Help! NOT RUNNING RIGHT!

[hot-rauder]

My 2003 MM is smoking on start up. its worse after i have driven it harder than normal. the dealership had originally put in non-synthetic oil and i had them change it back. are my valve seals blown? also when backing up a hill it revs really low and seems as if it will stall... would this be from the valve seals?

finally when under full throttle and letting off when the redline hits( just giving it a burst) from second to third there is a high pitch squeal. no idea why but any ideas will help. thanks guys.

btw my car is still under warranty from the dealership... so dont worry about cost.

[CBT]

Mine used to smoke on start up faithfully. It doesn't do it as much anymore, but occasionally it does. Maybe I'm low on oil...

[Raudermaster]

Hmm, very odd man indeed. I have not the slightest clue what it could be? I don't think Non Syn to Syn would have that sort of effect on it. As for the low rpm's, my car used to do that until I got a tune.

[snowbird]

My car also occasionnaly smoke on startup when I quickly shut it up after a "juvenil go" of some sort but never do it if I allow 3-5 miles after of easy going. It never do it in normal driving. Always did that NA. Now, after 2 years of blower life, still do it.

My guess is that the oil pump - pump up some extra oil in the heads on hard driving and the oil find a way in the combustion chamber if you shut it up.

After more than 3 years total of ownership, I find this normal as I change my oil (syntetic) every 4000 - 4500 Klms and never noticed any oil missing on the gauge that I routinely check only seconds before dropping the oil. The level is always at full right on the dot.

[cyclopsram]

Well, a lot of MM have a head problem as documented here in the archives many times... Valve guides...the smoking problem is well known... Secondly... the Semi Synthetic oil from MotorCraft in 5-20 is just wonderful stuff and the dealer should be using that in an oil change for you... If you want to throw $ at it you can use full synthetic. Your high pitched squeal is the serpentine belt... There is also a TB on the tensioner for same.. If you do a lot of "juvenile" stuff you will be reducing the life of your ride, just as I did with my 53 Mercury, 56 Chevy, and 68 428 CJ Galaxie...

[RF Overlord]

hot-rauder, the smoke on start-up is fairly common and doesn't necessarily mean anything is drastically wrong. Many of us have this issue, some all the time, and some only occasionally. Mine will do it a few times right after an oil change, but otherwise doesn't.

As far as the dealer putting in dino oil instead of synth, that's a non-issue. Unless you regularly drive your car VERY hard, tow a heavy trailer through the mountains in July, or make lots of short trips in sub-zero weather, your motor will not notice the difference.

The squeal you hear when backing off from redline is the serpentine belt slipping from the sudden deceleration. That, too, is a non-issue. If it bothers you, then install a Goodyear Gatorback belt.

[Raudermaster]

OH, that blue smoke. I thought he was talking about something different. My car does it occasionally, but only in cold weather, nothing in weather above 50*.

[hot-rauder]

thanks guys... i did just get a new serpentine put on and that is when it started... the smoke i thought was wierd but an oil change had just taken place and my brothers MM doesnt ever smoke. thanks again.

[MENINBLK]

...and my brothers MM doesn't ever smoke...

Let is sit for a week and then start it up.
Send us the pictures of the smoke...

[omarauder]

Sometimes a "lazy" Oxygen sensor will cause smoke (usually white in color) due to the the A/F mixture being wrong under changing throttle conditions. Had that problem on another vehicle....
regards

[Stranger in the Black Sedan]

My 26 k mile 03 300A will sit for a week at a time sometimes and does not smoke at all on startup. I was expecting it to, but it doesn't (yet!). So it is entirely possible someone else's 300A does not smoke on startup.

[hot-rauder]

wel i overheated 2 days ago. my MM is in the shop right now and they are going to change the thermostat and bleed the system. there is a little tapping noise coming from the front driverside cylinder. i hope its not a valve going south but it would help explain the smoke. idk they said it could be a fuel injector ticking but i think it is deeper than that. my hopes are up that its not something bad... worse i hope i didnt buy a beat up marauder that is haveing problems at 36k miles.

[Raudermaster]

Uh oh........the dreaded 36k mark.

[CRUZTAKER]

Well, a lot of MM have a head problem as documented here in the archives many times... Valve guides...the smoking problem is well known... ...

Yup. Most if not all early build '03 300A's had the tick and/or the smoke.

Mine did until recently.;)

[hot-rauder]

Yup. Most if not all early build '03 300A's had the tick and/or the smoke.

Mine did until recently.;)

ok what did you do??:help: :)

[offroadkarter]

ok what did you do??:help: :)

Blew his engine up :D

[Raudermaster]

Yep, he's getting a nice new Cobra block in it's place.

[CRUZTAKER]

Blew his engine up :D

Actually the *oil pump blew up.....
The ensuing flow of partage made the engine go sleepy.:D


*Ironic.

[hot-rauder]

my MM is seeming sluggish. i dont know if it is an oil issue or an electrical issue. it stalled out on a slight hill(facing downwards) today. when i shift into reverse it wont move backwards until the gas is pressed and it is reving at the lowest marking on the tach. is this normal? my volts are reading around 13.5 when idoling and 12.5-13 when the a/c is on. any ideas?

[Raudermaster]

IIRC don't go by the Volt gauge as it's "fake."

[TheDonk]

The OEM oil pressure gauge is the fake.
The voltmeter works as it is supposed to.

[RF Overlord]

^^^what TheDonk said^^^

hot-rauder, unless you have 20W-50 or gear oil in your crankcase, the oil cannot make your car seem sluggish. The voltage readings you quote are normal. From your description, it sound like the IAC (Idle Air Control) valve is bad. It's a simple fix. Try unplugging the IAC; if it makes no difference, then it's bad...