Well, I had my car in for service - oil change and check up 3 days ago. No driving from them to now when I went to the store and it began pausing like spitting and spurting. I stopped right away and checked the oil, which barely showed on the dip stick, so added 1, checked level, still the same and so added a 2nd. Still the same, just a bit on the end of dip stick. But the oil light was not on. I noted there were 2 wet spots under my car on the garage floor to begin with. Hoped just condensation. The ‘spitting and spirting’ stopped and I continued to my destination about 15 kms away. Then it began again. I noticed the temp gage was already at the half way point and then suddenly when giving gas, white smoke began to come out of the tail pipe. So I coasted as far as possible since in the middle of nowhere without giving gas, but the oil light came on and the car instantly shut itself off. (a safety feature). What the heck is happening? I flagged a ride and of course had it towed all the way back to the mechanic who did the service 4 days ago. Help?
How many miles on what kind of car, what year?
White smoke = water
Blue smoke = oil
Black smoke = Fuel- Too much
Year, make, milage would help a whole lot.
You checked the engine oil dip stick & oil was barely showing.
Then you added 2 quarts & no change on the dipstick??
Could it have been the transmission dipstick that you were looking at & now the engine is overfilled with oil?
As mentioned what are you driving?
Thanks for replying. The car is a 98 Mercury Mystique with 183,000 kms on it.
Karen
What automatic safety shut-off feature are you talking about.
Why did a “spitting and spurting” engine give you the idea to check the oil?
I too, think you were looking at the wrong dipstick.
Sorry, but this car has too many KM on it to allow it to be repaired. These cars were not very good to begin with and it will be easier to just replace it even if the damage is under $2000 to fix.
With a white cloud exhaust, engine coolant has gotten into the engine cylinders where it has been vaporized…causing the white smoke. The usual route into the engine cylinders is through a cylinder head gasket which has deteriorated, cracked, etc. Some times, it’s a metal crack in the cylinder head, or engine block. Your mechanic can find out what happened. You’ll have to wait for his report.
Well I would not put too much money into this car, but I would not write it off. The OP should pay to have it checked and to get an estimate before giving up.