These simple tips will help you maintain your car’s engine

These simple tips will help you maintain your car’s engine

Today, cars are durable. However, does that let you skip the regular maintenance session of your vehicle? Well, not exactly. You, the car owner, need to pay regular attention that all the parts are doing their work properly under the hood. Which is why, we are giving you all the low-down on how you should maintain your car’s engine.

When do you need to change your car engine’s spark plugs?

• Most manufacturers recommend changing the plugs after your car has completed 40,000 miles; this change will ensure that your car’s engine is giving great fuel mileage.

• A few cars, however, have double-platinum plugs having a long life; if your

car has such plugs, you need to change them after 100,000 miles.

• If your car is not that much equipped, you need to switch the plugs after 30,000 miles.

• The extra cost of getting a spark plug is not much. And while you are doing the change, you should even consider changing the plug wires.

• A spark plug’s typical life is just about 50,000 miles. Nevertheless, if the wires of the plug are deteriorated, then even a costly, high-tech spark plug may not work as intended.

Stay away from hose hassles • You should check the hose under the hood nearly every month; this check will help you avoid any hassle that generally arises due to a broken hose.

• Whenever your car’s off and its engine is cool, you should squeeze the hoses —if they make a crunching sound or are hard to touch, you should replace them then and there.

• Change the hoses even when they are sticky or soft while you squeeze them.

When the car’s off but a bit warm, you should analyze them for any collapsed section or bulge.

• If there is a collapsed section or bulge, then that means the hose’s walls are very weak and it is the right time to replace it.

• You should never drive along with a damaged coolant hose; if you do so, you are liable to damage the engine or overheat it.

• Some hoses under the hood are pretty crucial to the overall operations of cruise-control systems and power brakes, so check them as well.

Test the tension of the drive belt • You need to check the condition and tension of your engine’s drive belt. In many cars, you will find multiple belts—and each of them needs to be

checked monthly.

• Belts that are very tight can easily wear out all the bearings present within the accessory components, such as power-steering pump, water pump, and AC compressor.

• Belts that are too loose will easily wear out and will fail prematurely.

• Perform all sorts of examination way before you gun the engine because moving engine parts or hot belts can easily cause a lot of serious injuries.

• You can check the belt’s tension by pressing in the center of its longest exposed run. You should even hold a ruler next to the belt.

• If you happen to depress the belt up to 2.5 centimeters, the tension is pretty good.

• If, however, you are unable to depress the tension to the said mark, you need to adjust the tension; you can do that by reading the car’s service manual or visiting your local car-repair shop.

• Furthermore, you need to check the belt for damage such as cracks, fraying, and glazing.

• Whenever you spot damage on the belt, you should visit a reliable mechanic soon.

Run the car’s AC in winter • For keeping your car’s AC system fit for the next summer season, you need to run it a couple of times throughout the winter. This move will surely prevent all the moving parts of the compressor from getting seized.

• Further, circulating the refrigerant of the system will help in keeping the seals pliant and soft.

So here is where we will end the post, people. We hope now you know a thing or two about maintaining the performance of your vehicle’s engine. This post was

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Positive Swengines review that this company has received is because of its unwavering commitment to quality. The company has a team of ASE–certified mechanics who will help you make an informed decision about buying a used engine. So did you find this post useful? If so, share it with others and spread the word.