Engine Repair North Barrington

While most parts of a car can be fixed if completely broken, the car engine is more difficult to repair when it gets to that state. A car’s engine is like the heart of the car and needs to be taken care of when problems first start to appear. However, most car owners don’t know what to look for. By merely watching out for these issues, you’ll help keep your car running better for longer.

• Smell
• Smoke
• Warning lights
• Fluids where you park
• Car Shakes
• Noises

Smell

The air coming out of your vents should not smell like anything, but when you have a problem, it can often make you worried. A burning rubber smell could indicate that you have a belt that is slipping and friction is causing the rubber to melt. If you smell gasoline turn your car off immediately as it means you have a fuel leak somewhere around your engine, and a running engine can get hot enough to ignite the fumes.

Smoke

It is always wise to check your exhaust every so often by leaving your car running while parked in a parking lot or driveway and go to the back. If black smoke is coming out of the tailpipe, it means you could have an oil leak in the engine. While the cylinders do have oil in the during regular operation of your car, there are special rings that remove the oil before the gas enters and is ignited. Black smoke means that the oil is not being removed, and you have a compression ring that could be broken and scratching up the inside of your cylinders while your engine is running.

Warning Lights

Most people tend to ignore these, but they could indicate some major problems with your engine. Modern cars have sensors on just about everything, and they let you know what you need to look at. Warning lights could indicate low oil, high temperature, power issues, and more. Be sure to bring your car in when a warning light appears on your dashboard and let our mechanics take a look to check what the issue is.

Engine Fluid Leak

Because your car’s engine contains multiple fluids when you see one on the ground under where you park it is a good indication you have a leak. Not all fluids are the same, as water is a very common fluid to find under your car.

• Oil – Oil color is hard to tell because new oil is a clear yellow color while older oil is black. Touch is often a clear way of telling as oil is very slick when rubbed between fingers.
• Coolant – Coolant leaks can be normal or bad. If you just topped off the coolant a little leakage could be normal for your engine, but for the most part leaking coolant is bad. Coolant is green in color and has the same consistency of water.
• Water – Water has many sources for an engine, but none are from within unless you are using water instead of coolant. Water comes from the AC, Rain, and Snow/Ice.
• Transmission Fluid – While not in the engine, the engine does connect to the transmission. Transmission fluid is a cherry red color and has a similar consistency as oil.

Engine Shakes

When your car’s engine is running smoothly you feel small vibrations that can sometimes be light enough to not be noticed until they are gone. When they are significant you won’t be able to forget them. If the shakes are enough to cause liquids to move, you need to take your car in right away. There are many reasons that your engine shakes, and most of them mean that your engine could be breaking. Broken pistons, compression rings, misfires, and the timing being off are just a few things that could be wrong with your engine, and all get worse the longer they go untreated.

Noises

When your car runs, it should purr. A rumbling noise that is low when idle and roars when the gas is pressed. If you can hear knocking, ticking, or other noises it means there is a problem. Knocking is a common fuel issue with either too much or too little fuel entering the chambers for combustion, or there is a frayed belt that is hitting something, which could also cause a ticking sound. A bearing going causes squeaking or could mean more oil is needed for the bearings. A professional auto mechanic can tell what often is the problem by sound alone.

Auto Repair North Barrington

All of these are things that are easy to do on your own, but working on your engine is not to be taken lightly. Every year hundreds of injuries occur and even some fatalities from people working on their own engines. Don’t take the risk and let us take care of the issue for you. Our specialized equipment allows us to safely and efficiently work on any engine problem you might have. For over 70 years we have been helping people in North Barrington with their vehicles, and our dedication to honesty has helped get us where we are today.