Automobile fluids can turn your vehicle’s exhaust different colors. John’s Auto Care advises that this isn’t a good thing. It means that you have a serious fluid leak in the engine. We are going to discuss the different colors of vehicle exhaust below and the fluid that causes each color. If your car, truck, or C/SUV is releasing excess exhaust out of the tailpipe, bring the vehicle to our shop right away so we can repair the fluid leak. In all cases, it’s better to have your vehicle towed. We’ll explain more below.
Black Exhaust
For example, if you see a ton of black exhaust flowing out of the tailpipe, the fluid leak that you have in the engine is fuel. Naturally, driving your automobile with a fuel leak is dangerous. It can cause sparks and flames to come out of the tailpipe, and it can also cause an engine fire in severe cases. It’s important to have the fuel leak repaired as soon as possible to avoid these dangerous situations.
Blue Exhaust
If your vehicle is releasing blue exhaust, you have a serious oil leak in the engine. Although this will not start an engine fire, continuing to drive your automobile can seriously damage the engine because the oil is not flowing through it. In fact, an engine without oil can be damaged beyond repair in less than 30 minutes. The blue exhaust most likely points to a cracked head gasket that is allowing the motor oil to drip into the cylinder block. The oil is then burned with the air and fuel.
White Exhaust
Driving your automobile when it is releasing a ton of white exhaust will most likely overheat the engine because the white exhaust is caused by a serious coolant leak. Again, if you have cracked a head gasket, the coolant may be spraying throughout the engine. This can cause white exhaust to flow out of the tailpipe and white smoke to waft from underneath the hood.
Clear Exhaust
Ideally, you should never see your vehicle’s exhaust. You might see puffs of white smoke when the weather is cold outside, but other than that, the exhaust should be clear. Clear exhaust indicates that you don’t have a fluid leak in the engine. Even if you drive a diesel automobile, there should be relatively little to no visible exhaust exiting the tailpipe.
Call John’s Auto Care in Roseville, CA, today if your vehicle is releasing excess exhaust out of the tailpipe. We will find out which fluid is leaking from the engine and repair the leak.
