Ever seen a car take off from a traffic light leaving smelly blue smoke behind it? Maybe some of you have felt it. Why this happened, You may be wondering about this.
A cloud of blue smoke generally means your car is burning oil. You have to think about the implications of having an engine that burns too much oil. Blue smoke is generally a bad sign. Not only is it dangerous for the environment, this could be an early warning sign that you need to make expensive repairs, such as engine repairs. Here are some common causes of blue smoke from your exhaust quoted by Otodiva.com Oards.com, among them namely:
1. Bad Valve Cover Gasket
Valve cover gaskets also called cam or rocker cover gaskets are usually a cheap and simple repair, but will often leak with age. Internally leaking valve cover gaskets allow oil to enter the combustion chamber through the spark plug hole. If this is the cause, You will see oil in the well of your spark plug which also coats the tip of the spark plug. This may be in one cylinder or many.
2. Bad Valve Guide Seal
Valve guide seals also called valve seals are the seals around the valve stem for each of your valves. These seals may wear out over time. When the valve guide seal leaks, it allows engine oil from the head to leak over the valves and into the combustion chamber. This oil will then burn with the remaining air fuel mixture, causing blue smoke.
If you see more blue smoke when decelerating, You may have a bad guide seal. This is because engine vacuum is more likely to draw oil into the engine than when the engine is under load.
3. Worn Piston Rings
Worn piston rings are the first thing many people think of when you mention blue smoke. If you see more blue smoke at high RPM, You may have bad piston rings.
There are three rings per piston: ring oli, compression ring, and ring scraper. Not sure which piston ring is the problem? A compression test will help you determine the overall health of your engine, and which cylinder is the source of the burnt oil.
When you do a compression test, You are looking for relatively equal numbers on all cylinders. If you see the compression number is too low for one cylinder, You may want to consider rebuilding the engine. You don't just lose oil, You also lose power the lower your compression number.
4. Bad PCV Valve
A bad PCV valve can allow excess oil to enter the intake manifold. This oil is then sucked into the combustion chamber and burned with the rest of the air-fuel mixture. A bad PCV valve is usually inexpensive, easy to access, and easy to replace. One way you can test a valve is to shake it. If you hear a crackling sound, maybe the valve is good. A bad valve will make little or no sound.
Keep in mind, If you experience something like the above, namely blue smoke coming out of your car exhaust, You should immediately contact the nearest repair shop because it is a bad sign for your vehicle.
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