Everything You Should Know About Your Car’s Engine

With over a billion cars operating on the roads today, it certainly is surprising to see that not many people are aware of how their vehicles even function. 

As a matter of fact, the gritty details of how these mechanically advanced creations operate are often overlooked due to their complicated nature. 

Even though a lot of people are aware of the basic parts that their vehicles need in order to function, such as the engine, they are simply not aware of the mechanics of it. 

Engine – The Most Crucial Component Of Your Car

If you are one of the millions of people who are in love with the adrenaline rush that is brought via the speed and the thrill of driving in maximum speed, there is no reason why you should not know as much as you possibly can about your car’s engine. 

Simply put, the engine of your car is the main component and needs to be in top condition for your vehicle to perform to the best of its abilities. This means ensuring that there is top quality synthetic motor oil to keep the engine clean and protect it from excessive wear.

But, is that really all that you need to know about your car’s engine? Not at all.  

A Closer Look At Your Engine

Simply put, an engine consists of numerous components, including the pistons, rods, heads, block, valves, intake, ignition and exhaust – combined, these are the parts that make the engine work.

Hence, if one of these components is faulty, the engine is bound to perform poorly and in many cases, it might even refuse to work at all. Often, people are left feeling confused when they do not have a clear understanding about the type of engine that is installed in their cars. 

Moreover, the performance of an engine might also differ depending on the liquid that is put into it in order to make it run. For instance, an engine running on diesel will need to be a on the heftier side and is often found in vehicles, such as trucks, etc. while normal cars are often equipped with petroleum or gasoline engines. 

However, there are some differences in the two – read on to find out more. 

Petrol Engines vs Diesel Engines 

Although both petrol engines and diesel engines work in the same manner, the real difference lies in the way that the liquid is converted into energy. For instance, a petrol engine will: 

• Mix the petrol fuel with air 
• Air and fuel is compressed by the piston rising 
• The mixture of the air and the fuel is kindled by the spark plug
• This causes an explosion, while the leftovers are pushed out through the exhaust

A diesel engine, on the other hand, will:

• Only take in the air – not mix it with anything 
• Air is heated within the chamber as the piston rises
• Inject diesel at the right time, which will then be pushed through the engine
• This will cause an explosion and the leftovers will leave through the exhaust

These are main differences in how a diesel engine versus a petrol engine functions. 

4 Stroke Engines 

A 4-stroke engine is the most common of its kind and is used in several cars. The reason why this engine is referred to as a 4-stroke, is due to the fact that it accompanies the same number of strokes in the power cycle. These are called:

• Power stroke
• Intake stroke
• Exhaust stroke
• Compression stroke 

Keeping Your Engine Clean

Like many others, you might think that in order to get your engine cleaned out, the only thing that you can do is to take your vehicle to the mechanic. 

In reality, it is possible to clean out your engine on your own – here’s everything you need to know: 

• Before you begin to clean your engine out, you must ensure that all other important parts are wrapped and secured with plastic. These include relay boxes, engine computer, etc. 
• Start removing loose dirt from the engine with the use of a small vacuum cleaner. 
• Ensure that you have a special cleaner at hand and begin coating the entire engine. You must take extra measures to ensure that you cover everything – even the corners. Let it sit for 30 minutes after you’re done.
• Now, start scrubbing where necessary; be sure to wear a face mask so that you don’t breathe in any fumes or dirt. 

Once you have completed the aforementioned steps, the engine should be clean and spotless. If not, then repeat the process.

And that’s it – these are just some of the important things that you should know about your car engine and how to keep it clean.