When you depend on heavy-duty diesel trucks for your business, it is imperative that their engines stay healthy so that they can do their jobs. However, if you are not used to diagnosing diesel engine problems, you may be at a loss on how to determine whether something is wrong or not. Luckily, the color of the exhaust smoke can give you some insight into what is going wrong inside the engine.

Black Smoke Means Too Much Fuel Is Burning

Normally, you may see a puff of black smoke when the truck is first fired up. Then, as the excess carbon that was sitting inside of the cold engine dissipates, the smoke should become a light gray color.

If the exhaust smoke remains black, however, this usually means that the engine is burning more fuel than is necessary or than it should be. One of the more common causes of the engine burning excess fuel is the injectors.

If the injectors are releasing too much fuel into the chamber, the excess fuel will ignite and burn off. When this happens, the carbon that is released will build up and coat the inside of the engine, clogging it up and eventually choking out the engine so that it does not start properly. You will also notice a significant drop in fuel efficiency, leading you to have to fill up the tank more often.

Blue Indicates the Engine Is Burning Oil

While observing the color of the exhaust smoke coming from your truck's diesel engine, you may have noticed that it has a bluish tint to it. You may have also noticed that the truck's engine is running rough and is losing power, especially when trying to drive it up an incline.

If the exhaust smoke is blue, this indicates that the engine is burning oil along with the fuel. There are a number of potential causes of this occurrence, such as worn gaskets, worn-out pistons, or a cracked block. You will need to have a mechanic who specializes in heavy-duty truck engine repair to diagnose the problem. 

If the exhaust smoke is either one of these colors, there may be something seriously wrong with the engine. Make an appointment with a heavy-duty truck repair service so that they can determine the cause of the change in exhaust smoke color and take the necessary actions to fix the issue they find.

For more information about heavy-duty truck repair, contact a mechanic in your area.