What does it mean when white smoke comes out of your engine?

What does it mean when white smoke comes out of your engine?

If your engine is spewing white smoke, you’re seeing coolant and/or water being vaporized in your combustion chamber. This could happen because your engine block or cylinder head is cracked, you’ve got a leaky head gasket, or your engine is too cold (which means there’s no repair needed!).

How do you stop white smoke from engine?

This generally happens because of a cracked or leaking head gasket, which allows coolant to seep into your cylinders. In extreme cases, you will need to replace your head gasket. At the first sign of white smoke you can try head gasket repair treatment to seal the leak before you do serious damage to your engine.

What does it mean when white smoke comes from under the hood?

White smoke indicates a coolant from a failed internal engine is burning in the combustion chamber from the tailpipe. Another source of white smoke can be a blown radiator hose pipe spraying coolant onto a hot engine. This produces wispy white smoke that looks like water vapor.

What do you do when smoke comes out of your engine?

If you notice your engine releasing steam or starting to smoke up, pull your car over when it is safe to do so and turn your engine off. If you are comfortable doing so, pop the hood of the car. Dot not pop the hood until the engine has cooled. Do this only if you feel it is safe to do so.

Does white smoke mean the fire is out?

White smoke can often mean material is off-gassing moisture and water vapor, meaning the fire is just starting to consume material. As a general rule, the darker the smoke, the more volatile the fire is. Grey smoke can indicate that the fire is slowing down and running out of materials to burn.

Can low coolant cause white smoke?

One of the main causes of white exhaust smoke and coolant loss is a cracked or warped cylinder head, a cracked engine block, or head gasket failure caused by overheating. Dirty coolant, a poorly maintained cooling system, a low coolant level, or a non-functioning cooling fan can cause engine overheating.

Can a bad radiator cause white smoke?

White smoke from the tailpipe indicates coolant from a bad head gasket or another failed internal engine part is burning in the combustion chamber. A blown radiator hose spraying coolant onto a hot engine will also produce wispy white smoke that looks like steam.

Why would smoke come from under my hood?

The most common cause of smoke under the hood is small amounts of motor oil or other fluids accidentally spilled or leaking from a bad gasket or seal onto a hot engine or the exhaust system. Those other fluids may include engine coolant, power steering, brake and transmission fluid, even window washer solvent.