smoking from under carriage please help
 

Ok i've read through alot of threads, and seen none to help, although i am a rookie at this, i tryed to do as suggested... Any who, the under neath of my 96 gt mustang is leaking and in SO CALI the temp is hot. Now when my car is running hot, like it always has, what ever the leak is, is causing white smoke to poor out from under neath me, now the transmission shaft looks good, nothing leaking from it... But there is a rectangular shape silver box, i believe to be the problem( i dont know what it is) i Noticed the fluid on ground is like oil, but im not sure, So if any of you out there would take the time to help me out i would be greatly appreciative.... I dentify the box or any other potential problems it could be? Thanks

Also its not coming out of the exhaust pipes, the leak is leaking on the exhaust pipes about mid way down car, right before the exhaust pipes spilt, ans it only smokes when car is Hot! (as Always this things runs on the "M" and "A" of "NORMAL")

Hot in Cali??? HAHAHAHAHA, right. I was there just last week on vakay. Even in Valencia (six flags) 105...pffftttttt I WISH it was 105 here.

Anyways,
Are you an automatic or manual transmission?

If you are automatic, the silver pan you describe is probably the transmission oil pan. It's an easy fix. Go buy a filter/gasket kit at your auto parts store and about 5 quarts of Mercon V tranny fluid. Drain the fluid, using the drain plug (just like the engine), drop the pan, replace the filter, use the new gasket on the pan, tighten the pan up onto the tranny (make sure you tighten the pan using a criss-cross pattern to avoid leaks), fill the tranny back up using the dipstick hole and using the dipstick to check the fluid level. Stop when full, drive around the block, double check your fluid level and top off as needed.

Done.

White smoke is usually coolant. How is your coolant level? It could be a heater hose. If it's low, top it off and keep an eye on it for a few days. If it drops then you know it's coolant and you need to check your lines.

Let's identify the oil, shall we?

Get a white paper towel.

Remove the engine oil dipstick and wipe the end of it on the towel.

Use another part of the same towel to wipe the some of the leaking oil off the underside of your car.

Engine oil is caramel/brown. Automatic transmission fluid is red/brown.

Which one is leaking from the bottom of your car?

The guy can't even describe the problem and you suggest he drops his transmission pan and replace the gasket? Done? Seriously? I'm hoping he can find the hood release.

Lol, a little harsh.

Anyways, depending on the age of the tranny/engine oil and the leak it can be nearly impossible to tell the difference in oils using the wipe test.

Best bet is to power spray clean the entire engine bay and tranny, scribe some marks around areas that have gaskets (sharpie can work but generally dissolves away) and drive for a couple of hours to see where the leak is originating from. But yuh, that may be difficult for the average Joe if they have a problem with basics.

If you can't tell the difference between motor oil and ATF on a white paper towel, there's always the taste test.

I can't believe you just suggested power washing the entire engine bay of a 4.6 Mustang to a non-technical type. His next thread will be about missing, stalling and COPs. Then, onto stripped spark plug threads.

Yeah guys...this needs to be kept on a pretty basic level it sounds like.

Ask around and find a reputable shop and have them put it up on a rack and see if they can see anything obvious. It'll cost a little out of pocket but given the questions you asked and the depth of your knowledge you'll be dollars and time ahead to take it to someone who knows what they're doing.

I Agree with you on that.

Sorry for the poor description, it is a automatic, the pan is leaking oil, the 1 light that keeps showing consistently.... found the hood release ( ; buying the kit on friday, have a jack and stands ready, so i'll most likely do it over the weekend... THANK YOU ALL FOR THE HELP!:icon_dance-tap: