Steam coming from tailpipe

If you see water dripping or steam floating from your tailpipe there is probably coolant entering the combustion chambers. Antifreeze is run through the engine block to cool the engine. If coolant is making its way into the exhaust, a leak or crack are the only possible causes. Why is White Smoke or Steam Coming from Exhaust ? A small amount of water is produced as a normal bi product of the combustion process and until the exhaust system warms up the water evaporates and can be seen as steam.

Once the engine heats up to normal operating temperature (about 2degrees F) the water should dry up and go away. Water vapor has collected in the exhaust system and burns off as steam until the pipes get hot enough to boil it off. There is no water in oil or antifreeze and all my antifreeze in radiator is gone. If it’s a large cloud of dense white steam, then it’s likely to be coolant.

Now, if you only see this in cold temperatures, it is probably the normal condensation of water inside the exhaust system and it is just steaming out as the catalytic converter gets hot. Petrol when burnt produces coand h2o. In cold weather the h2o which for obvious reasons is produced in the engine as vapour, condenses when it meets the cold outside air. Or the cold metal of a cold exhaust, resulting in drips from the tailpipe till everything is warmed up. The water is leaking inside of the motor into the exhaust and going thru the exhaust system and finally dripping out of.

If white smoke continues to come out of your exhaust while the car is running, there are other issues at fault. One cause of white smoke from the exhaust might be the engine leaking coolant. If the engine leaks coolant, it will be burned by the heat of the engine and then come out as smoke from the exhaust. It is very strong when we start the car, it does slow up a bit when driving but it continues to steam.

Are you losing any coolant Not running rough, coolant is low, but cylinders are dry, just steam out of tailpipe The cylinders will always be dry after running the engine. Pressure test the cooling system to see if it hold pressure. The owner said it never overheated before, just the steam.

Causes of White Exhaust Smoke. This is generally steam caused by condensation. As the engine warms up and the condensation dissipates the white exhaust smoke ( steam ) is no longer seen.

Let me start with a little background. I have owned it for years. Smoke coming out of your tailpipe is a scary sight, but it can mean a lot of different things.

The color of the exhaust can tell you what type of repair or adjustment you might need. Re: Steam coming out of exhaust! Pull the plugs and look for water on the plugs or rust. When a plug that has been in the engine for a while and looks perfectly clean, like new, that indicates it has been steam cleaned due to water in the cylinder. In this case, bad seals or piston rings cause oil to leak into combustion chamber which then mixes with fuel and burns.

The result is a white or light bluish smoke that comes out from exhaust manifold. But the tailpipe will send-up colored smoke in attempt to tell you what the problem is. Here is your secret decoder ring: Blue smoke: Oil is escaping from its intended passageways within the engine and is being burned along with fuel.

For that reason, you will have the water dripping from the tailpipe. Drivers can also see the water in the fuel or a leak in the head gasket.