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Sigh,
Well screw the vacuum leak boys and girls. Much bigger problems have popped up with Inga (86 245DL 150K+).
On the way home tonight as I dropped out of warp drive (80+ mph) to the Beltway 8 Toll
Booth Inga did something bad. The Engine died on the way up the booth and white smoke went everwhere. This was a serious cloud of smoke. Tried to start it, no start, but lots more white smoke. The guy behind me said it happened when I started to slow down. Since I had him trapped at the booth he made a pretty good witness and had to help push it out of the way. (If you push a car through the booth you still have to pay the toll by the way).
The odor of gas was everywhere and it was dripping out of the tailpipe. The oil is clean and there is plenty of it. I did not try to start it after that for fear of the big bang and called for the hook. Towed it to a shop near my house which was of course closed. Tried to crank it there, but no luck.
Houston Tow Truck drivers are a pretty sleasy bunch by the way. Started out at $85.00 when he connected. Tried to jack up the price to $125 when he got to the stop. Extra counties in the tow according to him. I explained to him there was a reason it was called the Harris County Tollway and I would be glad to let a Pasadena Cop work this out. Then the price dropped, he grabbed the $70 cash in my hand and hauled butt.
Enough about my big adventure, what broke, the timing belt, fuel pressure regulator, or something worse?
As always, thanks in advance for your ideas and help.
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Same gig happened to me a couple of years ago on I-91 Hartford CT around midnight. Local PD NOT helpful. Cruised by several times but didn`t bother to stop.
You got off easy with a $70 tow charge although how far away from the cars destination were you? Costed me $125 to go approx. 18 miles.
Anyway it was the FPR. I had it towed to a shop I patronized until they closed down. They had to put in new plugs and changed the oil and filter.
I still don`t have AAA.
JS `86 245 208k Living dangerously in Central CT
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It was the FPR.
I was towed about 25 miles. I had a police officer with me until the tow arrived belive it or not. The local car dealers fund something called MAP (Motorist Assist Program). Since I broke down right outside the toll plaza, they were right there. They help change flats, wave off cars that wonder over to close and call the crooked tow truck drivers. Pretty good program. I would like to avoid using them as much as possible.
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Like Art said, Fuel pressure regulator. I would bet money on this. Same thing happened to me, but I was at a gas station checking my tire pressure, the engine running ofcourse. Gas in the tail pipe. White smoke everywhere.
One more thing, be prepared to replace the o2 sensor. Mime got burnt after the gas went through it. Oh also change the oil.
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White smoke or steam? Did you overheat?
--
David Hunter
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posted by
someone claiming to be hillbilly
on
Tue Feb 18 02:07 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
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May be the head gasket. If everything else checks out run a compression test.
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My first thought: I agree with Art -- bad fuel pressure regulator.
Try this quick diagnostic.
245? Lift the rear seat and unplug the power lead to the main pump. This kills fuel delivery to the engine.
Dry off the plugs and try to start it again.
If the FPR is causing this, the engine should chug, pop, and fart a bit as it clears the raw fuel from the intake system. It won't start, but should give the impression of trying to.
Inspect a plug again -- should be dry.
--------------------
If it turns out that the FPR is truly bad, consider changing your oil and filter. The crankcase is probably loaded with fuel. This reduces the viscosity and lubricating properties of the oil, and the fumes are an explosion hazard.
--
Don Foster (near Cape Cod, MA)
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My first thought is the diaphragm in the fuel pressure regulator. I don't believe that much fuel could move through the injectors even if the transistor shorted and they were on constantly. OK, it is just a thought, no experience of mine.
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Art Benstein near Baltimore
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posted by
someone claiming to be Dharvey
on
Mon Feb 17 16:34 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
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"Houston Tow Truck drivers are a pretty sleasy bunch by the way. Started out at $85.00 when he connected. Tried to jack up the price to $125 when he got to the stop. Extra counties in the tow according to him. I explained to him there was a reason it was called the Harris County Tollway and I would be glad to let a Pasadena Cop work this out. Then the price dropped, he grabbed the $70 cash in my hand and hauled butt."
