diagnostic help

[iloveoldschool]

my car has become increasingly difficult to start recently, it just cranks and cranks but refuses to start. when it eventually does start it has a really low and chopy rough idle ad threatens to stall unless i keep my foot on the gas. furthermore its pouring smoke out of the exhaust, and when you try to drive forward the rpms climb but you barely move.
- rough low idle
-lots of smoke
- lose of power
-hard starting

what could be wrong?

[oyajicool]

What is the color of the smoke?

White at start up could be oil or water. If it continue to belch white smoke, it well could be your head gasket gone bad. If white smoke goes away, you are burning oil at start up. Old engine,,,?

Black smoke, you have un-burnt fuel coming out as soot. This could be number of things.

Well, everything can be due to number of things?????

[iloveoldschool]

at first it used to be a small amout of smoke that went away wen my the car warmed up.
now it just belches alot f white smoke that doenst go away at all

[oyajicool]

I suspect the cylinder head gasket is bad. With engine cold, fill the radiator full, leave cap off and start the engine. See if you have water coming out of the radiator or may be small bubbles going across the opening. If yo see either one, it will pretty much says there is problem in cylinder head or the gasket.