Get the engine hooked up to an exhaust analyzer and adjust the fuel mixture screw. Make sure that you plug up the hole that the wrench goes through during adjustments and when done. The engine is running WAY too rich and you will cause damage by overheating the converter if allowed to continue. If you see clouds of white or grey smoke even after the engine warms up it is a tell-tale sign that coolant is getting into the combustion chamber and mixing with the exhaust. If after adjusting the fuel mixture the smoke continues, pressure test the coolant system and use a combustion leak tester to confirm. This is most commonly caused by overheating the motor and blowing the head gasket. In extreme cases the motor will be damaged by hydrostatic lock as liquids in the combustion chamber are incompressable and will damage pistons, con rods, and valves. If you are losing coolant and you don't see any leaks it is comming out the tailpipe. David Teitelbaum vin 10757 A.S.E. Master Automobile Technician --- In dmcnews@xxxx, Soma576@xxxx wrote: > Hello All, > > i posted a few weeks ago about this problem but now that i have some > hard data, it may be easier to determine the problem. > > the problem/symptoms are these: the car starts and runs all the > time (almost never dies unless i'm screwing around with it) however > no matter if the engine is warm or cold, the idle isn't very steady. [moderator snip]