We are serious here at Urb’s Garage. If you think about it, the only time you see smoke coming out of the tailpipe is when it’s cold outside. This is the way it should be. You should not see exhaust flowing out of the tailpipe, especially excess exhaust.
If you do, this is a sign you have a serious fluid leak in the engine of your SUV, truck, or car. In all cases, it is much wiser to have your automobile towed to our shop rather than to drive it. As you will see if you keep reading, driving the vehicle can be dangerous and can cause serious engine damage that will be expensive to repair.
If you’re also interested in routine maintenance, learning how to clean exhaust system components properly can help extend the life of your vehicle’s emission controls and improve overall performance.
Black
For example, assume for the moment that the tailpipe is releasing a heavy flow of black exhaust. This is a sign that your engine is burning excess fuel. Naturally, where there is fuel there is fire. If you keep driving your automobile with the heavy flow of exhaust behind it, you run a high risk of starting an engine fire.
You would not see black exhaust flowing out of the tailpipe if the engine weren’t burning away fuel. Play it safe and call for a tow truck. Don’t run the risk of starting an engine fire. What can cause your exhaust system to deteriorate over time? Excessive fuel burning, as seen with black exhaust, is one such factor.
Other factors that contribute to exhaust system deterioration include rust, corrosion from road salts, physical damage, and the breakdown of components due to age and wear. Regular maintenance can help prevent this kind of damage and prolong the life of your exhaust system.
Blue
The reason why you shouldn’t drive your automobile if you see blue smoke flowing out of the tailpipe is that the engine is burning the motor oil. This is generally a sign that you have a cracked head gasket and the oil is leaking into the cylinders. The oil is burned along with the air and fuel in the cylinders and this produces blue exhaust. Unfortunately, this oil leak starves the engine of oil. If you keep driving your automobile, you may have metal-on-metal contact between the engine parts that could damage your engine irreparably. As with a fuel leak, don’t take chances with an oil leak.
White
Finally, white exhaust is also a sign of a blown head gasket. When the head gasket cracks, coolant also makes its way into the cylinder block. When the engine burns away the coolant, it produces white exhaust. The loss of engine coolant will cause your engine to overheat severely. In fact, the engine can get so hot that the coolant boils. Aside from the white exhaust, you may also end up with steam coming out from underneath the hood, especially if the radiator cap blows.
Urb’s Garage in Erlanger and Burlington, KY, would be happy to help, so ring us up today to schedule a service visit for your vehicle.
