A white smoke problem and no acceleration / shaking

Yup...sounds like trans fluid and also it might explains no acceleration because its low on trans fluid...keep looking around because we ain't there to see what's goin' on
 
Step one DO NOT GUT THE CATS!!!! You will only create more problems in the future, just replace them as you stated. As for the white smoke I hope it's just trans fluid and not a blown head gasket. How does the oil look? Is there any "peanut butter" in the oil and or coolant?

im not saying to leave it that way, just to test if the eng is blown. no point in putting on a new cat with a junk eng. at least this will show us where he stands
 
im not saying to leave it that way, just to test if the eng is blown. no point in putting on a new cat with a junk eng. at least this will show us where he stands
/this
Gut the cat just to see if it's the problem. That way you don't waste your money buying a new cat only to find that your car has a blown engine anyway.
 
Or see if there is enough pressure coming out of the exhaust to figure if cat is clogged before you gut it to see if engine is blown
 
Oh gee, screw learning and performing proper test proceedures. There are testers to see if the cooling system builds pressure or holds it and where its leaking. You can also test for exhaust entering the cooling system. You can also test compression or to make sure injectors are fireing. All these tools are available for rent (for free) at local auto parts stores.

You dont say "Hey, my car is running funny. Let me go cut off what the factory installed till it runs better."
 
So today I called around couple of muffler shops in Broward here and get the best price to cut the bad Cat and just leave it like that without. None of them would do it. It's illegal they said. Duh! They all said the the only way to go is to replace it with a new cat universal fit and i'm looking at $350 and up. Last mech i talked to he said the best thing for my lincoln is not to put a new one. Just take the bad one out and even tho is illegal- and he hates replacing it. Since its not a good idea, well why would u tell me that if u not gonna do it for me. Nobody will all this muffler shops. Besides the money part $400 more or lessto change it, I'm thinking even if i will replace the cat with a new one... Its just gonna mess it up again the new one if I dont fix the white smoke problem first or at least find out what cause that in the first place
 
I would really try to get it up in the air and look @ it from underneath check for trans fluid leak and be pulling 8 plugs to see if anybody looks wet and check your antifreeze level
 
So today I called around couple of muffler shops in Broward here and get the best price to cut the bad Cat and just leave it like that without. None of them would do it. It's illegal they said. Duh!

You just gotta know how to ""grease the wheel" as it were. ;) I've NEVER had a shop turn me down after I told them I wasn't a Fed and I slipped them "lunch" money.

They all said the the only way to go is to replace it with a new cat universal fit and i'm looking at $350 and up.

Well.. duh.

Last mech i talked to he said the best thing for my lincoln is not to put a new one. Just take the bad one out and even tho is illegal- and he hates replacing it. Since its not a good idea, well why would u tell me that if u not gonna do it for me.

Because he was giving you an option, but you didn't know how to... agai, "grease the wheel".

Nobody will all this muffler shops. Besides the money part $400 more or lessto change it, I'm thinking even if i will replace the cat with a new one... Its just gonna mess it up again the new one if I dont fix the white smoke problem first or at least find out what cause that in the first place

Why don't you figure out where and why you've got white smoke/steam coming out of the engine first, before you start throwing parts at the car? Now, it could very well be the cat(s) is/are plugged, but if you've got a blown headgasket or something more serious, what's the point of putting new cats on the car?
 
Because he was giving you an option, but you didn't know how to... again, "grease the wheel"
i can picture the guy rubbing 2 fingers together while saying it and making this face :shifty:

sure its illegal to remove them, but ive had many done "after hours"



Why don't you figure out where and why you've got white smoke/steam coming out of the engine first, before you start throwing parts at the car? Now, it could very well be the cat(s) is/are plugged, but if you've got a blown headgasket or something more serious, what's the point of putting new cats on the car?
+100 hes actually gonna have to go out and look at the car, only so much that can be done over the interwebz

hell im wondering why he couldn't he just unbolt the pass side cat from the manifold (the driverside is the stupid cat/manifold assembly right?) as long as the studs dont snap :(
 
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but if the cat is truly plugged won't it begin to glow after running for some time. Can't he just run it for a while and look for it?
 
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but if the cat is truly plugged won't it begin to glow after running for some time. Can't he just run it for a while and look for it?
I think that's if the cat is getting fed extra rich exhaust making it overheat. IE you have a bad sparkplug or your O2sensors are going. If it's already melted inside and plugged IDK if it will glow. Anyway it should be easy to test. Drive the car up a steep hill at night and look under the car at the cats at the top. If they're glowing dull red you've got issues.
 
Yes, it does have a weird smell, like a burned plastic or something like that. The engine is cold now haven't crank it on since but as soon as i open the hood i can still smell it it that area, by the intake side, upper corner

Well he has not even answered if the car leaks at all, if it is dripping trans fluid it would be noticed, so is it leaking? If the cats are clogged, the smoke has to go somewhere, but if it is just exhaust smoke it would not be white in color.

But if it is WHITE smoke, it would not be in my opinion an exhaust issue. Most likely a head gasket, or water jacket cracked. If it is a trans fluid leak, it would have to be a very nice leak to make smoke that dramatic as he states it was.

Step1=Gut your cats and see if that fixes anything
If step 1 fails then your engine probably junked out.

And to gut out a catalyc converter to eliminate a possible issue is ridiculous. If the cat is not the issue after one guts it, then the OP would have to purchase said cat since it was gutted and not the issue. So money saved theory is incorrect.

