1996 ford escort

could be head gasket leaking water into cylinders

the HONDA Horizon (Isuzu wonder box)
what engine. exactly .?
3.2 L 6VD1 SOHC V6
3.2 L 6VD1 DOHC V6
3.5 L 6VE1 DOHC V6
3.0 L 4JX1 TD I4
3.1 L 4JG2 TD I4
x1 or G2?

floods, wot cranking cuts fuel and starts any flooded engine,
it's overheating that wins the First order failures rule sets.
nothing else matters. cure that first.! find cause! first.

sounds (im deaf there,lol) that smoke is out tail pipe end and dissipates fast and is not smoke but steam, , oil smoke smells like burning oil and lingers. steam smells sweet like burning Antifreeze.
AF steam is a blown head gasket or far worse.
do a compression test first to see if it's even worth fixing????
most are NOT. (unless free labor, sure)

first learn steam from smoke
serious , watch moms tea pot. see that steam goes away fast.and very uniquely , now watch burning oil.
remove dip stick, drop the drip of oil on hot exhaust manifold.
smell that, that is oil burning, and lingers.
this will last you a life time of blown engines..... just one look and bingo. (my instructor in 1965 did in front of class)

got oil in the AF/ CARBON chunks in same.
water in oil, ? pan, engine . milky oil.
rad leak down test fail? can be lots of reasons even a cracked block.or head. not just gaskets.

year, make, model, engine size?

How does it run?

Do you see a lot of black smoke out the tailpipe when you accelerate?

do you see anything leaking?

I’m happy to assist further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/jeremy_d728a59f986299fa

diesel engine lose power could have restricted air filter and fuel filter.if you see black smoke injector nozzles worn need cleaning.if see white smoke injection pump out of time.

This sounds like a blown headgasket, or cracked block. You should get a compression test done on each cylinder just to make sure.

I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/jeremy_69f3cc28d95bf514

different things could possibly cause these problems, you could have a blown head gasket, causing the white smoke to come out of the tail pipe, it might not be blown enough to lose a lot of coolant [ anti freeze ], but just enough to have some to go into the combustion area to be transferred thrrough the exhaust sytem. you also mentioned running rich, is the air filter in your car in good condition, if not replace it, dirty air filters can cause the engine to not perform it's best. if you find out that it is not the head gasket, check your transmission fluid to make sure it is not doing away with any, i have seen some cooling sysytems fail, when the transmission cooling lines hooked up to the radiator had allowed fluid to get into the coolant, check your coolant to make sure you don't see any oil spots.

it sounds more like crank case is not venting properly. check your PVC and make sure your not cloged.,

Your engine needs air to be able to move around so it doesnt turn into a pump. if you get your PVC clogged oil can start either burning or leaking past rings or spitting out of your gaskets.

try that first,
otherwsie i would have to asume you have a tired engine.

My suggestion would be to check your timing!

replace your pcv valve. this should fix it.

Yes this can cause smoking, the oil is coming up into air cleaner (you may need to change the air filter) through the crankcase breather, the solution drain out the excess oil, do this as soon as possible or you may damage the engine, the O2 sensors, and the Catalytic Converter.