HELP. NO CLUE WHATS GOING ON WITH MY CAR!!??

Asked by Anastasia Oct 15, 2014 at 02:49 PM about the 1998 Ford Mustang

Question type: General

hi. i have a 1998 ford Mustang v6. 2 days
ago i saw it was leaking something i
thought maybe it was just water from a
puddle i head ran over.  but then i left about
1 hr later and my car turned on but it was
like it wanted to shut off. i pushed on thr
gas and it was good. but as i drove maybe a
mile down later i heard this rattling noise
that only happens when i push on the gas it
gets louder and louder. but it is only when
im in drive. if i put in park it stops even if i
push on gas. also i stopped at  the store
and noticed i had smoke coming from my
hood. luckly i was right by my house and
drove it straight home.  i looked at it today
and noticed a gooey type slime under my
car like right under the radiator. if any one
knows what it may be please lmk. i am a
girl who knows barely anything about cars.
a friend told me it may be my transmission
which in that case im screwed. any
feedback would be great!!

6 Answers

55,910

The leak sounds like an anti-freeze leak. Could be a hose(s) (one of many the car has), radiator, water pump or gaskets and if it's really bad it could be a cracked head or block. With the engine noise it could be a gasket let loose and let the anti-freeze into the oil which is not good. The noise could be something else too. It's a little hard to tell over a email. With the engine cooled down look in the radiator and radiator over flow tank and see if it's low on anti-freeze. If it is fill them to the correct levels. Take the car to a REPUTABLE mechanic ASAP!

1 people found this helpful.

Could a hose or the water pump cause my car to smoke and rattle like that? I checked the radiator coolant and its full. Maybe the there's a leak or thinking its not getting to my engine? My car was fine and then outta no where just started acting up.

55,910

The hose can cause the smoke if its leaking anti-freeze onto the engine or exhaust under pressure. It could also be an oil leak causing the smoke it its leaking on the exhaust as well. The rattle could be anything.

475

TransAm 77 has the best advice. Take it in, before it gets worse. If it is leaking and rattling, it could be a water pump. That could take out your radiator if it comes apart.

1 people found this helpful.
6,725

I have a 2007 town& country, it to made a raddelling noise, but only under load,it was quite in park and neutral, but when i put it in drive or reverse.it made a loud raddelling noise. it was the alternator bearing. quite until i shifted into gear, that bearing, made a loud raddelling noise. and that could be the smoke that you saw or smelt, when the bearing goes bad, it could make the belt slip also creating smoke....???? a rebuilt alternator fix the hole problem for myself.... hope this helps

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