Took the El Camino through for re-inspection at DMV - failed again! The attendant didn't even have to stick the meter in my tailpipe; enough smoke was coming out when I revved it to know that she wouldn't pass.
I drove it to work in the morning about 40mi from my house because I was going to take it through inspection on the way home since DMV is right between my house and work. The car has sat for about a year, but in the last month I've been getting her back in working order and driving her to work a couple days a week to breathe some life into her.
The car ran fine on the way to work, I even drove it to go get lunch at noon. At the end of the work day when I hop in to go home, the transmission is having a lot of trouble shifting (200R4). This has happened every now and again in the past - usually I can just floor it and it'll unstick and shift correctly again. Well, not yesterday haha
Could barely get it out of first, and would not go any higher than 2nd. I rode down the highway at no faster than 45mph, and she was screaming the whole way. The engine was running hot because of this too (not overheating, but hotter than usual)
That was probably a mistake on my part, because now she blows out a puff of smoke whenever I rev it a little. The smoke is white so I'm assuming the head gasket might be toast.
Does the transmission sound like a stuck TV? Or something worse?
Frustrating!