Can you tell me what might be wrong with this car?

My husband's car, a 2001 Mitsubishi Montero just broke down. He was driving on the highway and he says all of a sudden the car started shaking, smoking from the hood and smelling my burned oil. Sounds great, right? UGHHH. What might the problem be? You think something major, minor, in between?? Fixable? Am I going to be poor by the time it is fixed? HELP
Can you tell me what might be wrong with this car?
From your description, the only we can say that is is major (engine) damage.





But so many things can give you burned oil smell - so there's not much more to decipher. But given your car actually stopped running, it is some sort of engine damage - and they all cost $$$.








Good Luck....
Can you tell me what might be wrong with this car?
whats the oil level right now?





does it turn over?





hope you didnt seize your motor.
Reply:Sounds like you have piston problems unless the engine is a rotary engine.
Reply:First check to see if any fluids are on the ground.


2nd check your oil and see if any green liquids are in it-this is transmission fluid and signals a cracked head or bad head gaskets etc.


3rd check your EEC module which takes on multiple functions of the car-a brain center so to speak.


If it slowed down first, then you lost compression.
Reply:It might be blown up!





If there was white smoke, that is a good indication of burning oil. Plus the shaking is a sign of major problems.





Perhaps a conrod has broken out of the block. That is real bad. Throw away time. New motor.





Maybe, it has built up crankcase pressure by having a blocked PCV valve and popped the oil filler off, or the PCV out and started pumping oil out and burning it. Not so bad. Unless all the oil has emptied out.





Maybe the motor is just stuffed and finally blew up?





How many k's were on it?


Has the oil light or any other warning lights been coming on?


Did it get hot?


Did he pull over as soon as it started to feel funny or did he keep going?





TO THE POST ABOVE GREEN FLUID ISNT TRANSMISSION FLUID. IT IS RADIATOR COOLANT. If there is water in the oil, or the radiators water has turned a caramel colour, it means the headgasket is blown, or the head is cracked.
Reply:could be just a blown radiator hose which is a cheap fix or could be a blown head gasket which would be expensive. You should take it to a mechanic or someone you trust to look at it. They are the only ones who can actually see the vehicle and give you a better estimate to fix the problem.
Reply:smoke is not all bad normally you can see whats burning whats low some fluid must be low, antifreeze, oil, power steering fluid ,transmission oil ,what color is it red ,black , or green once it cools off you should see what caused it ,was it running hot when he stopped was it knocking i will fix any car if you have the $
Reply:What I would recommend is to call a Professional Mechanic to come to your home and look at it . The problem could be minor and at the same time major. The fan belt could of broke off and caused it to overheat causing coolant to leak out and overheat the engine causing it to smell like burned oil. A wore out bearing from a belt tension er, water pump, alternator, AC compressor could cause the belt to come off.Check the engine oil if it has oil smell the dip stick to see it it smells burned. If it has oil and coolant chances are the engine is not hurt unless it over heated . Then the pistons and rings are the first to go. If the engine starts and runs smooth then there is a good chance its ok Good luck
Reply:This is for some of the answers!!!!!





Oil is gold when new, brown when used, and black when old.





Coolant (antifreeze) is green, gold (yellow), orange, or red.





Automatic transmission fluid is red.





Manual trans fluid will look like the description of oil above.





Now as far as the issue with your husbands Montero.


It sounds like he overheated the engine. There are a number of things that could have caused it to overheat. Right now the cause is actually secondary. The primary thing to determine is whether he did any major damage. To determine if there is any major engine damage you need to check the following.





Pull the oil dipstick and check for water in the oil. If there is water (cooloant) in the oil it will have a milky or streaky look to it, kinda like chocolate milk. If there is water in the oil there is some pretty severe damage.





Open the radiator cap and look for oil in the coolant. If there is oil in the coolant it will be floating in the coolant and and will still be of a dark color.





If either of these things are present you most likely have damaged the block or cylinder head(s). You should take it to a reputable shop for further diagnosis and an estimate to repair.





If neither of these issues is present you should try checking and topping off all of the fluid levels. Once this is done you can try restarting the vehicle. If it starts listen for any engine noise. If there is any noise turn it off and have it towed to a shop for further diagnosis and estimate to repair. If there is no noise let it run and look for any fluid leaks. If the vehicle starts to overheat again turn it off. If the vehicle overheats you should take it to a shop and have it diagnosed. You can ask the shop to block test the engine. There is a tester that can check the cooling system for exhaust gases and let you know if you have major unseen problems. Feel free to post any updated info and I will gladly try to provide more info for you. Hope this helps!