Smoke from exhaust - Ford Forums

88_94vics · 10-06-2009, 01:51

For starters, I have an 88 Crown Vic with over 250,000 miles on it. It has ran great the entire time until yesterday. I noticed smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe when my wife was leaving for work. It was like a gray color. Now I thought that white/gray meant that there was coolant in the engine and black was too much fuel. I smell a strong fuel smell like it is running rich but the smoke is gray. I am stumped and would really like some input on what could be wrong and if I should get it fixed or just drive it in town till the engine blows and then pull it out to rebuild it. I'm not getting rid of the car so it doesn't matter how long it takes to fix. Thanks in advance.

**rtg143** · 10-06-2009, 09:29

Excess fuel can look grey with the catalytic convertors working. It could be the fuel pressure regulator. The diaphram goes bad and they raise the fuel pressure.

88_94vics · 10-07-2009, 14:32

How would I check it or should I just replace it?

**rtg143** · 10-07-2009, 16:04

Unhook the vacuum hose with it running and see if it runs rough. If you have a hand vacuum pump, see if it holds vacuum, with the engine off.

88_94vics · 10-07-2009, 23:38

I disconnected the vacuum hose and it ran the same. I don't have a vacuum tool so is there another way of checking it or do I need to get one? Also when I ran a diagnostic test on it a while back and it said that the TPS had a faulty ground. Could this also be part of the problem? Thanks for all of your input.

88_94vics · 10-09-2009, 02:08

Alright, I just went ahead and got a new fuel pressure regulator. How in the hell am I supposed to get the old one off. I didn't realize that the screws are installed upside down. Is it an allen or hex key and what size? Thanks.

Finally. About six hours of work and I finally got it installed and my back is killing me. However now it smokes more than it did before. It's pretty cold right now so I will wait until later in the day for it to warm up a little and see if it is any better.

**rtg143** · 10-09-2009, 08:48

Make sure you have vacuum in the line to it with the engine running. The fuel might have messed up the line to it.

88_94vics · 10-10-2009, 12:19

Okay so it wasn't because of the being cold. It still smokes pretty bad. I also took it to O'reillys to hook up to their code scanner. It gave me the following:

EGR Valve Position Sensor or Pressure Feedback EGR voltage high or sensor fault.

TPS voltage too low or grounded.

Cannot control. RPM low durring self test or idle speed control inoperative.

Engine RPM too low during lean fuel self test or problem with idle speed control or O2 sensor.

Cannot control RPM during self check or idle speed control problem.

I don't know if any or this has anything to do with the smoke or not. Also after hooking up my tachometer, my car kept dying. The only way to keep it running was to keep my foot on the gas. Now I have to have the idle adjustment screw all the way in for an idle at 650 RPM. I replaced the ignition coil and put on all new plug wires and it's still going on. I don't want to put any more money into this car without finding out what is wrong. Thanks for all your help.