Why Does My Car Suddenly Have a Ton of Black Exhaust?
Your vehicle should not have a ton of black exhaust or a ton of exhaust in any other color. Mark’s Auto Service advises that the most you should see coming out of your tailpipe is steam on a cold morning or evening. If you suddenly have a ton of black exhaust flowing out of the tailpipe, there is a problem in the engine that needs to be addressed right away. Oftentimes, exhaust smoke can be an indication of your vehicle’s health, and excess exhaust smoke means that your vehicle is unhealthy. We can help here at our auto service shops.
Black = Fuel
The reason why your car suddenly has a ton of black exhaust flowing out of the tailpipe is that the engine is burning fuel. You have some kind of fuel leak in the engine and the excess fuel is being burned away. You may also feel your engine surge or sputter depending on where the fuel is leaking. You can have a fuel leak out of any of the fuel hoses, the fuel injectors, or the fuel filter if it isn’t screwed in tightly. You may also have excess fuel in the combustion chamber due to a faulty oxygen sensor or mass airflow sensor. Any of these things can cause excess black exhaust.
Blue = Oil
If the exhaust that is flowing out of the tailpipe looks blue or gray, your engine is burning oil. Depending on how bad of an oil leak your engine has, your engine may seize up and die in 30 minutes or less. The most common place that an oil leak occurs that causes gray exhaust smoke is in the cylinders. Your engine’s gasket has ruptured and oil is making its way into the cylinders where it is being burned alongside the air and gasoline. It’s important that you not drive your automobile if any of these exhaust colors are pouring out of the tailpipe, but you should especially not drive it if the exhaust color is gray.
White = Coolant
Alongside white exhaust, if your engine is hemorrhaging coolant, it will overheat. This can happen if you blow the head gasket or if you have a severe coolant leak in the cooling system. The hotter your engine gets the more likely you are to have steam come out from underneath the hood. Do not let your engine get to this point. Rather have it towed to our shop if it is overheating.Mark’s Auto Service in Loves Park or Loves Park, Belvidere, Roscoe, and Rockford, IL, is your one-stop shop for all of your automotive service and repair needs. Call us today if your vehicle is spewing exhaust.
