[Hart714]

alright i havent been driving my car hard since i got a new clutch about 3 weeks ago but now i have a problem. ive heard 1996 v6 mustangs are known for blown head gaskets. my car has about 160k on it alot of work done to the car runs like a beaut until now. well i got done hanging out with my gf and i realize that my car wont start. i didnt leave any electrical on but it seemed i must of had to. i got the jumpers first try no good let it charge a lil then 2nd charge starts up. then i see smoke slowly coming out. i look at the smoke and i see white smoke which smells a little sweet. then alot of smoke came out and then the check engine light was flashing. i drove it to my friends house which is down the street from mine and i chilled for about 15mins then i start the car again no smoke this time but the engine light is on. i did some research and heard if the smoke is sweet it is a blown head gasket. so can u guys help me out and see if there is anything u guys may think thank you

chris

[shinerstang]

I would check to see what the code is first before jumping to conclusions.

[goodshot1986]

and just because it smokes doesnt mean its a head gasket mine was warped heads and also there could have been something in the cats that have burnt off and went out the exhaust ppipes

[shelbystangman]

exactly what happened to me blown head gasket that it sucks

[Ian1994 3.8L V6]

i have seen someone with a "98 on the site that said '98 and mabe the others before had a recall or something. im wondering if it included '94's too, and if so, was mine ever replaced?

[shartley]

A lot of times several issues can cause the same or similar symptoms, so I would have the code looked at and then go from there.

Also if your vehicle has/had a recall item on it, FORD should know if your vehicle had it fixed. I would presume calling them could net you the information. But I could be wrong.

[nx74205]

just finished replacing the head gasket on my 96. Was not too bad, would have been a day job if Discount Auto would have gotten the right parts in.

Mine started rough running, antifreeze out the tail pipe and muffler. Many codes, cehck engine flashing...

[nikbait]

Sounds like a head gasket to me. I would go to a shop and have it checked first tho. I have had that problem with my 95 V6. I had to replace the head gaskets the first 8 months I had the car back in 2005.

[drewp]

you dont really want to drive it on a blown head gasket. could lead to more engine damage. it does sound like its blown to me also. a compression and leak down test should be run, visually you might be able to see antifreeze in the cylinder/`s affected by looking in the sparkplug holes. often if it was run some distance the antifeeze will remove all the carbon from the affected cylinder, something else to look at in that case is the tops of the affected pistons might be cleaner than the rest. ive seen some look new after running a short way with a blown head gasket. putting pressure on the cooling system may reveal a leak into the cylinder that you can spot visually also.
though you cant tell from any of this weather it is a blown gasket or warped head. even a cracked head without removing them. if its got 160k miles it would be a good time to have the heads rebuilt anyway, as long as there going to be off the engine.