Truck steering wheel shaking, distinguish between idle shaking and driving shaking

Many overseas construction sites and cross-border transportation fleets often encounter situations where truck exhaust pipes emit white smoke. Many drivers mistakenly believe that it is just a normal phenomenon of weather temperature difference and ignore hidden faults. Long term driving with illness leads to decreased power, soaring fuel consumption, engine damage, and even major repairs. In fact, white smoke from trucks can be divided into two types: normal water mist white smoke and faulty white smoke. Learning to quickly distinguish and accurately determine the cause can effectively avoid small faults from being dragged into large damage. It is very suitable for operating environments with few overseas repair outlets and limited maintenance conditions. Firstly, it is a normal phenomenon of white smoke that does not require maintenance. In winter, when the temperature is low and the morning is humid, the car starts cold and the air humidity is high. The residual water vapor inside the exhaust pipe evaporates when heated, resulting in a large amount of white water mist. As the engine temperature and exhaust temperature rise, the white smoke automatically dissipates within a few minutes. The power, fuel consumption, and idle speed are all normal, which is a completely normal physical phenomenon and does not affect the vehicle's operating conditions. If the car continues to emit thick white smoke after being heated up, with continuous white smoke during driving, accompanied by odors and power attenuation, it is a typical fault problem that needs to be promptly investigated and repaired. The most common cause of malfunction is the presence of water in the fuel or poor quality of the fuel. In some overseas regions, the fuel has high impurities and water content, and the diesel exceeds the standard of water content. After combustion, a large amount of white smoke is produced, which dissipates slowly. At the same time, it is accompanied by engine idle shaking, soft power, weak acceleration, abnormal fuel consumption, and other phenomena. Long term use of water containing diesel can also corrode the fuel injectors, block the oil circuit, cause poor injection atomization, and aggravate engine wear. Secondly, the coolant in the cooling system burns antifreeze, which is a high-risk fault. Cylinder gasket damage, slight cracks in the cylinder body, and water seal damage can cause antifreeze to enter the cylinder and participate in combustion. The exhaust pipe continues to emit thick white smoke with a slight sweet or pungent water vapor smell, and the hot car still emits thick smoke. At the same time, it is accompanied by problems such as water shortage in the water tank, high water temperature, and white emulsification of the engine oil. If the vehicle continues to drive, it will cause the engine to pull the cylinder and grab the axle, resulting in high maintenance costs, which is the hidden fault that overseas fleets need to be vigilant about the most. The third issue is abnormal operation of the fuel injector. Poor atomization, dripping, and unstable opening pressure of the fuel injector can cause insufficient combustion of diesel, resulting in the secondary evaporation of excess fuel in the exhaust pipe and the formation of white smoke. This is often accompanied by difficulties in starting a cold car, unstable idling, weak overload, and sudden exhaust noise. If left untreated for a long time, it can exacerbate carbon deposition, clog the airway and DPF, and cause increased exhaust back pressure and limited power. The fourth issue is high intake humidity and water accumulation in the air filter. During rainy season driving and outdoor parking, a large amount of humid air enters the intake duct, causing the air filter to become damp and accumulate water. The intake water content is too high, resulting in continuous white smoke after combustion, which often occurs after rain or car washing, accompanied by slight engine shaking. Timely drying of the air filter and cleaning of the intake water can restore normal operation. In summary, the core of determining white smoke faults lies in whether the hot car has dissipated, accompanied by shaking and decreased power. Normal water mist and white smoke do not require treatment, and continuous thick white smoke should be prioritized for troubleshooting oil moisture, cylinder gasket water leakage, and fuel injector faults. Overseas fleets should try to refuel with regular oil products as much as possible in daily life. During the rainy season, the intake system should be well protected. If persistent white smoke is found, timely maintenance can be carried out to effectively protect the engine, avoid downtime and major maintenance losses, and ensure stable attendance of the fleet.