Useful tips about the engine

With a certain skill and care, many malfunctions of the engine and its systems can be quite accurately determined by the color of the smoke coming out of the exhaust pipe. Blue smoke indicates that oil has entered the combustion chambers, and constant smoking is a sign of severe wear of the parts of the cylinder-piston group. The appearance of smoke during regassing, after prolonged cranking by the starter, after long idling or immediately after engine braking, as a rule, indicates wear on the valve stem seals. Black smoke is a sign of too rich a mixture due to a malfunction of the engine control system or injectors. Blue or thick white smoke with an admixture of moisture (especially after the engine has overheated) means that coolant entered the combustion chamber through a damaged cylinder head gasket. If this gasket is severely damaged, the liquid sometimes enters the oil sump, the oil level rises sharply, and the oil itself turns into a cloudy whitish emulsion. White smoke (steam) when the engine is cold in wet or cold weather, this is normal.

Quite often you can see a car standing in the middle of a city traffic jam with an open hood, emitting puffs of steam. Overheat. It is better, of course, not to allow this, often looking at the temperature gauge. But no one is immune from the fact that the thermostat, electric fan may suddenly fail, or coolant will simply flow. If you miss the moment of overheating, do not panic and do not aggravate the situation. Overheating is not as bad as its possible consequences. Never immediately turn off the engine: it will get a heat stroke and, possibly, having cooled down, will refuse to start at all. Having stopped, let it idle, while the fluid circulation will remain in the system. Turn on the heater to maximum power and open the hood. If possible, pour cold water over the radiator. Stop the engine only when the temperature has dropped. But never immediately open the cork of the expansion tank - on an overheated engine, a geyser from under the open cork is provided to you. Take your time, let everything cool down, so you save the health of the machine and your own health.

Almost all instructions for the car contain a recommendation to depress the clutch when starting the engine. This recommendation is justified only in case of starting in severe frost, so as not to waste battery energy on turning the shafts and gears of the gearbox in thickened oil. In other cases, this measure is aimed only at ensuring that the car does not move if the gear is switched on due to forgetfulness. This technique is harmful to the engine, since when the clutch is depressed, a significant force is transmitted through it to the crankshaft thrust bearing, and when starting (especially cold) Lubricant doesn't get to it for a long time. The bearing wears out quickly, the crankshaft receives axial play, starting off begins to be accompanied by strong vibration. In order not to spoil the engine, make it a habit to check the position of the gear lever before starting and start the engine with the parking brake applied, without depressing the clutch unless absolutely necessary.