karlad65

I have a 2001 Mustang GT. When I started the car it backfired and seemed to run really rough. I shut it off and restarted to see if it happened again. No more backfires and engine smoothed out but there is loud clacking noise coming from passenger side of engine and smoke. Any ideas on where to start?

karlad65

also no code came up.

karlad65

No fluid leaks and oil and coolant look fine.

08'MustangDude

Smoke from the passenger side where? Exhaust manifold? Head?

Backfires can damage valves in the effected cylinder.

WJL

Block the wheels, start the car and look under !!!! it could be a clogged converter rusted muffler bad exhaust gasket

karlad65

Sorry for the delay in answering your questions. The smoke is coming from the passenger side. It looks like it is coming from around cylinder 3. The smoke has almost diminished completely now but the loud knocking/clacking sound is still present. I can put my hand next to it cylinder 3 and feel air pulsing from around either the coil or intake and hear air hissing. The clacking sound almost sounds like air being trapped under pressure and then it releases and makes the sound. I know this is not enough technical info but I am not sure how to describe it. I thought about pulling coil and plug #3 to see what they look like. I had changed the coils and plugs about a month ago. All looked ok...ready to be changed but no obvious problems. I think this repair is probably way beyond my skill level but I would like to kind of know what is wrong so I can get it to the right repair shop. I did replace the intake myself several years ago when Ford had the problem with the cracked thermostat housing. That is about my limit on repairs.

I did look under the car but I am not sure how to determine if the converter is clogged or if it is a bad exhaust gasket. I didn't notice any obvious problems underneath but we are never that lucky are we?

I appreciate any help y'all can give me (I admit I am a female shade tree mechanic). I love working on my cars. I do all the maintenance on them...of course the simple oil changes but I do alternators, radiators, brakes and shocks. My 2001 has 283,000 miles on it. I have had 4 Mustang GTs since 1984 - a 1984 1/2, a 1993, a 2001 and a 1999. Still have the 1999 and the 2001. My Dad taught me a lot about car repair when I was growing up but he is gone now and I don't have his expertise to rely on. All I "hear" is "You went to school on that one didn't you gal" and then laugh at me...lol. Not telling this to brag just to explain that I kind of know my way around under the hood unless it's electrical. Thanks again for any help or suggestions you can offer.

WJL

if you can feel air pressure around plug number three thats not good. pull number three coil and make sure the spark plug is still threaded in the hole the 01's had issues with blowing spark plugs out mostly due to over tightening

karlad65

sorry for the long delay in response. Life happened and the car got put on the side burner till everything else got fixed. So I pulled the number 3 plug and it was loose. The threads were flattened and the electrode was bent. I appreciate all your suggestions which helped lead mean me in the right Direction. I'll try to fix a lot of things but this one is above my pay scale so I have a mobile mechanic coming that has repaired many of these poor little Mustangs that keep blowing spark plugs. Again thanks for all your help. Sharing knowledge is one of the greatest things that people can do for each other.

karlad65

You can see where the threads are damaged
Here you can see where the electrode
was bent all the way down. I don't think it looks too bad or am I dreaming?

Derf00

While it may not "look" bad, the cause could be.. That plug got hit by something. Most likely the piston. There are several reasons that could happen, If the plugs were new, wrong spark plugs (too long). If they've been in the car for a while, then it was hit because the piston traveled further than what it should have. That means, a bad rod bearing or a broken wrist pin.

If the clacking is still there, see if you can get a borescope and look inside the piston chamber for either damage to the piston head and/or valves.