Weridest thing, can someone please explain?

[Black_Sunshine]

I'm not Mechanically Savvy, but I know how to do the basic oil change, change plugs and stuff like that

But the strangest thing occurred recently
Last night after work, I got some gas
about 3 miles later on my way home
I feel my car lose power for second
a minute or so after it happened again

turned off the radio and payed more attention
nothing happened, and then I got home

so this morning on my way to work
about seven miles from my house
I'm stopped at a red light, and all of sudden I see smoke
coming from the engine on the driver's side
I'm like, WTF?!?! and I'm staring to see if anymore comes out
then I notice the person in the car ahead of me smoking a
cigarette, but they are too far and the smoke from my car
was a little to thick and it was rising up,
but I still see any signs of smoke again.

I finally reach work and check under the hood, nothing seems peculiar, but I'm not a mechanic, so I wouldn't know that well

any info would be appreciated, thanks

 

[silverGTSaleen]

Thing you might want to check out:

Gaskets
too much oil
car running to rich
BAD GAS
ect.......

Also when you felt this loss of power what were you doing? Shifting, accelerating, punching it , coasting, braking, need a little more info.

Josh

 

[Black_Sunshine]

Thing you might want to check out:

Gaskets
too much oil
car running to rich
BAD GAS
ect.......

Also when you felt this loss of power what were you doing? Shifting, accelerating, punching it , coasting, braking, need a little more info.

Josh

i've always used either 76 or Mobil gas for the last few years

but yesterday I tried some cheapy gas station near my work, because I was running low

my car is due for an oil change according to the date, but I still have almost 2000 more miles to go, if I go that route, I use Mobil 1 oil

I wouldn't know how to check gaskets, or check to see if car is running rich, but i did have my car tuned-up in June, they said I needed a new MAF and it was running rich, but I just cleaned the MAF myself, and I stopped the pinging problem, I also had a new Harmonic Balancer and Waterpump installed around the same time

I was driving a normal 40 mph slight uphill on 4th gear, was just cruising, wasn't punching it or anything

 

[stang_gt_1994]

Could be the gas.

 

[urban96]

how are the spark plug wires

 

[HazMat404]

wait...its due for a change but you have 2k miles left??

anyways...sounds like bad gas. get some water wetter and put that in then run the tank dry. you might have blown something internally if you were hammering it and now oil (does it smell like oil or antifreeze??) is leakin into the combustion chamber. worst case senerio but it could be that or a blown gasket. check the simple things first tho

 

[stang_gt_1994]

Water wetter is for your radiator, not gas.

 

[silverGTSaleen]

40 mph in 4th gear sounds to me like that would be bogging a bit ( to low of an RMPs ) unless you got really steep gears?

 

[Black_Sunshine]

Could be the gas.

i was thinking the same thing, never used this company's gas before

how are the spark plug wires

they are FRPP wires, I changed those when I bought the car in April 01, had Ford check them in June for my major tune up, they said they were fine, also plugs are new too

wait...its due for a change but you have 2k miles left??

anyways...sounds like bad gas. get some water wetter and put that in then run the tank dry. you might have blown something internally if you were hammering it and now oil (does it smell like oil or antifreeze??) is leakin into the combustion chamber. worst case senerio but it could be that or a blown gasket. check the simple things first tho

I either change oil every 3 mos or 3000 miles, I usually go for the months, because that's easier for me to remember

if they are bad gaskets, how much you think I'll be paying?

40 mph in 4th gear sounds to me like that would be bogging a bit ( to low of an RMPs ) unless you got really steep gears?

didn't feel it was bogging at 40 mph in 4th gear, although I don't know what gears I have, unless the are still stock, it was just a quick loss of power and then it boosted right back up again

 

[4dStang]

Set up a video camera to check that your car is not smoking ciggarattes.

Never know.

 

[Black_Sunshine]

Set up a video camera to check that your car is not smoking ciggarattes.