So tomorrow i will cut the cathalyst converter out, the bad one. Actually i was thinking to replaced it with a new universal one from advance auto parts but thats just another expense. So i'll just take it out on the passenger side and see if thats works. I hope it'll stop the white smoke.
I still don't know where the white smoke coming from because it's not from the cat. It's somewhere between the back of the engine and the wall itself that splits the engine compartment from the interrior. A small hole with an oval shape lets the smoke out thru there.

Why in the world would you cut a cat off if you have no idea if for one it is bad, and 2 you do not know which one is bad if it is. You answered your own remark with "the smoke is not coming from there". So your diagnostic skills are attempting to work by what you are stating.

I would think the CEL would have come on long before the cats were completely plugged up.

The OP still has not answered this key question.

Car overheated a week ago and I had to change broken belt, water pomp and idler pulley all at once. I completed the coolant reservoir (3 gallons in). Everything was alright until today.

OP states that a broken belt was a problem that he had to replace. Did it brake while driving, and how long before you noticed it, when white smoke happened? Did the CEL come on to alert you? What was the temp at time of noticing problems? And when you start this car adn let it run, what is the temps now when you drive it? Does it get hotter than normal after 5-10 minutes of driving? And have you checked your fans to see if they are kicking on when they are supposed to.

Have you checked your thermostat to make sure it is working properly by opening when supposed to. And have you checked to see if your waterpump is working the way it should? A water pump locking up could cause a belt to break. Also, have you ever put stop leak in the coolant system before? That alone causes long term problems, because it travels thru waterpump and sits in the bottom of it building up and hardening til it hits the propeller.

Car start shaking really bad when i was accelerating, it had no power at all to move and a white smoke came out from the back of the engine(not thru the pipes in the back).

Explain this further please as best as you can.

Furthermore, how have you yourself tried to locate this issue at hand? Have you physically gone under car to see with your own eyes WTF is going on. Checking for leaks, anything out of the ordinary, burnt wires, broken water hoses, seepage coming from the head gasket area, anything?

You will not find crap out if you do not get your hands and back dirty. I say this as I get the impression you have not done any of this yourself but listen to all of us throwing crap at you because of your vague answers and descriptions.
 
And to gut out a catalyc converter to eliminate a possible issue is ridiculous. If the cat is not the issue after one guts it, then the OP would have to purchase said cat since it was gutted and not the issue. So money saved theory is incorrect.
he said they were already bad, the saving money part is so he doesn't fukk up the new cat, by paying to have it installed just to trash it when he fills it with coolant
 
white smoke problem

To answer Bill, yes the belt broke driving. The battery drained and i had no steering and sure enough I changed the belt, I also replaced the water pomp with a new one and the idler pulley as well, I noticed it wasn't spinning. After all this the temperature was normal and the overheating problem stopped and the car was running good -except the cat on the passsanger side that was causing the loud noise and let smoke coming out thru it-

So few days after fixinf the overheating problem and replace those parts the car start loosing power and you said to explain this as best as I can. Well, while accelerating the car was shaking really bad, feeling that in my steering wheel the best. I was on my way home when that happen. At the light waiting for the green light to go it would take me forever to have it moving and cross the intersection. But as I kept trying to drive it so i can make it home the car just wouldnt go more than 60mph top. The shaking was present only when i was trying to accelerate at and dissapear otherwise. I didnt forced it to cause any other problems but if i was pressing the gas pedal all the way to the bottom the shaking was decreasing and car was catching a very little bit of speed.

The same night i also noticed the white smoke coming out under the hood.
Next day I looked under the car and besides the bad cat I havent noticed anything else like a broken hose, burned plastic or wire(s) or anything like that. Everything seemed to be fine. I cranked it on again to see where exactly the smoke coming out but I wasnt able to because it was thru a small hole between engine compartment and interrior/dash. So i couldnt get in there. However, when accelerating there is a noise right in that area ♯sssssssss... like air is loose or so, and here's another picture where I noticed that. It's not the intake tho, I checked that already, everything is tight and looks in place. And you asked me about the leak, yes there is an oil leak, not intense but is there. So today I'm going to take everything out again and look for anything abnormal. I decided to wait with the cat until I get this fixed first. In the mean time I'm gonna get some stop-leak and seal it temporary at least, and that is just in case since I'm really not planning to fix any head gasket issue or tranny if i ever have one. It;s just not worth it and I would rather go with another engine instead. But that is not my problem now. The white smoke i mentioned that sure its not my head gasket I need to figure it out before I change the cat. In the mean time I cant even think about driving the car now it wont drive more than 15,20mph unless i force it and that sure is not a good ideea

engine1.JPG
 
If it were me, I would not put any additive in the engine nor anywhere else as it can cause more problems, talking about the stop leak you just mentioned. If there was no power at acceleration, then I would look at the trans, what is the trans fluid level right now and have you added any lately? Also check the oil in the engine, is it milky in color? Is there any abnormal noise from the engine while running or when you tried to accelerate. And is there any codes coming from the display center? The leak you have can you tell if it is engine oil or trans fluid?
 
white smoke problem

I checked everything you said just now. All fluids are full, the trans and the oil. Coolant as well. And the leak on the driveway as it appears to me is oil. I had the oild changed 2 months ago, i drove it a lot this time too. And about the noise, i cranked it on and there is no weird noise, rpm is on normal. I left it on park and give it a little gas -it was shaking bad as soon as i was pressing the gas pedal and disapear as i was accelerating/pressing it down more. And everytime did the same.

oil_dip.jpg


trans_dip.jpg
 
white smoke problem

I forgot to mention, when giving gas, besides the bad shaking that is decreasing as i keep going down on the gas pedal, there is also the air lose noise on the left hand side of the intake, somewhere by the transmission dip stick is. I still cant figure it out what line or hose that is
 

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