Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting white smoke and running rough

ok my sister has a 2000 zetec atx vct . she called me and wanted me to look at her car so i went right over and . checked for codes there were none stored so them i started it and it was hard to start then i put it into drive and it died . so i start it back up and after a sec try it stayed running . so i take it down the road i pullup to 2 or 3 stop sighs and on takeoff it tries to die or it would spit and sputter. when i get back and park it i put it into drive once more and hold the brake and give it a little gas and white smoke pours out of the tailpipe and it started spitting and sputtering again . she has the plugs and wires changed 2 weeks ago. oil needs changed in another 300 miles. the point is the car has been kept up . and it runs good and strong once u get past the take off. if anyone can teel me what to try next please let me know. she is scared to drive it the way it is .

There is no doubt that there is a head gasket leak. Do that test as a double check. Sorry to hear man, but at least it's the 4 banger and not the rear bank of the V6 that's leakin. With the right tools, you should be able to get the gasket done in a few hours, maybe a day if you're doing it at home with no air/power tools.