🔍 Key Concepts
• Relationship between smoke color and what is burning in a diesel or gasoline engine
• Typical symptoms of a leaking head gasket (what gets into the cylinders that shouldn’t be there?)
• Difference between burning oil, fuel, and coolant/ water
💭 Think About
• Think about what a head gasket separates inside an engine. If it leaks, what extra fluid can enter the combustion chamber?
• When that unwanted fluid burns or vaporizes, what color would you expect the exhaust to look like?
• Match each smoke color (blue, black, gray, white) with what is usually burning: engine oil, excess fuel, or coolant/water.
✅ Before You Answer
• Be clear on what the head gasket’s job is (what spaces and fluids it keeps separated).
• Recall common rules of thumb: blue smoke is usually associated with one thing, black smoke with another, and white/light smoke with yet another cause.
• Eliminate colors you know are commonly tied to oil burning or overfueling, then see which remaining color best fits coolant/ water entering the cylinders.