you can see as soon as you open the hood. Is there any easy way to tighten the wheel without droping the engine or taking the belt off?

Thanks

What you can see as soon as you open the hood - is the serpentine belt. The timing belt is hidden behind the black plastic cover at the passenger-side end of the engine.
And since your car has a.c. - there are two pulleys that might be worn, (the bearings inside them worn that is). The tensioner pulley can be seen by looking down just aft of the reservoir for the power steering fluid; and under the tensioner arm itself. On my Escort, when the engine is running the tensioner doesnt jiggle at all, and to the extent I can see the pulley, it is rotating smoothly - not wobbling or otherwise seeming to be eccentric.
I think that visible movement of the tensioner is a sign of a worn/bad serpentine belt, a bent pulley, or other problem. (I carry a spare serpentine belt in the trunk anyway).
The other pulley (the idler) can barely be seen, by looking down in front of the alternator, and lower than the power steering pump. You can only see a small bit of it. It can be seen from below IF the splash shield is off.
Both pulleys are replaceable, and neither one will last forever. I think the idler pulley costs about $30 USD. The tensioner would cost about $50 USD, but if you only need the pulley, thats also about $30. Sometimes you need the whole tensioner, sometimes only a new pulley. The bottom 'idler pulley' bolt will probably be very tight, so use a 6 point wrench on it. I used a '6 point offset box end wrench'. It may be 16mm, but I forget.
And you would have to remove the serpentine belt to replace either pulley.
If the pulley you are talking about is the bottom-most one; that is the crankshaft pulley, really a two part item, as its inner section mounts to the crankshaft, and its outer section, which has the grooves for the serpentine belt, mounts to the inner section with a layer of rubber in between, and serves as the vibration damper - to dampen the torsional vibration of the crankshaft at high rpm. If that pulley is doing anything other than spinning absolutely evenly - then you have a very rare failure; a bad vibration damper. Replacing that would require undoing the motor mount on that side, to let the engine droop down an inch or two, plus removing the serpentine belt.