Smoking, leaking oil, sluggish

[JRsStevia126]

I have a 1990 Ford Festiva L-Plus (manual transmission).

Here's a little back ground....
When I got her in September 05, she leaked oil (about 1 quart every 300 miles), idled around 400, and smoked very little. She's getting about 45 mpg.

She has 165K on her now, she is now blowing smoke (white) from the tail pipe. This started Wednesday, she was only blowing smoke after idling at a stop light for a little while then it would stop. Now she is blowing smoke all the time and has no power when driving. Spark plug number 4 is suspected not firing. She is idling around 600 now. She is not leaking any more oil then before.

We changed the spark plugs, wires, and cap. What else can we do? Is she savable?? I read on the boards that replacing the PCV might help.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Thanks!!

[Kindred]

White smoke is indicative of water getting into the combustion chamber if I remember correctly. Does the smoke have a sweet smell to it?

[gomer]

You've got coolant entering the cylinders ,,, check your oil , I suspect it looks "creamy" ,, time to pull the head. You have either a cracked or warped head or a bad head gasket.. lucky for you changing a head gasket on this car is simple.. just make sure to buy the gasket kit with new head bolts... they are stretch to torque and shouldn't be re-used... and have the head planed even if it looks good to you..

[gdawgs]

just make sure to buy the gasket kit with new head bolts... they are stretch to torque and shouldn't be re-used... and have the head planed even if it looks good to you..

Where did you learn this? The Haynes manual says nothing about it. I've never had to replace a Festiva head gasket, but everyone who comes to this site asking about it says they cannot find new head bolts anywhere. Everyone just reuses the old ones. Since the book doesn't mention that the bolts are "torque to yield" and you can't buy new ones, I would assume they are not torque to yield and can be reused. Please let us know if you have read otherwise.

[JRsStevia126]

Thanks for your replies. The smoke smells like gas, not sweet. We changed the oil just a minute ago and it does not look creamy or milky. If we can't figure it out today, it will go in the shop tomorrow.

When changing the oil, we noticed that it is losing oil much faster now. Could there be an oil leak somewhere that is causing the white smoke? It is mostly smoking right at start up or if it sits for a while.

[darkdan]

Blue smoke is oil burning.

White smoke could also (rarely) be unburnt fuel too. Happens on diesels, not sure about gas engines.

[studdyhalllooser]

if its burning oil after start up or during idle id say you have a (if not a couple) valve seals gone bad....i have a bad seal that lets oil into the cylinder when it sits...crank it up and let the seal warm up and it doesnt leak....auto-rx may help ya

[FB71]

ok, let's end the speculation. OEM service publications do NOT state the head bolts being TTY.

HEAD BOLTS ARE REUSABLE, PROVIDED THE ENGINE WAS NOT GROSSLY OVERHEATED

[Tim]

ok, let's end the speculation. OEM service publications do NOT state the head bolts being TTY.

HEAD BOLTS ARE REUSABLE, PROVIDED THE ENGINE WAS NOT GROSSLY OVERHEATED

Thank you, Jim.

[Sandm849]

Yup gotta go with Jim on this one. When I did my head gasket on my festiva I took a quick look at the ford service manual just to make sure they weren't torque to yield, and sure enough they weren't. Good luck with your car.