Main Causes of White Smoke Coming From Your Exhaust and the Cost of Repairing It

Brandon Trenton

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Main Causes of White Smoke Coming From Your Exhaust and the Cost of Fixing It

You are too concerned about your car, but what happens when you notice that your car’s tailpipe is emitting white smoke.  This would be a new experience for you. Obviously, it will be a worrisome occurrence. You would be thinking about the cause, cost, and many other things altogether. It is not worrisome since we have provided you with all the necessary information regarding the solutions to your problems.

For your concern, we have enlisted the causes and costs regarding the smoke emission from your car. Moreover, we have also been detailed regarding the evaluation of the car’s worth and why it costs too much and so forth. It will be a good read for you meanwhile helping you think broader about the problem.

Main Causes of White Smoke Coming From Exhaust Pipe

It is a significant part of purchasing a car to have knowledge about its different components and their functioning. Moreover, it comes under your obligations towards your property to keep it preserved from all dirt. In short, maintenance is an important part of the whole process. If you do not upkeep the car’s condition on a weekly or daily basis like its original state then it will make you spend more of your money.

Nevertheless, it is also a genuine reason that we have got too busy due to our work life or other reasons and do not get time to focus on the car’s maintenance. At the same time, it is also important not to overlook the car.

There are a few reasons which are mentioned subsequently.

  1. The condensation
  2. The cracked cylinder head
  3. The defective injector pump timing
  4. The bad fuel injector
  5. The oil leakage

 

1. The Condensation

Among other worrying causes, the condensation reason is one genuine and normal cause of the white smoke emission from tailpipes. It will not put any burden on your budget. The smoke that is emitted due to condensation is “thin” and immediately vanishes when the car is warmed up. So, this vapor or smoke is the steam that emits from the tailpipe in a cold morning.

2. The Cracked Cylinder Head

The second cause of white smoke emission is the “cracked cylinder head”. When the coolant is mixed with the engine oil then it emits smoke which smells sweet. The reason behind this smell is the cracked cylinder head which also causes overheating in cars.

What does a cracked cylinder head do?

It mostly instigates the coolant to go into one or more cylinders or sometimes in the combustion chamber. The cracked cylinder head incurs due to the presence of dirty coolant as well as when the cooling mechanism is not appropriately preserved. Also, when the car is functioned with inadequate coolant levels the cracked cylinder head happens.

Notably, the already vulnerable parts or worn out areas can also lead to the poor seals within the head gaskets. Further, this head gasket causes coolant leakage into the engine part.

3. The Defective Injector Pump Timing

The third reason behind the emission of white smoke is the defective injector pump timing. When you drive a diesel fuel car then it shows the fuel pump injection control has ceased functioning.

What is the fuel injector timing?

The timing is a kind of control used in fuel pump injection. This is the main control when the fuel pump is thrusting the diesel fuel into the cylinders of a diesel engine.

  1. The timing guarantees the competence of fuel when it is inserted.
  2. It also averts the teeming of diesel
  3. When it is off, it can cause a thick white smoke emission.

4. The Bad Fuel Injector

The other reason for the white smoke exit is the bad fuel injector. In case, your fuel is trapped being open or permeable from the O- ring then it will escape too much fuel into the combustion chamber.

Moreover, this extra fuel cannot be consumed in the engine suitably resulting in the production of thick smoke, grey in color. It can even emit the black smoke concerning its severity.

5. The Oil Escaping

The white smoke emission is not the result of the oil escaping. Nevertheless, it emits the blue colored smoke. The reason behind this is that the valve seals become defective or oil escapes from the tube or piston which causes oil leaking into the combustion section.

Cost of Fixing the White Smoke Emission Issue from the Exhaust

Since we have already listed down the reasons behind the smoke emission, now it is the turn of knowing how much it costs to repair the defective and bad components.

The repair or replacement of different components takes time and money as well as it will give you stress too. The amount of repair varies with the variance of the issue.

Average Cost of Repairing Different Components

The average cost has been listed subsequently.

 

  • Head gasket repair
 $1,200$1,500
  • Injector pump repair
 $1,400$2,000
  • Fuel injector repair
 $1,100$1,400
  • Oil leak repair
$150$1,200
  • Fuel filter repair
 $55$165
  • PCV valve repair
 $60$90

 

Looking at the chart, you would be wondering that it is not cheap to repair the defective parts of the car. For this reason, it is suggested to take care of the car from the time you purchase it.

