1994 ford escort

[TwiztidRealmz]

hello i have a 1994 ford escort i just bought it from a buddy of mine the problem is it wont stay idling you have to keep your foot pressed down on the accelerater just to get it revved up but... if you take your foot off the gas it dies out instantly and wont stay idling. on doing this if the rpms get too high maybe 5 or 6,000 rpms at the most, it starts steaming white smoke from the engine and it shifts into gear it just wont move any help??? please? if you feel you might have a response in reguards to helping me my email is [email protected] i check it frequently so any help works thanx again have a happy thanksgiving.

[denisond3]

If it wont idle, that could be a stuck Idle Air Control Valve. This is located atop the throttle valve on the 1.9 engines.
Your description of the engine problem isnt clear. I am assuming you have the automatic transmission (F4EAT) and that you have enough ATF in it. Will it go into gear when you pull the lever into drive - with the engine turning at a lower speed? You would want to check to make sure that the shifter lever was actually making the shifter shaft on the front side of the transmission turn. (A broken shifter cable is a possibility), but so is a transmission that has worn out its frictional materials, or has some other internal problem. I didnt find the transmission very hard to remove on mine, and rebuilt it myself. Though it shifted a little strangely for the first few hundred miles, it has been working fine for the last year and 20,000 miles.

[Davescort97]

Probably the IAC (Idle air control) for it not idling. The steam out of the exhaust indicates a blown head gasket.


The transmission not moving the car could be caused by the shift cable being worn or broken, Control valves could be bad, Low transmission fluid, Oil pump broken or the torque converter damaged. Need to take it to the transmission shop.

Sorry denisond3. I didn't mean to one up you. We both posted at the same time.

[mightymoose_22]

The idle problem sounds more like a vacuum leak to me. Check vacuum hoses on the manifold and also the intake manifold gasket.

[twistedcookie]

i had the same problem it turned out to be my throttle position potentiometer

[Davescort97]

Welcome to AF. Thanks for the input. I'm sure it will help someone in the future with the same problem.