Wife has a 1999 Taurus w/ 3.0L V-6 the got real hot and won't run now.

I pulled one of the valve covers off and it looks ok there. Plenty of oil on the dipstick and it looks ok. Smells a little burnt though. Oil filler cap has yellowish film on the bottom of it.

It starts but runs very rough. Smells like fuel at the exhaust.

What should I be looking for at this point?


Thanks...

 

Did you let it cool down on it's own or put coolant in while still warm? I'd suspect that you may have lost a headgasket; you should detect a miss (possibly) and if you refill with coolant, may see steam coming from the exhaust. Sometimes, when a headgasket fails, it allows compression to leak into the cooling passages of the head or block and causes the overheating problem. Had it happen on a Dodge Caravan.

Hope this helps you,

No Harley Here