Serious Problem I think my rings are gone

[Such_A_SHO_Off]

Ok so last saturday i was at work catering a wedding. I had to make an ice run for the bartender and when i started my car i looked behind me and saw white smoke. But it dissapeared and i comntinued to go on my errand. Since then the problem has gotten alot worse. For the past couple of weeks my oil consumption has gradualy gone up. I am now up to almost a quart every couple of days. The puff of smoke has turned into a cloud on startup and i can see it in my rearview mirror when at stoplights. It has the unmistakable smell of burning oil which leads me to believe it is my piston rings. The car has no loss of power however the rpms occasionaly drop to about 500 when i take my foot off the pedal but then return to normal a second later. Also my check engine light has been turning on and off kind of like when i had a bad EGR but i know that it is fine because i clewaned itout no more than a month ago. If there is anything else that this could possibly be please tell me. I don't want my baby to have another heart attack. Also what is it going to cost me to fix a problem like this. I am somewhat mechanically inclined so if there is anything that i might be able to do myself short of a rebuild please let me know. Sorry for the long post but i just wanted you guys to be on the same page as me. You have never let me down before and i pray to God you can help me this time.

Thanks in advance.

Matt

 

[SHO--ripper]

The puff of white smoke indicates one thing ....piston rings. frown

 

[Slo-Sho]

First things first, pull the codes. Your sig says your motor has 50k on it, where did you get the engine from? Is your coolant level up to par? You say you burn a quart every couple of days? Then I wouldn't jump on the piston rings so quickly as it may be a serious oil leak. White smoke usually indicates a blown head gasket, which is leaking coolant into the combustion chamber. Help us help you, we'll get to the bottom of this. wink

 

[mhodzic]

let me guess, blown head gasket causing coolant and oil leak in the combastion chamber. 90% positive it is not the rings, they don't just go out all of a sudden.

 

[Denny]

Oh my God. . ..
May Ford and/or whomever repairs this have mercy on your wallet

 

[pete c]

Sounds like rings, but, I doubt it. Not with just 50k on it. What oil are you using? Does it get changed regularly?

 

[nc89sho]

possibble really bad rear valvecover seal also, mine was bad and did the same thing. of course that was my fault for rolling it when installed.

 

[Such_A_SHO_Off]

Thanks for the quick replies. I am putting the car in to my mechanics this weekend and I am going to have him check out all the gaskets and everything. To answer some ?'s I have been using Mobil 1 5W-30 since i bought the car. I change the oil every 3k miles. This is my 2nd engine and has been runnign without a glitch since I bought it last November. I got it from an online salvage yard (probably not the best idea) called woodfins.com. It did have a 1 year parts warranty. My coolant is at a normal level and i never noticed any overheating, however this very hot weather brings that normal level up a few letters on the temp gauge but i have never seen it above above O. I am praying that it is a head gasket as that is alot easier to fix and less expensive than replacing the rings. Again thanks for all your help. As soon as i find out more i will let you know.

Matt

 

[pjtoledo]

Such_A_SHO_Off:
Thanks for the quick replies. I am putting the car in to my mechanics this weekend and I am going to have him check out all the gaskets and everything. To answer some ?'s I have been using Mobil 1 5W-30 since i bought the car. I change the oil every 3k miles. This is my 2nd engine and has been runnign without a glitch since I bought it last November. I got it from an online salvage yard (probably not the best idea) called woodfins.com. It did have a 1 year parts warranty. My coolant is at a normal level and i never noticed any overheating, however this very hot weather brings that normal level up a few letters on the temp gauge but i have never seen it above above O. I am praying that it is a head gasket as that is alot easier to fix and less expensive than replacing the rings. Again thanks for all your help. As soon as i find out more i will let you know.

Matt

In this hot weather try changing to a 15-40 organic based oil. The kind trucks use, it's called "fleet" oil. My vote is on valve seals for the excessive oil consumption. On my 92 with 244,500 miles I can blow a quart of the 5-30 synthetic out in 800 miles, the 15-40 organic lasts for about 1500.

Perry Toledo,Ohio