Smoke signals of your car

Exhaust problems are some of the most common car problems. You may, at one point, have noticed that your car is emitting too much smoke or that your car has been releasing puffs of white or very dark emissions. It’s normal for small amounts of exhaust emissions to exit your car at any given time. Large clouds of smoke may even be normal if you have just started your car during a particularly cold morning.

• On Excessive Smoke: Excessive smoke from your car indicates that your car is using up too much engine oil or fuel. This type of failure can range from poor fuel economy to a plugged catalytic converter. It can even be caused by a previous engine overheating incident.

If you notice that your car has been using too much oil and you see that your car’s oil level is unnaturally low between oil changes then it only means that your engine has been burning up too much oil too soon. This problem could indicate that our engine is having mechanical problems.

If your engine is in good working condition, then it’s possible that the problem could be with your car’s PCV system. Check your PCV system to find out if it’s in good working condition.

Otherwise, check your car’s engine valve seals. Look for signs of wear or damage. Replace your damaged valve seals if necessary. If the problem is not with your valve seals, then look at your engine piston rings for signs of damage. Repair or replace if needed.

• On White Exhaust Smoke: If you notice that your car has white smoke coming out of its tailpipe, then this could be caused by water or coolant being released by your car. There’s a possibility that the white smoke is coming from a puddle that has made its way into your exhaust pipe. Check your coolant levels periodically to determine if this is the root of your problem. It’s normal for white smoke to be released by your car after you start your car first thing in the morning. But if the white smoke continues, then you have an internal coolant leak.

• On Bluish Smoke: If your car has been releasing blue smoke, then the problem could lie with having engine oil enter into your car’s cylinder area. When this happens, the oil joins your car’s fuel and air mixture and is burned along with it. In the same way that white smoke results from having oil enter into the cylinder, this incident could also lead to having blue smoke exit your tailpipe.

• On Gray Smoke: If you see gray smoke coming out of your exhaust immediately after starting your car, then this could be caused by worn engine valves or piston rings. Check car parts as soon as possible to find out which parts need repair or replacing.

• On Black Smoke: Black smoke from your car’s exhaust may indicate further fuel problems. If you notice that your engine is not running as well as it used to, or if you experience consistent engine/engine cylinder misfiring then you could have either a leaking fuel injector, a dirty air filter or your carburetor choke might be stuck. Repair or replace these indicated car parts as soon as you can.

Source: http://automechanics.wordpress.com/2008/06/13/addressing-auto-problems-finding-out-what-your-vehicle%E2%80%99s-smoke-signals/#more-113