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Blue smoke
What Does Blue Smoke Mean?
Blue smoke coming out the exhaust silencer , diesel engines, usually
means engine oil is burning in the combustion chamber.
Oil Can Reach the Combustion Chamber in Several Ways
1. Worn cylinder wall
Worn cylinder walls means more clearance between cylinder walls and
piston rings which allows the oil to reach combustion chamber and get
burned causing blue smoke, also it is possible to get oil burned forming
carbon that will result in wear to piston rings, and may lead to piston
rings stuck up which significantly decrease engine life.
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2. Bad valve stem seals
Defective or worn out valve stem seals can cause oil burning, this
result in blue smoke.
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3. Worn out piston rings
Worn piston rings is typically as worn cylinders walls, that means more
clearance between cylinder walls and piston rings which allows the oil to
go to combustion chamber and get burned causing blue smoke, also it is
possible to get oil burned in between piston rings and piston ring gaps
forming carbon that will result in increased friction causing wear to
piston rings and piston ring gaps, lead to increase blue‐by, and may lead
to piston rings stuck up and breakage.
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4. Worn valve guides
You can see blue smoke if there is wear in engine valve guide.
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5. Worn Pistons:
Worn pistons or badly scratched piston skirt will also increase the
clearance between pistons and cylinders which will cause blue smoke.
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6. Turbocharger:
Faulty turbocharger or to be specific, if turbo wheel ring seal got won out,
this will allow oil to be mixed with air and go combustion chamber and
burn causing blue smoke.
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Also, in a diesel engine:
Blue smoke may come from overfilling the crankcase with oil.
White‐blue smoke is due to incomplete combustion or a faulty injection
system.
In very special case, you may see blue in engine that require to mix
gasoline with oil, like in motor bikes.
Other symptoms you may notice when oil is leaking into the combustion
chambers include:
Gradual drop in oil level
Rough idle
Misfire
loss of power
Build up carbon on injector nozzles.
What If I Only See Blue Smoke When the Engine Is Cold?
If the blue smoke appears, only upon starting a cold engine, or after the
engine have been stopped for an hour or more, this usually this indicates
worn valve stem seals or valve guides.
After you turn off the engine, oil begins to seep through the valve seals
or guides, slowly accumulating in the combustion chamber, then when
you start the engine, the oil burns along with the air‐fuel mixture and you
see it as blue smoke through the exhaust silencer pipe.
This conclude the article, thank you for reading
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