Smoke from car engines can be alarming. From a broken gasket to burnt wires and worn out pistons and valves – a lot could have gone wrong with your car here without coming to your notice.
Interesting thing here is, if one keeps enough knowledge in this regard they can get a good idea of what’s causing their new or used engine to smoke through the smallest hints such as the colour of the engine or the place it’s coming from.
But for those who know less, this could turn up as a high-alert situation.
Nevertheless, having the presence of mind and knowing what you should be doing to control the situation without going into panic mode will help you save yourself and the car too.
Which is why we recommend you go through this article as we will be discussing everything that the smoke that’s coming out of your car engine is trying to tell you.
Lety’s begin.
Different types of engine smokes and their possible causes
1. Black smoke
Black smoke is a clear indication that something is burning, most probably the excess fuel. It can be a carburettor issue or because of one of the pointers mentioned below, nonetheless, it’s a serious concern and should be addressed immediately.
Causes
- Excess fuel – One of the most common causes of black smoke is excessive fueling. This usually happens when the fuel injector allows more than required amount of fuel inside the combustion chamber. Which eventually results in burning of the excess fuel causing all the black smoke.
- Air-filters – If you know for a fact that your fuel injector is not the issue, you might want to check with your air filters. It is a high possibility that with everyday use they got clogged with all the dirt and debris and now they are restricting air from entering the combustion chamber.
2. Blue Smoke
Also a kind of smoke that indicates burning fuel due to many reasons, blue smoke is basically what appears to be a little darker than white when the situation is getting bad but can still be controlled before it turns completely black.
This is how you can fix black and blue smoke:
- In cases where the problem is the clogged dirt and debris, one can very easily deal with it by using a fuel system cleaner. All the important components, which could be faulty here, will get cleaned on your next drive and within a few miles your car will be good as new.
- There are several fuel additives in the market that you can try too.
- If you have some knowledge about cars you can check and analyse the problem and see if you can get the piston rings, and oxygen sensors replaced; if at all they are at fault.
- Lastly, black smoke is not something you can play DIY with, so taking the car to a mechanic would be our best advice.
3. White Smoke
While black smoke indicate that something is burning, white smoke points towards an oil leak is most cases. This is not something you should ignore and it is recommended you do not keep driving while your car’s producing white smoke because it is not something that happens very often and thus, requires extra attention.Causes
- Leaking coolant – First thing you should be checking when you notice white smoke coming from your car engine’s bay is if the coolant’s leaking. Probably your car engine is overheating and the leaking coolant is dripping on it which is creating all this smoke. This could be because of a broken hose or gasket and even faulty coolant.
- Fuel injector – White smoke can also be caused due to a dysfunctional fuel injector. The white smoke can be caused due to excess fuel in the combustion chamber too.
- Seals and valves – Oil leak can be caused due to faulty seals and valves too. Although the smoke generated from it will appear to be greyish or black in most cases, light white smoke can be the cause of minimal leak, which if caught early can be helpful too.
This is how you can fix white smoke:
- Maintain optimum levels of coolant in your car. When the levels of coolant in your car keep dropping, it can damage the entire system.
- Use a fuel additive or cleaner for internal components such a fuel injector and valves.
- Try replacing the gasket if it’s cracked.
- If you keep driving your car when it’s emitting white smoke, it can lead to excessive heating of the engine, thus, it is not recommended.
- Finally, seeking professional help is our advice.
Conclusion
The important question here is, whether you are okay with spending to fix internal components of your existing engine. Rebuilding your existing engine can be challenging and expensive too. Moreover, it does not guarantee anything either.
We would recommend you replace your engine instead, it’s a more feasible and better option as it can last you longer and wouldn’t require any further investment.
If you think replacing engines would be a good alternative, visit Used Engines Inc., they have the best quality used engines and transmissions available in their lot.
