Just like your heart is the center of your body’s operations, your car engine controls most of your car’s operations. This shows why keeping your engine in perfect shape at all times is crucial. To keep your car’s engine pumping life into your adored ride, you must learn some essential engine maintenance tips you can implement or observe as your mechanic implements.
Below, we’ll share the top four engine maintenance tips you can learn to help improve your car’s performance.
Check and Change Your Oil Regularly
Your car’s engine’s efficiency relies heavily on lubrication because of its complex nature, which comprises multiple moving parts. A regular oil change helps keep the moving engine parts efficiently lubricated to reduce wear and tear and friction. Additionally, when you change your oil regularly, you help keep your engine safe and your car functioning optimally in several other ways:
- Fresh engine oil keeps parts of the engine cool. As it circulates, it absorbs heat from the engine, preventing it from overheating.
- With the engine oil circulating effectively, your engine can run on frictionless parts with proper heat management. This means your car engine won’t strain to generate the same power, resulting in a better fuel economy.
- Fresh engine oil does an excellent job trapping and filtering out the metal particles generated by regular engine wear and tear. If not safely removed, these particles can damage your engine.
Refer to your car’s owner’s manual for the manufacturer’s recommended engine oil change interval. You can do this independently if you have enough car tools or take it to your mechanic for quick fixing.
Maintain Clean Air Filters
Your car’s air filters protect your engine from harmful air contaminants. While performing their roles, these air filters might get clogged with dust, which can block air passage into the engine.
Your engine needs enough oxygen from the air to complete combustion and generate power, which doesn’t happen when the air filters are clogged.
That is why it’s important to regularly check and clean your air filter and replace it when it gets dirty. Allowing only clean air into your car’s combustion system helps your engine achieve better fuel economy and less pollutive rides.
Inspect Spark Plugs
When it's time to power your car, spark plugs play a crucial role in creating the ignition needed to power your engine. However, with continual ignition over time, the spark plugs wear out, making it hard to power your car, leading to a rough engine start and poor fuel efficiency. Regularly check your car’s spark plugs as the car manual recommends and replace them before they’re worn out.
Maintain the Recommended Fluid Levels
Car fluids maintain your engine, so you need to ensure they don’t drop below the minimum level. These fluids help lubricate, cool, and transmit power within your vehicle. The most vital fluids you’ll need to keep in check include brake fluid, engine coolant and transmission fluid. You can always check the levels and color of these fluids to determine when it’s time for a change and do it immediately after it’s due.
Effective engine maintenance requires consistent monitoring and understanding of your car schedules. If you know when oil changes are due or when to adjust fluid levels, you can have a seamless time maintaining your car’s engine. Always work with a trusted mechanic to help with areas you can’t handle yourself.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fred Felton
Content Creator / Editor
Fred Felton is a copywriter, editor and social media specialist based in Durban, South Africa. He has over 20 years of experience in creating high end content. He has worked with some of the biggest brands in the world. Currently Fred specialises in the motorbiking adventure space, focussing on all types of biking both on and offroad. He is also a keynote speaker and has presented talks and workshops in South Africa.