Why Does the Repair of the White Smoke Emission Cost Too Much?

After purchasing it is so significant to upkeep the original condition of your car just because it will later cost you too. When a car is impaired due to one reason, there are so many other reasons that are unseen. That is why; it costs too much to repair a car. Conferring to the issue of white smoke emission, we enlisted five other reasons that can lead to one problem. For this cause, the repair of white smoke emission costs too much. The cost can vary from $55 to $2000.

The costs complement the stress too. The stress is genuine but at the same time, you need to think about its solutions too. Thus, in the first place upkeep and preserve your car in the best possible ways.

Is the Repair of a White Smoke Issue Worth Doing?

Prior to going to any mechanic and agreeing to fix your car at a higher rate, think that is it worth doing? There are so many cars that are not worth repairing since the repair cost of a car crosses the original price sometimes. One apparent issue has so many unseen and undiscovered problems.

You can ask for help from different online means which can instruct you accordingly to diagnose and solve the problem of your vehicle as well as assess the value of the vehicle. The preceding mentioned value is just a rough estimate which can assist you to decide either to repair or not.

Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs

Is it possible that excess oil results in white smoke emission?

The simple answer to this question is that the emission of white smoke does possibly show the sign of excess oil. You should take your car to an expert mechanic before it gets enduring damage.

Can low oil result in white smoke emission?

In this case, the tailpipe releases blue-colored smoke instead of white. The reason for low oil is the escaping of oil into the exhaust system.

Does the failure of spark plug result in white smoke emission?

The failure of the spark plug is caused by the fault in the coolant system.

Is it feasible driving with white smoke?

It is not suggested to drive the car with white smoke since it is already mentioned that white smoke indicates the cracked cylinder head which can further cause permanent damage.

What is the reason for white smoke emission but not overheating?

There are five possible reasons that cause smoke emission but not overheating.

  1. The smoke is emitted due to the oil burn inconsequent to the bad gasket.
  2. When the valves inside the piston cylinder have worn and torn up then the remaining oil builds up and the engine is burnt up due to getting hot.
  3. When the oil is not properly mixed. This occurs due to air intake mechanism faults.
  4. The smoke emission also happens due to the escaping of fluid. This includes condensation and coolant burn off and so forth.
  5. The fault in the electrical system can result in smoke emission

Can a bad fuel filter be the reason behind white smoke emission?

It is considered to be one reason for smoke emission from the exhaust. The other reasons include the head gasket or the engine is blocked.

Does bad PVC result in white smoke emission?

The positive crankcase ventilation’s chamber tube is clogged then it makes the crankcase surge the oil into the combustion chamber. This results in the oil blazing or burning inside the engine as well as outside the exhaust pipe.

Nevertheless, it emits blue colored smoke. However, you can witness black or white smoke from the tailpipe if defective PCV results in a loaded and thin blend going into the engine.

Can you sell out your car even though it emits white smoke from the exhaust?

Exclude the worries about the car from your life because we have brought several other options. It is not necessary to go with difficult options when you have the easiest ones. You can sell your car even though it emits white smoke from the exhaust.

You have three options on the list, namely: craigslist, dealership, junkyard, and selling it yourself either in parts or as a whole.

1. The Craigslist

On this platform, the sellers are permitted to enlist the product or the automobile they are going to sell excluding any extra online charges. The list appears for the locals and international people both. This view of online marketing has online communication that is messages, emails, and calls, etc. Most of the time, people get trapped by scammers. You might deal with the people who want to purchase at a lower price and later sell it out in profit.

2. The dealerships

The second way of selling a car or vehicle is the dealership. It just tries to trade. Consequently, you get less or more money for the automobile.

3. The junkyards

The junkyards have similar trading just like the dealership. You trade in and might receive a less amount for the car. However, most of the people go on selling their cars without consulting or reaching out to any platform. They might find it easy since they mostly sell to their relatives or known people.

4. Selling it on your own:

Nevertheless, there are other types of people who instead of selling the whole car as one they tear apart its components and sell it down. It is not a difficult task unless you have some expertise or experience of doing it.

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