Car running slow and smoking from exhaust?

Question

my daughters car, which is a 96 Mustang. was having problems with wanting to run slow and not pick up speed so we just had the transmission serviced and was fine for a couple of days. Now it is doing the same thing and smoking from the exhaust. Any ideas what we can check for?

ok, some of you asked for added details so here they are. The car is automatic transmission, has about 142,000 miles on it. It is a 4 cylinder and the original motor. We have owned the car for over 1 year with no major problems and we keep it serviced.
No there is nothing that I am hiding, the only thing that was done recently was transmission fluid and filter was changed and we did this because my daugther said she was driving and said that it would just not pick up speed, but nothin else wrong.
Then after we had the transmission fluid and filter changed and a new seprentine belt put on a copule of days ago, it just today started the slow running again and this time smoking (it was not smoking before). My daughter says it was a "white" smoke.

I have unhooked the battery as already suggested, please let me know if any other suggested areas we might check.THANKS!

Oh when oil changed about two weeks ago we were told that the main rear seal might be leaking, but we have kept a watch on the oil level and it has remained good.

Answer 1

when they serviced your transmission, they reset your cars computer.. making it forget the perfect tuning for your car.. but as time went on (again) one of your sensors was sending out a false reading.. (most likely oxygen) this made your cars computer adjust to a false situation. this makes your car Run horrible..

unplug your cars battery for a full nights sleep.. and if it doesnt smoke in the morning.. but then smokes perhaps.. in the week.. then i am correct, and you should have a dealer or repair shop do a scan for any "funny" readings.

Answer 2

Okay, I'm stumped. But I can help a little. There are people here who can provide you with some help, I'm sure, but you will need to provide a bunch more info.

How many miles are on the motor? Not the car, the motor. This is relevant if the motor has been replaced or rebuilt.

What motor is in the car? 4-cylinder, V-6, V-8?

What transmission is in the car, and is it manual or automatic?

Why did you have the transmission serviced for a problem concerning poor engine performance? This is very odd, and leads me to believe you are accidentally omitting some helpful info.

What color is the exhaust emission you are referring to?

What transmission, "service", did you receive? Did they just change fluid and filter? You must be speaking about an automatic.

Here is why I'm stumped. There are conceivably some problems that can occur in the transmission, that will cause the transmission to not turn freely. This makes the motor work extra hard to turn the rear wheels. You will tax the motor in a way that will cause it to get hot. Hot engines blow head-gaskets, and break piston rings; and both of these conditions will result in visible exhaust emissions.

However, this problem is more, "chronic", than it is, "acute". Not the sort of thing that would just start all of a sudden.

Furthermore, a bad torque converter, or other tranny related trouble is easy to spot and no place would service your tranny and just send you down the road. The liability ramifications are staggering.

I take it that the, "smoke", you're referring to was absolutely, in no way whatsoever, present prior to having the tranny serviced, right?

Do you see where I'm going? If the tranny is bound up, (For one of hundreds of reasons I can't get into here.) then the timing of the appearance of this smoke is just coincedence. But if the smoking started right after the service, it just doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

I'm inclined to believe there is something you are reluctant to tell us.

I'm really stumped. Good luck with this. I'll check back periodically to see what the Ford people say. Incidentally, that is not a very reliable car. I'd go as far as to say junk, but people are pretty fond of their 'Stangs, and I don't want to anger you. But after the 100K mark you will have nothing but problems with that car.

This is an amendment after reading Jim G's post. You are really onto something there my man. Don't know why I didn't think of that. You'll have to admit though, you can't say for sure, nor does it account for the lack of visible exhaust emission prior to the tranny service. I'll bet you're right though. I knew one of you Ford folks would know of a, "known issue", on that little turd.

Answer 3

what color is the smoke? If it is black, then you have unburned fuel in the exhaust sytem which will clog the catalytic converter causing poor performance and lack of power. But there needs to be a reason for the unburned fuel, so just replacing the cat will not be a long term solution. Find the cause and replace the cat if necessary.
good luck....

Answer 4

Pop the bonnet and check the coolent.See if its got oil in it.also check the oil to see if it has water in it.If it has oil in the water it will be sludgey and have a film left every where,and if you have water in your oil it will be a caremal to white colour and be thick.not clear golden.Also pull out the plugs to see if there are signs of water on the plugs,they will have a rusty colour,very noticable.If this is the case then you will have to replace the head gasket.I can almost guarentee this is your problem.99.9% sure....It is a 2 day job maybe 3 depending on experience and costs around 300 bucks.I hope this helps

Answer 5

if the smoke is white, first off, check the coolant level. if that is low also, you have one of three things if not a combination. you can have a cracked head, a cracked block or a blown head gasket.