It’s not unusual to see a little bit of smoke coming out of your exhaust height when you start your car. But it can be cause for concern if the smoke has a blueish tinge to it because this usually indicates that some of your motor oil is finding its way into the combustion chamber and is being burnt. This has the effect of making the car less efficient, reducing the oil pressure gauge reading and making the remaining oil less effective at performing it three critical roles.
The main function of oil inside the engine is to cool, clean and lubricate. Because oil covers many of the internal metal surfaces of the engine and is spread thinly over them it can quickly absorb surplus heat. As it is pumped around the engine it ‘carries’ the heat to the oil pan where it is cooled. Detergents in the oil also clean the engine, and most importantly, it lubricates moving parts, preventing them from damaging each other as they work under the intense pressure and heat in the engine.
So, how does motor oil get into the internal combustion chamber? The answer lies with faulty gaskets. The components outside of the combustion chamber need to be lubricated and cooled. But it is important that as the pistons move in and out of the combustion chamber the lubricating oil does not enter the chamber, this is why a gasket is used to form a liquid proof seal. However, gaskets can wear away or become brittle, allowing oil to enter. Because gaskets are right in the heart of the engine it can be costly to fix this problem. It takes time to strip the engine back to give access to the gasket. A good site to learn more about engine oil is the oil pressure gauge guide blog.
