You can usually notice the leakage from the head gasket when your engine is overheating frequently. This is because the leakage will cause the head gasket to lose the ability to seal the cylinder head, which in turn will lead the coolant to seep through the gasket. The cylinder will be contaminated by the coolant and will cause the engine to overheat excessively. This condition might be hard to notice at first. There are several reasons why a leaky head …
Read More »Essential Things to Know Regarding Oil Changes for Your Car
The use of oil is required on every type of engine that you use on your vehicle. But, the engine will usually require a specific type of oil to be used. This is because most modern engines are built featuring some specific standards from the manufacturer which also require some special specifications for the oils. The right type of oil will be able to ensure a prolonged service life from your vehicle’s engine. There’s also a possibility that your car …
Read More »How to Do Compression Test and Read the Results
If you notice that your engine is running rough or your vehicle is lacking power when you are driving it, then you probably need to do a compression test. Running a compression test will not require you to have any special skill. But you will still need to know how to read and interpret the results from the test. Performing a compression test will be able to tell you if you have any malfunctions in the internal engine. The malfunctions …
Read More »Chrysler Firing Orders
Every type of engine will have a different mechanism for its firing order, which is a sequence for how the spark plugs get ignited inside the engine. If the engine has a distributor, the mechanism for the firing order will be based on the routing of wiring that goes from the distributor cap to the spark plugs located on each cylinder. On engines where the piston is located at the top dead center (TDC), you should notice that the alignment …
Read More »Ford Firing Order
The firing order is a term to determine the sequence used for the spark plugs firing mechanism. Normally, engines with a distributor will determine the firing sequence based on the routing of connection between the spark plug and the distributor cap. If the piston is located at the top dead center (TDC) design as seen on the compression stroke, the spark plug terminal #1 should be perfectly aligned with the distributor rotor. The V8 engine produced by Ford typically uses …
Read More »Chevy Firing Order
Your Chevy vehicle actually has a sequence for the spark plugs firing mechanism. This is called your engine firing order. If the engine is equipped with a distributor, the firing order is usually determined by the spark plug wires routing that connects the distributor cap to each cylinder’s spark plugs. If the piston placement uses the top dead center (TDC) positioning on the compression stroke, then you can be sure that the distributor rotor is aligned with the spark plug …
Read More »Spark Plug Fouling
One of the most common causes for engine misfiring is the fouling of spark plugs. Fouling is a term used when plugs become dirty for any reason. And when this happens, sparks plugs will lose their ability to fire, which in turns unable to ignite the mixture of air and fuel inside the engine. Aside from causing a misfire, dirty spark plugs can also cause loss of power and the plummeting of fuel economy. Meanwhile, there will also be an …
Read More »When Your Engine Car Won’t Start Or Crank, What Would You Do
Four basic every engine need to start: good compression, sufficient cranking speed, fuel and adequate ignition voltage. Now, you know if an engine fails to start, assuming one of requires essential ingredients is missing. The difficult part is to judge which one that missing. You need to analyze more to find the source the problem. Probably you are dealing with a battery or starter problem when the engine won’t crank. Assuming starter is the source of the issue, check if …
Read More »Dashboard Lights Show Engine Temperature Warning Light On
What should do when the Temperature Warning Light is ON Your engine could be damaged when you insist on driving the vehicle when the temperature warning light is on. When the warning is is on, it tells the engine is running too hot (overheating). If the cooling system is working normally and it filled properly, the engine should not overheat. So, stop the driving and pull over then shut off the vehicle and wait for the engine to cool down. …
Read More »Spark Knock (Detonation): Engine Knock Under Acceleration
Spark Knock is a pinging noise, rattling or knocking which might be heard while the engine is working hard under load (passing on the highway, towing a trailer, driving up a mountain, etc.) or is accelerating. When the fuel is detonating it called spark knock. Detonation is when the fuel explodes rather than burning. It happens when there is compression and to much heat in the combustion chamber. It’s comparable to preignition, but preignition is when the fuel ignites before …
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