What Does Your Exhaust Pipe Smoke Color Mean?

If you can tell the quality and/or color of the smoke from your exhaust pipe, you can almost tell the health of your car engine. With simple yet very effective tips at your fingertips, you can easily spot a malfunctioning engine of a car and maybe take corrective action at the right time. You can save yourself lots of stress and unfortunate impeding events in the future if you acquaint yourself with knowledge to be able to tell if and when something abnormal is going on in your car’s engine.

Blue or grey exhaust fumes

If you notice blue or grey exhaust fumes when you start your car, then you would want to check if your car engine if functional. The smoke may persist even after the car gas warmed up. Sometimes, the bluish tint may be less noticeable in your car’s exhaust. All of these signs point to the possibilities that piston rings, valve seals, and/or valve guides may have been damaged and need fixing. As a result of these damages, the engine may be using abnormally high amounts of fuel producing that smoke. You may also notice that your car engine has less power than before. If the PCV system has malfunctioned then this points to the possibility that your car engine maybe having mechanical problems that need fixing immediately.

Exhaust emitting water vapor or white fumes

Sometimes, you may start your car engine and notice that the exhaust is emitting water vapor or white fumes. In some cases, the fumes may persist even after the car engine warms up. This condition is only deemed normal if cold weather is prevailing at the time. But, the water vapor s from exhaust should clear out in a few moments unless the engine has mechanical problems. If this is the case, it is possible that transmission fluid may have found its way into the manifold through the vacuum modulator. Sometimes, it may be the case of a bad cylinder gasket or a cracked engine block. In either of the cases above, the prevailing issue should be fixed immediately before it is too late.

Black exhaust fumes

In case you notice black fumes from your car’s exhaust, it is a sign that something abnormal is happening in your car engine. Sometimes, the black fumes may barely be visible even after your car engine has warmed up. This should be interesting if the engine is not misfiring pointing to the possibilities that fuel injectors may be leaking, carburetor choke may have closed, dirt may have accumulated on the air filters or some ignition problems may be causing this prevailing condition. To address the issue, you would want to check all the parts mentioned above and fix them appropriately.

Drop in Gas Mileage

If you notice that your car uses more fuel than usual and that the exhaust smoke smells of fuel, you should check whether the engine is working properly. Sometimes, you may notice the engine losing some of its power. In that case, mechanical issues like faulty computerized control system, faulty engine carburetor choke and faulty fuel injectors may be causing this issue. You would want to check and fix other issues relating to proper engine functionality if you to rectify the issue.