Blue smoke from the exhaust means the engine is burning oil. What's causing this engine to burn oil might be bad rings, bad valve steam seals.

While driving your car, you will notice Blue Smoke coming out from the exhaust.

First off, blue Smoke from car exhaust always means that the engine is burning oil. Of course then, what we need to do is to find out what's causing this engine to burn oil.

Well, one common cause is "bad rings". An engine with bad rings will not only burn oil, but it'll also show signs of power loss, especially when going uphill’s. With that said, please observe the following conditions.

• If the engine has less power, particularly when going uphill, then rings are bad.

The combination of 1) blue smoke coming from the exhaust and, 2) a loss of engine power (especially up hills) is a sure sign of the rings being bad. Let's get a little background information on this.

The purpose of the rings is to keep engine oil from entering the engine's combustion chambers and, also, to maintain compression. Why does an engine need compression? So it can generate power. Now then, when rings are bad (for example... worn), the seal between the piston and cylinder wall is sloppy. This condition allows oil to leak into the combustion chamber and thus burn... hence, blue smoke. Also, bad rings cause weak compression which means weak engine power. The worse the rings are, the more blue smoke and the weaker the engine.

You'll need either a ring job or a new engine. As one would expect, this is going to be serious money. Therefore, is your car still under warranty? If yes, you are covered. If no, first take your car to a machine shop that specializes in your car's make and have the mechanic positively verify that the rings are indeed bad. This can be done with a "wet compression test". This involves removing a spark plug, screwing a compression gauge into the spark plug hole, and taking a compression reading while the engine is cranking.

Next, the compression gauge is unscrewed and some oil is squirted into the cylinder. The compression gauge is then screwed back in and another compression reading is taken (again, while the engine is cranking). If the second reading is significantly higher than the first, the rings are indeed bad. After considering the cost of a ring job (or a new engine), you may want to consider replacing your car.

Well, another thing that'll cause an engine to burn oil is "bad valve stem seals". With this condition, blue smoke will come from the exhaust mainly while accelerating.

As indicated that you've noticed blue smoke coming from the exhaust mainly when you accelerate. This is generally an indication of bad (e.g. worn) valve stem seals. What's going on here is the following: Oil is leaking past the valve stems and into the combustion chamber. This oil then burns (in the combustion chamber) and comes out of the exhaust pipe as blue smoke.

You will need to have the valve stem seals replaced. If your car is still under warranty, this will be covered. If not, you are facing a big expense. Only have the valve stem seals replaced and nothing more. Once this is done, see if it corrects the problem – in most cases it should. If not, you'll probably need a complete valve job.

Of course, though, this only applies if your car has a turbocharger. If your car has a turbocharger then the problem is the leaking turbocharger.

Occasionally, the seals of a turbocharger leak, thus causing oil to reach the exhaust system of your car. The oil smokes when it comes in contact with hot exhaust components. This smoke is then funneled through the exhaust pipes and out the tailpipe.

Take your car to a garage and have the mechanic check to see if the turbocharger seals are indeed leaking. If this is the case, have the problem fixed. If your car is still under warranty, this service will be covered. Try to find a garage that is approved by the AAA. Such garages tend to be fairly reputable and, best of all, if you have a dispute after the work is done, the AAA has the policy to investigate the situation and resolve it.

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