Sedan I was driving the car @ about 40mph and out of the blue the car backfired and started blowing out black smoke from the tailpipe. it then started to run really ruff. it was like half my plugs and wires fouled out. i've replaced the distributor cap and coil about 3 months ago with brand new ones. what's up with my car?

You may notice when fired up blue smoke that fades when warm, oilrings worn..

What year, make and model car is this? Most likely, black smoke is
usually a carburator problem. If it's fuel injected, black smoke can be caused by 1) leaking or faulty fuel injecters, 2) faulty choke, 3)dirty air
filter or 4) faulty distributor cap and/or rotor. Hope this helps.

Whatever you do, do NOT continue driving it this way until it is fixed. Hydraulic lockup can bend a piston rod ot even detonate the engne.
I think it got so hot at one point that it blew a head gasket.
Have a qualified mechanic perform a cooling system Pressure check.
If it holds pressure, which I doubt, it may be antifreeze running into your cylinders from he intake manifold. But the pressure test should tell you which head gasket it is, but have BOTH replaced, since they both underwent the stress.AND while replacing those gaskets, a new intake gasket will be installed too, as a matter of course. The price is about the same, since they have the top of the engine apart anyway. Just for information: White "smoke" is vaporized coolant or water being pushed out the tailpipe from the engine. Blue "Smoke" is oil, and Black "smoke" is soot- too much unburned fuel.

Sounds like you may have ruined the piston rings and this is allowing oil to seep in to the combustion chamber hence your smoke. Or if it overheated when you ran out of oil it is possible that you have a bad head gasket now. Check both your coolant and oil for signs, oil will have a white froth, or darkening of your coolant. Hope that helps you.

black smoke is the vehicle is running rich, to much fuel. excess fuel enters the cylinder and does not burn completely. poor fuel milage is also a common complaint when black smoke comes out tailpipe. ( its running rich ). have a good day !

I don't drive a Ford but I drive an International and white smoke on start up means the engine is too cold to properly burn the fuel. Your black oil or soot is unburnt fuel. You should look at your engine's preheat system for a malfunction.

Black smoke is unburned gas. If the car is running fine besides the black smoke, it's most likely the Coolant Temperature Sensor. The part is roughly $20 and an easy fix.

PS- I'm guessing your check engine light is on...

you probably have low compression on one or two clyinders causing blow by which would be where all your blue oil smoke to be coming from

hi nishga
im dave; hope i can help

First you need to determine if it is actually black smoke or if it is blue smoke. There are three colors of smoke that can come from the tailpipe. It is not white smoke obviously because that is easily differentiated from blue or black and generally indicates water or antifreeze leaking past the head gasket and into the compression area of the motor. White smoke is the steam of the water/antifreeze being emitted

Blue smoke is caused by engine oil entering the cylinder area and being burned along with the fuel air mixture. As with white smoke, just a small drop of oil leaking into the cylinder can produce blue smoke out the tailpipe. Blue smoke is more likely in older or higher mileage vehicles than newer cars with fewer miles. The car has many seals, gaskets, and o-rings that are designed to keep the engine oil from entering the cylinder, and one of them has failed. If too much oil leaks into the cylinder and fouls the spark plugs, it will cause a misfire(engine miss) in that cylinder, and the spark plug will have to be replaced or cleaned of the oil. Using thicker weight engine oil or an oil additive designed to reduce oil leaks might help reduce the amount of oil leaking into the cylinder.

Black smoke is caused by excess fuel that has entered the cylinder area and cannot be completely burned. Another term for excess fuel is "running rich". Poor fuel mileage is also a common complaint when black smoke comes out of the tailpipe. Black smoke out the tailpipe is the least cause for alarm. Excess fuel will usually effect engine performance, reduce fuel economy, and produce a heavy fuel odour in the engine compartment. Some of the causes of excess fuel are a carburetor that is out of adjustment which is not likely unless you have installed an aftermarket carburated system on your non-carburated car, a faulty fuel pump, a leaky fuel injector, or a faulty engine computer or emissions sensor. If black smoke is present, check the engine oil to make sure excess fuel has not contaminated it. Do not start the engine if a heavy, raw fuel smell can be detected in the engine oil. Check the above mentioned systems and after detecting the trouble replace the faulty parts and then the engine oil and filter.

What color smoke out of the tailpipe ? Black - running rich , too much fuel or not enough air . Blue smoke - burning oil , piston rings valve seales , white smoke could be two different thing's - coolant in the cylinders or fuel going stright through the cylinder out the tailpipe . No combustion .
Check engine light on ? Have you replaced plugs an plug wires ,air filter , any engine sensors - TPS - MAP - MAF etc.... How many miles on the vehicle ? 1988 model - engine worn out ?