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Listen to Your Car Engines

Engine is the heart and soul of a car without which there is no existence for a car. To know the importance of the engine one needs to know how it functions. In simple words, the petrol car engine converts the petrol combustion to motion, giving life to the car.

There are two types of engines such as external combustion engine and internal combustion engine. The car engine is an internal combustion engine which creates energy by burning the petrol inside the engine. There are many types of engines namely diesel engine, two stroke, HEMI engines and so on. The most important part of an engine is the cylinder and the pistons moving up and down. Cars usually have more than one cylinder and it may range from four to eight. The cylinders are arranged as flat, V, or inline depending on which is more suitable for the car. The other main parts of an engine are piston, piston rings, spark plug, valve, crankshaft, sump, timing belt, radiator and connecting rod. Now going in detail about the functioning of the parts of engine - a piston is a cylindrical-shaped metal that is in motion inside the engine cylinder and the piston rings offer a sliding seal between the inner edge of the cylinder and outer edge of the piston. The crankshaft helps in turning the up and down motion of a piston into a circular motion. The material that surrounds the crankshaft is known as the sump. The two ends that are rotatable, connects the piston to the crankshaft. The spark plug ignites the mixture of air-fuel, if not done at the right time, the car will not start. The valve opens at the right time and intakes fuel and air and throws out exhaust. The timer belt connects the engine crankshaft to the camshafts.

There can be many reasons for the engine of a car to stop functioning but the three basic reasons for this could be that the spark is absent or is weak, wrong or bad fuel mix, and lack of compression. The spark can be absent or weak because of many reasons namely worn out spark plug or wire leading to the production of weak spark, wrong ignition timing. If there is no fuel in the tank, no sufficient air, or the fuel might not burn sometimes due to some impurity that is present in fuel or the fuel tank all causing the engine to stop responding. Lack of compression due to hole in cylinder or worn out piston can stop the engine from functioning properly. There are other reasons like a dead battery, a malfunctioning valve, which does not open or close at the right time blocking the coming in of air and going out of exhaust, worn out bearings that stop the turning of the crankshaft.

The engine of the car should be given special care. Keeping the engine of the car in good shape is a shortcut to keeping the car in good condition. There are ways by which the condition of the engine could be checked. It is very necessary to check the engine oil. If the oil is found completely black, it can be a sign of lack of maintenance or excess oil consumption. The same can also be the reason if the oil level is very low. For this not to happen, the engine oil should be changed whenever necessary so that the engine oil level will not go low or will the engine oil will become black. Engine overheating will cause serious engine damages, avoid engine overheating by periodically checking the level of the coolant. The coolant level should be at least at the minimum. A leaking coolant have to be got fixed to avoid engine overheating. If the engine temperature starts rising, then get the engine checked before it leads to serious troubles. A blocked radiator could also be a reason for engine overheating, so check whether the radiator is clogged. Both the engine filter and fuel filter should be always kept clean. If the air filter is not kept clean, it might cause the failure of engine power, failure of air-flow sensor and increase in fuel consumption. An untidy engine will also become the reason for loss of engine power and stopping of engine. A cracked timing belt or any problem in the timing belt will cause serious engine damage and the problem might worsen especially if it is a diesel engine. Poor condition of the spark plugs could also cause serious complaints to the car engine.

Turbo engines works at a high temperature. The main task of the turbo engine is to boost the engine power by pumping more air into the engine. The quality of the engine oil required is much higher compared to others and so, low quality engine oils should not be used and extra care should be taken to use high quality oil that is not contaminated.

Prevention is better than cure, so maintaining the engine and the related parts in a good condition will help in the high quality performance of the car.

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