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what the heck did my engine blow?

my98SVTturbo

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Jun 7, 2006
Messages
1,141
Location
Hampstead, Maryland
ok so i pull up to my drive way and park along the side of the street. and next thing i know i put in neutral to park it and put the ebrake up and next thing i know all of this thick whiteish/yellowish smoke comes boring out of the engine. also while i had the e-brake on the car still kept moving forward. i looked under the car and the headers look like they were dripping some kind of fluid. i just tried to strat mty car multiple times a few minutes ago....Nothing. no start. what the heck is going on with this thing?!?!?! im getting sick of all of its problems
 
hi buddy sounds like yur car over heated possibly, white smoke comming out of yur engine, maybe u had a water leak some where and it steamed out? Does yur car turn over, was the temputure gauge in the red? Sounds like headgaskets or burst hose there? Hope its nothin too serious :(
 
Can you be a bit more specific? Does the engine cranks but doesn't start or nothing happens when you turn the key? Any click or noises when you turn the key? Doe sthe battery have power? Have you tried putting the car is 5th and pushig to see if the engine is siezed?
 
well i also notuiced there was some oil dripping from under the car. when you turn the key the battery does come on so you can like use the windows and locks and stufff but it will not start. whats this thing about putting it in 5th?
 
if you replaced the starter than that wouldn't be broken, the flywheel could be damaged and that could be the cause but i greatly doubt it, also the waterpump could've broke and if i recall the temp guage does not go up at all if its broken
 
well i also notuiced there was some oil dripping from under the car. when you turn the key the battery does come on so you can like use the windows and locks and stufff but it will not start. whats this thing about putting it in 5th?

it's bump starting the car, if you turn the key to the ON position, push the car to about 5mph or so and then pop the clutch it will kick the motor over and SHOULD start it, but if it stops then the motor is seized.
 
well i also notuiced there was some oil dripping from under the car. when you turn the key the battery does come on so you can like use the windows and locks and stufff but it will not start. whats this thing about putting it in 5th?

again, dude, give a lot more detail. do you hear noise, feel anything, smell anything, what happens when you crank the key? also, what color is your antifreeze? the yellowish color could possibly have come from antifreeze coloring, which is added so kids don't drink it (although, if you ask me, that green stuff looks like really good kool-aid!)
 
You really have to be more specific in your descriptions here. your battery has power but does the motor turn over when you turn the key or what??
 
ok i herd grinding noises for like 2 minutes before i could get it shuttt off. also i smelled this horrible burning smell. tons of smoke poured out from under the hood whiteishyellowish. I put it in park but the car kept moving forward a litte when it was doing this(with no clutch engaged or gas). its dark outside right now but ill look at the antifreeze tomarow. its really bad beacuse i just got brand new cooling fans and sensors put in 3 days ago. any more information needed? i really dont wanna go this route but im thinking if all goes wrong im gonna sell the svt : ( and buy an SVT Focus instead if it has to come to it. i just dont get why now the whole car wont start ne more? im thinking theres gotta be majior electrical problems with it. the sad part is ...is ive bought this car since last june and have only put less the 800 miles on it and have replaced the clutch, entire power stearing assembly,cooling fans,hoses,starters,sensors.etc on it. i dont know anymore. ive put so far about $8,000 into it. It has 159,xxx miles on it as well. ne more ideas?

-Alex
 
Waterpump...

Waterpump...

Basic question, did it overheat or is gauge stuck hot? If so, your waterpump failed and you boiled out coolant from overflow tank. My car survived that for the previous owner and ran good for 5000 miles so far..It did start and run fine however. Try recharging the battery and see if it turns over (starter spins engine).
 
Jeeebus! You let the engine run like that for 2 minutes? That's a minimum of at least 1500 revolutions. Why didn't you shut it off as soon as you herd the baning?

Let me ask this again casue it's not too clear from you response. When you turn the key, does the starter turns over the engine or not? From what I understood it's not but want to make sure. Aslo, did you try putting into 5th and gently pushing it enough to turn the engie over? You know, to see if it's siezed.
 
witht his 5th gear thing. do I put the car in 5th gear and hold the clutch down while i have someone push it and try to start it in 5th while is going like 5mph?
 
witht his 5th gear thing. do I put the car in 5th gear and hold the clutch down while i have someone push it and try to start it in 5th while is going like 5mph?

you hold the clutch down until the car is moving. Then with the car in gear and ignition on, you let the clutch out.

It almost sounds like it could be the starter got stuck on or something.... If you heard grinding that could be the starter on the flywheel fighting the engine. Then it could've burned up the starter motor making a nasty electrical mess (including smoke). If you bought a cheap reman that could've crapped out on you, they're junk in my experience. Check your oil level and coloring. Notice if you have any strange smells. Do the same with the antifreeze. If you had the car in gear with the engine off (is this your definition of park??!) and the car kept creeping forward I would contribute it to the starter turning the flywheel.

Good Luck
 
Yes that could easily be the case, why didn’t I think of this before. The bendix (the gear part) in the starter is stuck on the out position. So it’s always engaged with the flywheel. When the engine started the starter gear (Bendix) didn’t retract and just kept on spinning with the engine. Unfortunately the starter is not designed to spin that fast and it probably fried it.


I was not referring to bump starting the car but to just simply see if the engine is seized or not. However you can bump star it, just as it’s described above.
 
ok it was the re-man ford starter in which was the problem. put a new 1 in and it is fine. one question though. i havent noticed it yet since i got the car back today but before i got all this fixed i had a real bad ticking feeling in the clutch pedal and the only way it would go away is if youd put the pedal all way to the floor and if you lifted it like a CM it would start ticking really fast. any ideas on what could cause that?
 
$ 8,000 for a ford contour?

$ 8,000 for a ford contour?

Holy cow guy, someone ought to confiscate your checkbook and credit card.

Nice cars, but not worth that kinda cash, toss in a few more $$ and you coulda had a new car.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
 
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