95 Sputters, Dies and White Smoke From Engine

[metaldrivensoul]

Earlier today I was on my way home when suddenly my "check engine" light came on and immediately after my car started to idle VERY roughly. About 20 seconds after the light came off it went away then the "low oil pressure light quickly blinked 3 times". The "check engine" light then came on again and went away after about 20 seconds. This happened for about the next 3 or 4 minutes before I arrived home. Once i got home i popped the hood and noticed smoke coming from the top left part of the engine. It looked like it was coming from underneath where the spark pug wires were. I then noticed that a vacuum hose was broken so i got a ride to autozone and purchased a vacuum hose and changed it. The car still starts and sputters very badly, almost like its about to die out but never actually dies out. I left the car on for about 3 or 4 minutes then turned it off and attempted to restart. On the first try it didnt restart. On the second try it started and still sputtered the same. After about 10 minutes of letting it idle i noticed the smoke coming out again so i turned off the engine. I checked the oil which was full and a normal color and consistency, no milkly brown color like a blown head gasket...but it did have a slight gasoline smell to it. I also checked the coolant which was full and still greenish. The exhaust was putting out a whitish smoke randomly, but not constantly with a slight sweet smell to it. The head gaskets on the car were changed 6 years ago and the radiator was changed 2 years ago. Any insight on what might be wrong is greatlty appreciated.

Wes

P.S. - the thermostat showed the car running normal temps while this was happening.

[corning_d3]

sounds like a head gasket..

[alex boss]

Have the car checked with a scan tool to see what codes are stored. The light doesn't have to be on to have codes available and that might pinpoint the problem. You said left side, did you mean drivers side where the smoke was coming from? But sadly, white smoke with a sweet smell does suggest a head gasket problem. Lets hope not. Good luck, Alex

[metaldrivensoul]

Originally Posted by alex boss

Have the car checked with a scan tool to see what codes are stored. The light doesn't have to be on to have codes available and that might pinpoint the problem. You said left side, did you mean drivers side where the smoke was coming from? But sadly, white smoke with a sweet smell does suggest a head gasket problem. Lets hope not. Good luck, Alex

Do you know of any places where I can buy a really cheap scan tool because i dont feel comfortable enough to actually drive the car anywhere. The smoke wasent pluming out. It wasnt much smoke, barely noticable. It smelled of burning oil. My father also suggested a blown head gasket when i spoke to him, but the symptoms arent the same as the first time they were blown...high temperature, milky brown oil, brown coolant. Here are a few pictures of exactly where the smoke was coming from. FYI, the first picture isnt of my car, but its the same make, model and engine. The rest are of my actual engine.

















Thanks,
Wes

[Crasen]

I would start by doing a compression check on all of the cylinders. If you do not have a compression gauge they are not that expensive or you might be able to rent one at an auto parts store. I am sure somebody on here will have the specs for compression. But if you have a blown head gasket you probably wouldn't need them anyway because yopu will have some cylinder with normal compression and some with dramatically lower compression. Remember to disable the fuel system or the ignition system. The easiest way to disable the fuel system is triping the inertia switch or a fuse for the fuel pump

[metaldrivensoul]

Ok, as you can probobly tell i'm a novice at cars. From what i've just read online about compression tests, this is how i should do it. First off im going to need the compression guage...screw type is best. Im going to remove each spark plug from the cylinders. Im then going to remove the EFI fuse from my fuse panel inside my car. Im then going to screw the guage into the first cylinder and have someone fully depress the gas pedal while turning the ignition switch. Im going to wait until the guage steadies out and write down the number i get. Im then going to do this on all 6 cylinders. Does this sound right?

Thanks,
Wes

[corning_d3]

Hmm, looks like your schrader valve may be leaking. (Fuel pressure test port).

EDIT: This can cause low fuel pressure which in turn causes poor engine performance

[metaldrivensoul]

Maybe i didnt describe the pictures good enough. the smoke was coming from the black housing-type thing underneath all of the wires in the pictures.

[corning_d3]

Thats the valve cover, i believe..

[metaldrivensoul]

So today I checked my car again. The coolant still looks normal. The oil still looks normal. There is no sign on coolant in the oil or vise-vera. I cranked the car and let it run for about 3-4 minutes. I noticed no smoke coming from the tailpipe but still a slight sweet smell (not a smell like burning coolant which ive smelt from when my radiator busted, a different sweetish smell). I had read online that one test for busted head gasket was to remove the radiator cap and check for bubbles in the coolant. I did this and there were no bubbles. There was also no liquid coming from the tailpipe. I am going to attempt the compression test later on today, but from what it looks like it's a pain to get to the spark plugs on my car. If anyone has any other suggestions on what it might be, let me know.

