Car troubles

[Bj]

I was getting ready to go when I turned the corner and the car started vibrating and piling out smoke. The check engine light came on. Well, so I live on a loop so I figured instead of trying to get into reverse and turning around to get back I would circle around. So I did this, then I found some idiot was cleaning the road. (you know those guys, the ones that have the brushes under the trucks sweeping the road) and he was going possibly 2 miles a hour. Well I found out around courners, that if my car had low rpm and it was in neutral that it would vibrate the most. So I tried keeping it high but to do that, you need accellerate, and I couldnt do that with that idiot infront of me. He must be blind because I was like behind him with a hudge cloud of smoke behind me. While I was throwing it in reverse reving the engine up, then throwing it in drive and going forward untill I was on the guys bumper and repeating the process again and again.........

:suicide:​

So when I finally get around the loop, keep in mind the loop is only 1/4 mile long for 1 trip around, and I was less than 200 feet from my house when I got behind this truck, all you could see of me was this little silver car, in the middle of this hudge cloud comming down the road.

:rofl:​

After all that I did get around safely. I am not sure, but I might have emptied half my gas tank on that loop. I think a cylinder might be missing or firing off, or not firing at all. All I see is a hudge bill.....

​

 

[Urwumpe]

Yes, it sounds like you lost one or two cylinders. But don't worry about the size of the bill. If you really had a "Kolbenfresser" (like we say in Germany/translates to "Piston seizure", but sounds more dangerous in German, as a "Fresser" is a monstrous entity which eats things.), you can calculate with a new car - it could be caused by a valve failure, which means that the whole engine is now junk.

Better hope for a failure spark ignitor. These don't happen instantly, but can also cause smoke and loss of power. Thats only slightly less expensive to have.

 

[Bj]

it could be caused by a valve failure, which means that the whole engine is now junk.

I hope not...

:lol:

 

[Tex]

If I look back and see smoke coming out of my car I immedatly pull over, check all the gauges just before turning the car off to look under the hood for any obvious signs of trouble such as busted radiator hose, oil or any other fluids leaking from under the car. The worst thing in most cases you can do when your car is smoking is to continue driving. Minimize permanent damage by pulling over immedatly to find the problem. Over heating or running all the oil out of the engine are probably the two worst things you can do to it and both can cause alot of smoke.

 

[Bj]

If I look back and see smoke coming out of my car I immedatly pull over, check all the gauges just before turning the car off to look under the hood for any obvious signs of trouble such as busted radiator hose, oil or any other fluids leaking from under the car. The worst thing in most cases you can do when your car is smoking is to continue driving. Minimize permanent damage by pulling over immedatly to find the problem. Over heating or running all the oil out of the engine are probably the two worst things you can do to it and both can cause alot of smoke.

Well I probabliy should have, but the smokes comming out of the exhaust pipe and when I came around and parked, there was nothing visibibly wrong, or any leaking.

And it was actually worse to have the car parked and idling than to be running. So thats why my first instincts were to get the engine off.

 

[Urwumpe]

What was the color of the smoke BTW?

 

[Bj]

What was the color of the smoke BTW?

white

 

[Urwumpe]

white

Clear white or dirty white?

Clear white smoke is usually an indicator for water steam in the exhaust, dirty white smoke for improper combustion or a fire in the engine.

Blueish smoke is a sign for oil in the exhaust.

Red smoke is a sign you refueled with rocket fuel.

 

[computerex]

If a car that I am sitting starts throwing smoke...The first thing I would do is get as far away from the car as possible

 

[Tex]

Red smoke is a sign you refueled with rocket fuel.

:lol::lol:

 

[Bj]

Clear white or dirty white?

Clear white smoke is usually an indicator for water steam in the exhaust, dirty white smoke for improper combustion or a fire in the engine.

Blueish smoke is a sign for oil in the exhaust.
Red smoke is a sign you refueled with rocket fuel.

actually red, :rofl:


no really it is is dirty white

 

[Urwumpe]

Well, I have heard, Rice Burners are cheap this season...

 

[simonpro]

Sounds to me like one of the injectors has gone. By the way, when you used a higher amount of RPM the car was probably vibrating just as much, but the speed increased to the point where you didn't notice so much.
As has been said, the last thing you should ever ever do with a car engine that is vibrating/smoking is to keep the thing running.

I did that to a car after driving it through a river in Kenya, the engine filled with water and revving the thing just ruined the entire block. The sensible thing is always to stop immediately and call a mechanic, although I suspect that advice is probably a little too late for your engine now.

 

[Bj]

Sounds to me like one of the injectors has gone. By the way, when you used a higher amount of RPM the car was probably vibrating just as much, but the speed increased to the point where you didn't notice so much.

After calling the mechanics shop, they said like you said, the injector was gone or was not firing or something, but later I turned the car on, and it had a little vibrations starting but since it was cold, the cold start injector was giving it more rpm (around 2.8k-2.5k, somewhere in there) and it wasnot vibrating, or as much. Soon as it warmed up then it went down to like .5k and started chugging. Then I turned it off.
So I told the mechanics about it and they said, "yep, just drive her down and we'll take a look at it."

BTW, it is ~120 miles away.

I asked wont it kill it, they said to just keep above 1k rmp and I would be fine. :huh:
I am not sure but I still think it would kill it...

so instead I think Ill drive it down to the local shop and have them fix it up. unfortunatly it wouldnt be covered under insurance, but still better than driving a hundred miles.

As has been said, the last thing you should ever ever do with a car engine that is vibrating/smoking is to keep the thing running.

Thanks for the advice, luckally this time it didnt matter as much.

I think why I didnt just stop to start with was because I am use to our old car. It almost literally broke down every 10 miles. We drove almost 300 miles with the check engine light on, and airbag light on... :dry:
Every time, the mechanics would hook up the computer to the cars computer, they would say computer error. Absolutly nothing wrong with the car. except that it was stupid...

if you are wondering, we got a new car since then...

 

[NukeET]

Good news!

At least the engine is still repairable.

Came close twice to losing the entire engine. Just shut the engine down when the timing chain broke...and just the chain.

 

[Bj]

Well, I drove it to the store which wasn't all that bad of a drive, it just took 3 blocks to get to 20 mph

but the mechanics inspected it and found that a coil is fried, meaning one piston wasn't firing. So its not so bad, and even better, the insurance will cover it up to a $100 deductible, which isn't as bad as you can get...