You’ve stumbled upon this blog post because your car is releasing a ton of black exhaust and you are right to be concerned about this. Even if you drive an automobile that has a diesel engine, you should not see excess black exhaust flowing out of the tailpipe. LP & Sons Auto Care advises that there is a serious engine problem if your vehicle is releasing excess exhaust of any color. Let’s talk about the different colors of engine exhaust below and what they mean.
Black Exhaust
Black exhaust means that your engine has a serious fuel leak and it is burning away the excess fuel that is making its way into the combustion chamber. As you can imagine, this can create a dangerous situation in that an engine fire could eventually start. In fact, in severe cases of fuel burns, drivers have reported seeing flames or sparks coming out of their vehicles’ tailpipes in addition to the black exhaust. It’s important to have the engine inspected to locate the source of the fuel leak so it can be fixed.
Blue/Gray Exhaust
Blue or gray exhaust means that your engine is burning oil. The most common cause of this is a cracked engine gasket. The engine gasket is located between the engine block and cylinder block. If it cracks, oil flows into the cylinders and is burned away with the air and fuel. This not only damages the cylinders but also damages your engine. The more oil that flows into the cylinders the less oil you have in your engine protecting it. An engine without oil will die in 30 minutes.
White Exhaust
White exhaust can also signal a cracked engine gasket or a cracked head gasket. Burning coolant is the automotive fluid that creates white exhaust. Anytime your engine is hemorrhaging coolant enough to cause white exhaust, your engine is overheating, as well. This is because the coolant isn’t flowing through the engine like it’s supposed to be. Rather, it is leaking out of whatever automotive part that has cracked and being burned away by the engine. You may also see white steam coming out from underneath your hood in addition to the white exhaust pouring out of the tailpipe. Stop driving your car immediately, as continuing to drive it can damage it severely.
LP & Sons Auto Care in DeLand, FL, can inspect your engine to find out why you have excess black exhaust or any of the other colors mentioned in this blog post pouring out of the tailpipe. Schedule an appointment with us today.