loud pop and then smoke from ford escort

[zanwan]

Dear all

I was driving on the motorway this morning when my car made a loud popping noise which came from the back of the car. I then noticed a lot of smoke coming from the back of the car. I pulled over, and the exhaust seemed to be giving of a bit more smoke then usual! The car has been burning oil for the past few months as i have to top up every few weeks with about a litre.

Its a 1995 ford escort, done about 130k

Does anyone know what it could be?

 

[Burnerman]

If the car still runs, is it misfiring - i.e running on 3 cylinders instead of 4?
Could be dropped valve / piston issues here.
John

 

[zanwan]

I pulled over on the motorway when this happened, and the car seemed fine although there was a bit of smoke, i could smell burning from the smoke that was coming out.

I got back on the motroway for about 200 yards and the car seemed to accelerate fine, no judderig/shaking which happened when i had the misfiring problem in the past.

I've spoken to couple of car enthusiasts at work and they are saying it sounds like the head gasket may have gone although they say its unual as that would disable the car.

 

[Burnerman]

It would certainly shoot all of your coolant out mate, so best check that asap.....maybe it was steam you saw, rather than smoke?
Be lucky!
John

 

[zanwan]

Hi

Called the RAC out, they had a look and found that the radiator pipe, between rad and coolant tank had split, as it had frozen, and all the coolant was leaking out! So that was the popping noise i heard! I got a new pipe/hose fitted, and the coolant seems fine now....however

i am still getting a bit of "steam" coming out from under the bonnet when i stop at lights! Does anyone know what could be the cause of this?

 

[wotan]

There could be water still lodged in the recesses of the engine, just keep a check on the water level, it should stop in a few days.

Wotan

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

He knows its only a matter of time:

 

[zanwan]

Hi all

Today i was driving for about 10 minutes and i noticed the heating wasnt coming on, and steam was coming from the bonnet, the engine was overheating.

I pulled over, and had a look under the bonnet and noticed the engine coolant wss bubbling away like crazy. However it didnt appear to be leaving the coolant tank. So i pushed and moved some of the pipes attached to the coolant tank and suddenly the coolant emptied from the tank. I assumed it must be leaking so had a look under the car but nothing was dripping down.

Then took another look at the coolant tank and some coolant was spitting back into the tank from the "return" pipe (i'm assuming thats what it is.) i left the engine running for about 5 mins however there wasnt much coolant coming back into the tank, it didnt even get to the "minimum" level.

Does anyone know what the problem is here and if i should put more coolant in?

 

[andyandy2]

Sounds like you had an air lock in the system, check the coolant level with engine cold and top up with an anti freeze mix.

It can be helpful to squeeze the radiator hoses, with the cap off the expansion bottle to see if you release any more trapped air. when you are satisfied coolant level is not dropping anymore, run the engine and check for leaks