🔍 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.