2005 Lincoln LS Smoke in vents/engine well

WINFORDDJ

MEMBER
2005 LINCOLN LS
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
51,000 MILES

I was driving my mother in laws Lincoln LS to get a tire patched, it had been sitting for about 16 days, she had just had the oil changed before she left, its gone about 50 miles since then. When I drove the car, about 5 tenths of a mile, I noticed a strong smell more so like rubber than oil, and smoke coming through the vents. I opened the hood and there was a fair amount of smoke coming from down near the AC compressor area of the engine well. I checked the oil level and it looked fine, and there are no signs of overheating though the coolant in the reserve well is slightly low. There was no check engine light on. I drove it home and noticed the smell again, slightly less strong this time, but did not see any smoke. Could it just be oil burn off from sitting still for 2 and a half weeks?

3 Replies

JAMES W.

MECHANIC
2,394 POSTS

It could just oil burn off from a sloppy oil change, but from your description, I would take a look at the AC compressor clutch or clutch idler bearing. Did you notice if the belt was hot to the touch? It may be the AC compressor itself going bad. Just giving you a couple of things to check. Please advise. You may have a belt problem if AC froze up momentarily belt would slip a burn. Oil may have gotten on belt Check out belt to see if there is any damage done. Run AC observe compressor to see if it is turning.

Could it be power steering fluid it is above also maybe coolant I think top hose is on that side?

Let me know
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Monday, January 12th, 2009 AT 3:16 PM

WINFORDDJ

MEMBER
4 POSTS

Alright, I ran the compressor on both the AC and the heater settings. I could not re-create the smoke coming through the vents, but I did verify that the compressor is indeed turning. The belt looks good, no visible damage to it. The smoke is a little further back in the well, towards the open gap where you can see straight through to the back of the compressor. There is still smoke being created, its more white smoke than blue like you get with oil burn off, and it doesn't smell as low and sweet as oil burn off does, but rather higher and sharper like rubber.

On a side note, I have worked on several different years makes and models, and nothing, I mean nothing seems as bad as a Lincoln!

So my girlfriend just called me to let me know that the car is under warranty and that all of this can be solved by taking it to the dealership. A nice little tidbit that would have been useful several hours ago.

But thank you as always for the help, you guys rock. I will post what they determine to be the cause just so you guys can file that away for future reference.

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Monday, January 12th, 2009 AT 3:44 PM

JAMES W.