Mechanics - Please help with my Chrysler Sebring?

[RM]

I have an 1998 Chrysler Sebring Convertible. I just had the engine rebuilt but it still blows white smoke from time to time, and smells like it is burning oil especially after it has been idling for a while. Occasionally when it shifts there will be a big clunk from the front of the car. As of yesterday the "Service Engine Soon" light came on, and it doesn't seem to want to shift itself. I was going around 50 MPH and it stayed at 5000 RPM and kept going higher the faster I went so I had to stay at 40 until I got it home. Any ideas?
Um, my Dad is the mechanic that put the engine back in. Now it seems like we are at a stand still and he doesn't know what to do with it. I just really need some tips to help him find the problem lol
Thanks for all the help! Oil is fresh, tranny fluid is full. It blows smoke when you first start up, and after it has been idling a bit, it also blows smoke occassionally when you step on the gas...and it is usually a HUGE white cloud of smoke...

 

[Jeff]

you state it blows white smoke at times?

need to know when it smokes, IE only at start up?

if only at start up after sitting for awhile then it is the valve stem seals.

 

[Justin]

White smoke, could be oil or coolant.

Get a compression guage, look up how to test your compression on youtube and check the cylinder compression. The cylinders themselves should be within 10% of each other across all cylinders. I dont know if you have the V6 or a 4cylinder but either way, if you have a substantially low reading on one cylinder, its either the rings, or the valves. you can put a few squirts of oil in the cylinder and if the compression goes up when you test it again on that cylinder, its the rings, if it doesnt, its the valves.

Also, check the level of your oil when its warmed up, make a mental note of where it is, drive it for 30 minutes, recheck. Also you want to check your oil for coolant as this could be a head gasket issue. Also check the coolant for oil, or see if its really dirty, which could mean that the head gasket is leaking also.

With your transmission 'clunking' into gear and the cars inablility to get past 50 mph with excessive rpms, you need to have your transmission serviced. try replacing the fluid and see if that helps, if it doesnt, you might want to consider having a new torque converter put in, or if its needed, a transmission rebuild. could be something simple like the modulator though so all hope is not lost.

if you can make it to your local autozone, or advanced, they can pull the code from the Service Engine Soon light and tell you whats wrong with it and why the code is popping up. This will give you a good starting point on fixing you problem without visiting a mechanic and dropping a crap ton of money on something you dont need.

 

[jestaedrifter]

It seems to me you have 2 problems but the bigger seems to be tranny.
If your Dad pulled the engine and got it back in and it ran he should get brownie points for that as it is difficult with newer cars.
I would have him check all connections of wire looms that head toward tranny and check fluid level. Beyond that take it to a good tranny shop.
The white smoke may be normal, its condensation or water, most cars blow some white smoke on start up and while warming up.

 

[the_boy_toy]

That's a pretty cool avatar.

First off, if the car does not change gears above, 3500 rpms, don't push it any further. You will only overheat up the engine and the transmission and cause severe damage.

Does it blow smoke all of the time or only until the engine warms up?

If it does it all the time:
With it blowing smoke and burning oil (and probably loss of engine power) it leads me to believe the cylinder heads were not torqued down properly. The head bolts need to be torqued down
in the proper sequence
in steps increasing the torque at each step until the torque is reached
the proper torque
If they were not torqued properly, the heads are "loose" and have gaps between the heads and the engine block enough to where the oil and water are leaking into the combustion chamber.

If it is smoking only until the engine warms up:
then that's normal

The car slamming into gear could be caused by low transmission fluid level, faulty torque convertor or the engine is turning too fast for the transmission.