hello
i dont get to post to often. but i need help with a 1988 Ranger, 4WD auto 2.9 lt. v-6. My daughter drives this truck daily. She told me it was smoking real bad. I checked it out and found it smoking out the oil filler cap. I parked it and have been told everything from rings to timing is the problem. any suggestions as to where to start? thanks


1989 Ranger
1988 Ranger
1967 f-100

 

IF YOUR RINGS ARE BAD IT WOULD BE LETTING OIL INTO THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER AND THE SMOKE WOULD BE OUT THE EXHAUST.

YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO HEAR BAD TIMING- ROUGH RUNNING ENGINE.

I WOULD START WITH THE SIMPLE THINGS- WHEN WAS THE OIL CHANGED LAST, IS YOUR DAUGHTER A HARD DRIVER, IS THE OIL LEVEL LOW?

ANY OF THESE COULD CAUSE YOUR OIL TO BREAK DOWN AND LOSE IT'S EFFECTIVENESS, WHICH WOULD CAUSE IT TO DEVELOP EXCESS HEAT IN THE MOTOR.

ALSO, HOW BAD DOES IT SMOKE?

-afking

 

thanks for the reply. the oil was changed just prior to the smoke problem. my daughter is not a hard driver, she drives to work and back about 15 miles round trip and occasional trip to the store. the smoke is major, (comming out the top of the motor) to say the least. the engine has a very minor "miss" when it is running. runs good on the road.

 

A couple of thoughts relative to the condition of the oil and the rings...

First, smoke from the oil fill location could be caused by severe blow-by. The blow-by results from bad compression sealing, in turned caused by worn/scored cylinder walls and/or worh/stuck piston rings. One cylinder could caused the problem, and may not be felt all that much in the perfrmance of the engine. A compression check of all the cylinders would pin-point the culprit if this is the case. Keep in mind that, for an accurate check, all plugs have to be removed, and the throttle should be fully open. A single bad cylinder can be caused by running for a long time with a fouled plug and getting gas washing in the one cylinder.

Another possibility is that what looks like smoke is water vapor. A small gasket leak may be admitting coolant into the crankcase, where the temperatures are high enough to vaporize it. A whitish/grayish/slash brownis residue with a hint of yellow on the inside of the oil filler cap would suggest this option.

Still another possibility is that in the past the oil changes were not attended to, and that sludge has built up under the valve covers. Without the oil washing the head around the valve guides, etc, these areas would get a lot hotter than normal and could cause smoke, even with an oil change.

Good luck.

 

Take a look at the PCV valve and the hose to the intake if it is bad or stoped up it will cause it to smock like you said .I hope this is it,alote cheeper to fix. GOOD LUCK!!
Also there is a vent and hose on the other vave cover that goes to the bottom of the throttle body ,check it too.