Del Hatt Automotive warns that any excess exhaust flowing out of your car’s tailpipe is a sign of serious engine trouble; it doesn’t just have to be white exhaust. As you know, you usually don’t see much exhaust flowing out of your car, truck, utility vehicle, or van’s tailpipe. When the exhaust smoke gets thick, this is an indication that there is something leaking in your engine and enough of this fluid is leaking to cause the excess exhaust smoke. In other words, stop driving your automobile because your engine is in trouble and needs to be repaired.
What White Exhaust Means
Let’s talk about what the white exhaust smoke means first. When your engine burns coolant, white exhaust is the result. In most cases, you will also see white smoke coming out from underneath the hood. Generally, this is a sign that you have blown a head gasket, but it can also be a sign of a serious cooling system leak. To get the white exhaust, your engine has to be hemorrhaging the coolant. Your engine will also be overheating to the point that it can crack the engine block.
What Blue Exhaust Means
As you can imagine, you should pull over right away and stop driving your automobile if you see this much white exhaust, and the same holds true for blue exhaust. Blue smoke means that your engine is burning oil, and in order for it to burn enough oil to create the blue exhaust, it needs to be hemorrhaging it just like it hemorrhages the coolant to get the white exhaust. In most cases, blue exhaust means you have a cracked engine gasket, and this is a serious engine problem.
What Black Exhaust Means
If you see a lot of black exhaust pouring out of your tailpipe, your engine is hemorrhaging fuel somewhere and this can be extremely dangerous. Not only can your engine catch on fire, but severe cases of black exhaust have been known to be accompanied by flames or sparks. This might look cool in the movies, but it sure as heck isn’t cool when you’re driving down the road. It’s important to pull over immediately and cut your engine if you see excess black exhaust to avoid an engine fire.
Del Hatt Automotive in Poughkeepsie, NY, is the auto service expert and we can figure out whether your exhaust means you have a serious coolant, oil, or fuel leak. We can fix the problem once we find it. Call us today to schedule an appointment and play it safe by having your automobile towed to our shop.
