Even if you drive a diesel automobile, you should not have excessive exhaust smoke pouring out of the tailpipe. If you do, this is an indication that you have major trouble in the engine. We won’t can de-coated here at Righter’s Auto Repair. Any time there is a ton of exhaust smoke flowing out of the tailpipe, your automobile’s engine is hemorrhaging fluid. The fluid is either fuel, oil, or coolant, and the color of the exhaust smoke will reveal which fluid it is. Fixing the problem generally takes significant engine repair, which can be worth it if your automobile means the world to you.
Black Exhaust Means Fuel
If the color of the exhaust smoke flowing out of your tailpipe is black, your engine is burning fuel. As you can imagine, it is dangerous to continue to drive your automobile with a fuel burn this extensive. You run the risk of starting a fuel fire in your engine. In fact, some people have reported sparks coming out of the tailpipe along with the black exhaust smoke. While this looks cool and a monster truck rally, it is not safe and we recommend you stop driving your automobile if it is producing excess black exhaust.
Blue Exhaust Means Oil
It also isn’t a good idea to drive your automobile if you see blue exhaust or gray exhaust flowing out of the tailpipe. This means that the engine is hemorrhaging motor oil, and you know your engine will die quickly when it runs out of oil. In fact, an engine without motor oil will die in less than 30 minutes.
The most common cause of blue exhaust is a cracked engine gasket. This is the gasket between the engine and cylinder block. Once the gasket cracks, motor oil makes its way into the cylinders where it is burned. This is what causes the blue exhaust to flow out of the tailpipe. Again, you shouldn’t drive your automobile if it is spewing blue exhaust out of the tailpipe. You’ll damage your engine if you do.
White Exhaust Means Coolant
Finally, if you have coolant leaking in the engine, you may see white exhaust flowing out of the tailpipe and coming out from underneath the hood. The most common cause of white exhaust is a cracked head gasket. When the head gasket cracks, pressurized coolant spews out all over the engine. The coolant is burned and, voilà, you have white exhaust. As with the other two conditions discussed above, we don’t recommend you drive your vehicle if it is producing white exhaust.
Rather, Righter’s Auto Repair has two auto service shops in Michigan. Call the shop closest to you to schedule an appointment. We can find from where the fluid is hemorrhaging and fix the problem.
