Ok so basically, driving it around at 50ish mph or less and my car is fine but once I reach I-95 no problems yet. After about 10 miles at Interstate speed (on my way to work), I happen to notice an odd sound coming from my engine. It almost sounded like as though an airline plane was starting up. I checked for any warning lights going off; nothing. After about a mile I happen to smell something odd coming from my air vents (I don’t have ac so I have my windows down) and then I started seeing a lot of white smoke coming from my air vents and the hood. Freaking out like a bat out of Hades, I immediately pulled over, shortly thereafter a heavy amount of white smoke was coming out even more from the air vents and from the hood so I pulled open the hood to let it escape and left the doors away from the interstate open. I saw smoke coming from the engine coolant top or whatever it’s called and it was coming out so fast and hard it was like making a whistling noise almost. I also saw white smoke coming from almost near the engine towards the back. However, whenever I am on a normal road going 55 or less it’s fine. Does anyone know what would be the cause for this or why it would be doing it?! Is there a fix for this?! I gotta get this problem fixed before I have to go back to work on Thursday.
Edit: My grandfather says it has something to do with the cooling system or coolant or whatever it was. He doesn’t know what would cause the problem or how to fix it; anyone have information to enlighten us with?!
There’s not enough known to be able to offer much advice. The noise you heard (airplane engine sound) could have been detonation due to a severely overheating engine.
The smoke and whistling could have been a cooling system pressure cap releasing due to overheating which could be caused by low coolant, stuck thermostat, inoperative cooling fan, etc, etc, etc.
The smoke from the back of the engine could be coming from a coolant leak at a heater hose. With some Fords in this era and depending upon the engine, the EGR valve is mounted on a plate next to the throttle body and engine coolant circulates around it. Sometimes the gaskets give up and coolant is either puked out externally or into the intake tract. If the latter occurs this leads to some white smoke out of the tailpipe. If the tailpipe is not coughing up smoke then the EGR plate is not the problem.
Engine is overheating, when the engine is cold replace the thermostat.Steam inside the car is from heater core leak, You’ll need to by-pass it by cutting the hoses going to it and connecting them together w/a plastic tube and a couple hose clamps.Refill system and run it till it’s warm,does the fan run when it gets hot?(or is it non-electric) If it has a belt driven fan and it still overheats,especially on the hgwy(because on hgwy air is forced through radiator,doesn’t rely on fan)The radiator is plugged.
Why are you asking us, you are obviously not going to fix this yourself. You need a hands on mechanic, please find an independent mechanic. Look in the mechanics files here, or ask a friend or co-worker. Please don’t go to a national chain. People who don’t know much about cars seem to be more trusting of them because they recognize the name but most who go there get sold things they don’t need or get bungled or misdiagnosed repairs.
The “Smoke” you saw was steam and vapor from the boiling antifreeze…Have the cooling system pressure-tested to find any leaks…If steam came out of the heater / defroster vents, then the heater core is surely leaking and will have to be replaced or by-passed…(no more heater)…This is a 26 year old car so repairs can quickly snowball out of control…