Hello. Obviously I'm new to the forums and I hate to start off my time here by posting about a problem I'm experiencing but I really could do with some help.

I own a 1997 Fiesta Chicane, 1,388 cc petrol and 119,000 on the clock. I consider the car to be in excellent condition throughout but recently the car has been a bit sluggish starting up and quite a bit of white smoke now constantly blows out of the exhaust. It has been using up oil faster than normal but the powder inside the end of the exhaust is dry and there's no smell of petrol. The smoke smells sooty.

If you have any idea what this could be down to I'd appreciate you taking the time to reply. Is it going to be cheap to put right or is my wallet in for a shock?

Hello. Obviously I'm new to the forums and I hate to start off my time here by posting about a problem I'm experiencing but I really could do with some help.

I own a 1997 Fiesta Chicane, 1,388 cc petrol and 119,000 on the clock. I consider the car to be in excellent condition throughout but recently the car has been a bit sluggish starting up and quite a bit of white smoke now constantly blows out of the exhaust. It has been using up oil faster than normal but the powder inside the end of the exhaust is dry and there's no smell of petrol. The smoke smells sooty.

If you have any idea what this could be down to I'd appreciate you taking the time to reply. Is it going to be cheap to put right or is my wallet in for a shock?

'could' be water getting into the engine from a blown cylinder head gasket which 'could' explain the sluggish starting so i`d get a compression test done to check, also look at your oil to see if it's a milky brown slurry cause that would tell you for sure that waters getting in.