Never know.

okay, guess I'll have to move the vid cam from the bedroom to the garage

and if it's smoking, that dang thing better share

 

[Black_Sunshine]

bumpt

 

[95GTvert[bv12]]

have you seen any of this happen agian...i have freaked out before because i saw smoke and it was the car in front of me....also i have spilt oil when changing it and it somked for a day or do....that was kinda freaky at first....power loss could be anything when going up hill...head wind even...also is your car a 5 speed?....if not then could have been somthing with the Aode

 

[Black_Sunshine]

have you seen any of this happen agian...i have freaked out before because i saw smoke and it was the car in front of me....also i have spilt oil when changing it and it somked for a day or do....that was kinda freaky at first....power loss could be anything when going up hill...head wind even...also is your car a 5 speed?....if not then could have been somthing with the Aode

i've been paying attention since then, so far so good

definitely don't think it was head wind, it was a nice day, wasn't windy at all, and the powerloss was quite significant, you can really feel it drop for that quick second and come right back up again.

yes, my car is a 5 spd,

i've noticed my car running a bit warmer than usual, coolant is brand new since June, had the flush done, I added water wetter, I've noticed that I've been losing coolant somehow, but the radiator is a year old, the water pump was replaced in June.

I went ahead and used Prestone Super Sealer for the radiator, not sure if that had anything to do with the car running warmer than usual as it goes through it's process of running through the engine, but the car did start to run warmer since I put that stuff in, it strikes me as odd because we currently aren't in the 100+ degree weather, but even if it was that hot my car wasn't running as warm as it is now

this morning the temp gauge was as normal as I have always observed, no loss of power and no smoke, knock on wood, so who knows

 

[95GTvert[bv12]]

everytime i flush a radiator it gets leaks...the onlything you can do is wait for it to happen agian

 

[mo_dingo]

If you are loosing coolant, there is a problem. What I would do is drive the car till it's at normal operating temperature, pull over, leave the car running, pop the hood, turn the A/C ON and watch the car run for like 2-3 minutes. If you are leaking then you should be able to see it. The car being at idle and w/ the a/c running should make it run as hot as possible (water pump pulley going really slow and a/c putting drag on the motor). Look at the water pump, radiator, upper/lower hoses, bypass & heater hoses, and the ground. Hopefully you should see the water leak if it is leaking. If you can't see anything leaking, turn off the motor, and watch for a few minutes. The engine will heat up after you shut it off and maybe you might see the leak then.

 

[Black_Sunshine]

If you are loosing coolant, there is a problem. What I would do is drive the car till it's at normal operating temperature, pull over, leave the car running, pop the hood, turn the A/C ON and watch the car run for like 2-3 minutes. If you are leaking then you should be able to see it. The car being at idle and w/ the a/c running should make it run as hot as possible (water pump pulley going really slow and a/c putting drag on the motor). Look at the water pump, radiator, upper/lower hoses, bypass & heater hoses, and the ground. Hopefully you should see the water leak if it is leaking. If you can't see anything leaking, turn off the motor, and watch for a few minutes. The engine will heat up after you shut it off and maybe you might see the leak then.

I'll try that, thanks

btw, I put in some of that Prestone Super Sealer

also, I've gone back to my normal gas station, I changed oil a week ago, cleaned my K&N, but the other morning I had that weird "surge" or loss of power may we say, and this time it was very significant, like a quick loss, then a big jerk when power came back

soon I plan on getting a new battery, since I'm suppose to because I live in the desert, and my clutch is slipping, so I'll get a new one

 

[Black_Sunshine]

Update on Power Loss:

a few months after I first posted this the car was stalling violently, then in the first week of Jan. the car totally stalled on my while driving at around 30-40 mph.

i spent the last month trying to fix my stalling problem

first changed the TFI ignition module, wasn't it

put a new Fuel Pump and Fuel Filter, not it either

some guys here told me to change Stator/Pickup coil, and it worked

 

[Last5.0]

Here's something to look at for the smoking on the drivers side......
check out the A/C line that runs along side the intake. Right along side the dipstick it changes from a rubber hose to metal and that crimp has a tendency to leak, especially if you had the A/C or defroster on. Mine leaks/drips very slightly right onto one of my plug wires and header and I get a small puff of smoke now and then from it burning off the header

 

[Black_Sunshine]

Here's something to look at for the smoking on the drivers side......
check out the A/C line that runs along side the intake. Right along side the dipstick it changes from a rubber hose to metal and that crimp has a tendency to leak, especially if you had the A/C or defroster on. Mine leaks/drips very slightly right onto one of my plug wires and header and I get a small puff of smoke now and then from it burning off the header

hmm, i'll check that out, thanks