[alex boss]

Well, what you have done so far sounds encouraging. But you do need to know what the computer (ecm) is complaining about when it turns on the check engine light. Many major auto parts houses rent scan tools and the appropriate connector. From the underhood sticker you can find out if the vehicle is an OBDII or ODBI certified. I don't remember seeing the year of your car but generally 1995 and before is OBDI or too old to even be that. 1996 and newer are OBDII (On Board Diagnostics= OBD). Once you know that, then Autozone or whomever can rent you the appropriate scanner and connector. You'll find all of the codes and their meanings scattered on Google, and maybe some fix it advice as well. My reaction for now is to put aside the smoke issue since it does seem to be coming from a valve cover, and concentrate on the drivability problem. Right now, I don't think the two are related. However, Ive been wrong once today already........! Great pics BTW. Let us know, Alex

[metaldrivensoul]

Originally Posted by alex boss

Well, what you have done so far sounds encouraging. But you do need to know what the computer (ecm) is complaining about when it turns on the check engine light. Many major auto parts houses rent scan tools and the appropriate connector. From the underhood sticker you can find out if the vehicle is an OBDII or ODBI certified. I don't remember seeing the year of your car but generally 1995 and before is OBDI or too old to even be that. 1996 and newer are OBDII (On Board Diagnostics= OBD). Once you know that, then Autozone or whomever can rent you the appropriate scanner and connector. You'll find all of the codes and their meanings scattered on Google, and maybe some fix it advice as well. My reaction for now is to put aside the smoke issue since it does seem to be coming from a valve cover, and concentrate on the drivability problem. Right now, I don't think the two are related. However, Ive been wrong once today already........! Great pics BTW. Let us know, Alex

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Last night i looked under the hood to see if my car was OBD II but i couldnt find sticker that says the emissions information. I read the car manual and that didnt have any info either. I looked around alot last night about my car (1995 Ford Taurus GL 3.8L V6) and couldnt really find any info wether or not it was OBDI or OBDII. I did find one page that said it was a proprietary connected from Ford called Ford EEC IV MECS CP912. Have you ever heard of this? Would AutoZone have the appropriate connection for this? I also think the sputtering and smoke are not related. The smoke was so light that it may have been happening for a while and without opening the hood I would have never noticed. I did go ahead and changed the fuel filter today and tried some gas treatment just to be sure it wasnt that. Needless to say it's still hestitating. Im going to be out of town until Tuesday but when i return im going to stop by AutoZone to see if i can rent the right connection to scan the computer.

Thanks,
Wes

[TaurusKing]

The 3.8 is the worst engine Ford ever produced, notorious for repeated head gasket failure, with sheer luck preventing the engine from totally destroying itself. Also, the motor mounts are piles of crap, they rip on a regular basis, even the aftermarket suck, too much torque for them to handle. Take your car somewhere, have them do a leakdown test on it, relatively cheap even at the dealer, then find someone to do your headgaskets again.. there could be an occasional bubble in your overflow tank for your radiator, might have to stare at it for a while, losing antifreeze for no apparent reason is another one along with the sweet stink of anti coming out the exhaust,, don't waste money and time fartin' around, go do the leakdown test, take it from there.. btw, it's eec4 system, obdI, scanners are around $30 or so..

[Millermagic]

Originally Posted by metaldrivensoul

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Last night i looked under the hood to see if my car was OBD II but i couldnt find sticker that says the emissions information. I read the car manual and that didnt have any info either. I looked around alot last night about my car (1995 Ford Taurus GL 3.8L V6) and couldnt really find any info wether or not it was OBDI or OBDII. I did find one page that said it was a proprietary connected from Ford called Ford EEC IV MECS CP912. Have you ever heard of this? Would AutoZone have the appropriate connection for this? I also think the sputtering and smoke are not related. The smoke was so light that it may have been happening for a while and without opening the hood I would have never noticed. I did go ahead and changed the fuel filter today and tried some gas treatment just to be sure it wasnt that. Needless to say it's still hestitating. Im going to be out of town until Tuesday but when i return im going to stop by AutoZone to see if i can rent the right connection to scan the computer.

Thanks,
Wes

OBD II is 98 and after.

[metaldrivensoul]

I just got a Actron CodeScanner and it gave me the codes 326 and 327. 326 is Pressure Feedback EGR (PFE) sensor or EGR Pressure Transducer (EPT) - signal voltage lower than expected. 327 is EGR Valve Position (EVP) Pressure Feedback EGR (PFE) sensor or EGR Pressure Transducer (EPT) - signal voltage too low. Just wondering (ballpark) on how much this would cost to fix?

Thanks,
Wes