1997 Ford Taurus White smoke but no overheat.

SHADOWEDSIDHE

MEMBER
1997 FORD TAURUS
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
160,000 MILES

I picked up the car from the shop where it got new spark plugs and wires to fix a bad misfire. On the way home from the shop it drove fine. My boyfriend added coolant before we got in the car to go somewhere and now it's shaking badly and billowing white smoke from the tailpipe and engine. I didn't drive it more than 2 miles tops.

There's no sign of coolant in the oil and the car has yet to overheat. A friend says it could just be an overfilled coolant tank, but I'm dreading the possibility of a blown head gasket. What can I expect?

3 Replies

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,708 POSTS

White smoke from the exhaust indicates coolant getting into the combustion chamber (head gasket). Is the coolant level droping?

Let me know.
Joe

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Thursday, November 4th, 2010 AT 7:09 AM

SHADOWEDSIDHE

MEMBER
1 POST

The coolant level had been dipping for about a month but it had been a very slow leak, the car hadn't over heated and I couldn't see where the leak was coming from. The car started idling very rough and misfiring at low RPMs a day or two before I took it in.

Now I'm just wondering why a blown head gasket wasn't caught at the shop before I paid for the new spark plugs. I told the mechanic that I'd been loosing coolant in addition to the rough idle. Is that kind of thing easy to miss?