Every 240 should come with a AAA membership (or some other motor club that includes emergency towing). The tow is a built-in risk of ownership when you're driving a 15-20-year-old car. I've driven, oh let's say lots of, miles in six Volvos. Considering the mileage, I still say they're very dependable. Buuuut...there have been those times the thing just croaked on the interstate. AAA sure was good to have--both not to get ripped off, and because they seem to screen out the bozos. No one has ever torn up my car while towing it.
Good luck.
Doug Harvey
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Timing belt not shredded??
dick
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Please let it be the timing belt,
Know at first light in the morning.
Thanks!
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posted by
someone claiming to be Dharvey
on
Mon Feb 17 18:19 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
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Can just about guarantee it isn't the timing belt. In a non-interference engine, belt failure doesn't affect any other engine components. The engine simply won't run. Happened to me.
Art Benstein sounds right on--check the fuel pressure regulator.
Good luck.
Doug Harvey
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posted by
someone claiming to be Manolo
on
Mon Feb 17 15:26 CST 2003 [ RELATED]
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It's hard to make a serious cloud of white smoke (steam, yes, but not smoke).
Blue to blue/white smoke is oil. Broken piston or cracked cylinder wall are the most likely culprits. That, however, would not cause much gasoline odor, nor would gasoline drip out of the exhaust pipe.
Black smoke is partially-burned fuel. Major fuel injector failure could cause a black cloud and lots of gas smell.
A white cloud probably water vapor, but could be gasoline vapor or brake fluid burning. I would be impressed if you could put enough fuel through a broken injector to cause a big cloud of gasoline vapor. I have seen a vacuum assist fill up with brake fluid and fail, creating a smoke cloud that would make the Blue Angles blush every time the brake is applied.
1) Check coolant level - did you loose some?
2) Check brake fluid level - same question
3) Remove fuel injectors. If you were spraying enough fuel to make a cloud, the problem should be visible.
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Does the rotor turn when you crank it?
So, like, there are no holes in the side of the block? (sorry had to ask)
--
http://www.fidalgo.net/~brook4/oilslubesfilters.html
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Yes it turns, quite well actually, and no holes, no leaks, no fluids dripping where they should not be expect a few drips of gas out the tail pipe right after the great puff. It was white smoke to my eyes. But maybe I was rattled.
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If distributor rotor turns it's not the timing belt.
Something is drving water or excess fuel or oil into a cylinder or four.
You say fuel is dripping? Smells like fuel? FPR....
--
http://www.fidalgo.net/~brook4/oilslubesfilters.html
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Depending where the light was, or where the sun was, you could see smoke as white or black. It kind of depends.
Pull the plugs. All wet? Then it's a system-wide problem (such as a fuel pressure regulator failure). Or is the problem isolated to one cylinder?
--
chris herbst, near chicago
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Pulled two and they were wet.
If you popped a timing belt at say coasting down from say 85 or 90 mph, could that cause the massive gas smell?
To dark where it is parked to get the cover off the timing belt to look.
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Theoretically it shouldn't, because the hall effect sensor would spin down when the belt stopped turning the intermediate shaft.
Unless somehow the injectors got stuck open and were just dumping raw fuel into the engine. It could happen, but I'd be surprised if it happened to several at the same time (unless it was an electrical problem). Did you check the fuel pressure regulator hose to see if the diaphragm broke inside of the regulator?
The white smoke was probably gasoline since you said it's raw gas dumping out the pipe. Maybe the spark stopped when you let off the gas--for whatever reason--and the injectors kept sending raw fuel into the hot combustion chambers until the engine speed slowed down enough for you to know that it was dying. That would explain the huge cloud of smoke, as the hot catalytic converter would ignite some of that fuel. You might want to investigate a no-spark problem. Still, check the timing and whether the timing belt is intact.
--
chris herbst, near chicago
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