Question

What causes Gray Colored Smoke to come out of vehicle exhaust?

On my 1992 Chevy Silverado 1500 truck with a 5.7 L engine It has started to suddenly smoke when started and continues smoking when sitting idling?

When at a stoplight a lot of gray colored smoke comes out of the exhaust and I have to keep my windows rolled up to prevent breathing it in.

I know it's irritating other drivers beside me and behind me.

But what can I do to fix this issue?

Answer 1

Gray colored smoke coming from your exhaust is usually an indicator of your engine burning oil.

Your engine could be burning oil through worn piston wrings, worn cylinder walls, bad oil valve seals etc.

If your engine has a lot of miles on it then you may need to have the engine rebuilt or if you like the truck and want to keep the truck then you can get a crate engine for around $1,000.00 or so and install it.

If you're good at rebuilding engines yourself then you could get an engine rebuild kit for around $300.00 to $400.00 for that engine.

I've rebuilt a Chevy 350 engine myself for around $600.00 in parts.

But you can buy an already rebuilt crate engine for around $1,300.00 to $1,500.00

I've driven a truck that smoked like that for around 4 years before I got tired of it and then did a rebuild of the engine.