Had misfire codes for a little while, on the whole bank near firewall (1, 3, 5) I changed all gaskets and brake booster hose to no avail. when the CEL started blinking and went into limp mode I had it towed across town to an extended family member who does trannies but "knew a jag guy" so new manifold, spark plugs, coils, and new key (thought it might be a computer thing?) they said they found water in the problem cylinders like someone pressure washed the engine? was told to put some miles on it to see what happens and knowing O2 sensors would be next. so 200 or so miles later its smoking. in the mourning not to bad but I think it is getting progressively worse and if I would to go to the store or something and start it again the smoke is thicker and very noticeable, say at a stop light, but I think it eventually burns off? ive had a small coolant leak but always assumed it was the reservoir tank but now assuming its getting in that bank of the engine?


any suggestions/insight? thanks guys

 

Is the car overheating or did it at some point earlier before this issue started? Sounds like it could be a head gasket.

 

I believe I had the light come on once b/c I had a small coolant hose break on the way to work one day right under the main intake but wasn't drivin far after I realized what happened, but I was thinkin as well. how expensive/time consuming would that fix be? im to the point where I am ready to get rid of it but obviously would be hard to do in current condition.

 

+1

 

To replace that is quite a job. You have to remove the cylinder head that requires removing a lot of stuff to get to it. If you take to a repair facility I would ballpark it at $2K. Someone with more knowledge and experience could better detail it, but it isn't simple.

What does your oil look like? Is it a clear golden color or is it a thicker milky brown color? If it is the latter you have coolant mixed in there and one more sign pointing to a head gasket.

I'm kind of surprised by the diagnosis you got from the mechanic guy. If they said it looked like straight water and was not colored like coolant that seems odd by itself. Also, I maybe misinterpreted, but it didn't sound like they were all that concerned. Anytime you see coolant there that is definitely not a good thing.

Good luck. Hope it turns out to be something else, but being honest, whatever it is it doesn't sound good right now.