Automotive maintenance is something most of us ignore, until one day your car suddenly stops in the middle of the highway or begins blowing plumes of smoke from the tailpipe and we wonder what went wrong. Maintenance determines the longevity, performance, and reliability of the vehicle you drive. The best part of maintenance is that it does not require any sophisticated understanding of vehicles or their systems. It may seem intimidating, but is often a simple matter of popping open the hood and taking a look around. A few steps, some regular checks, and addressing issues promptly can greatly extend the life of your vehicle.
01. Contaminated Oil
Checking your engine oil should be a vital part of your car's regular maintenance schedule. Oil is what keeps the engine running smoothly. If you fail to keep that oil clean and topped off, you will definitely run into engine wear problems in the future. The general rule of thumb is if it's black, get an oil change. If it's brown, get an oil change soon. If it's white or mocha-colored, it can be a sign that a blown head gasket is leaking coolant into the cylinders and mixing with the oil.
As the engine accumulates mileage, blowby increases. This dumps more unburned fuel into the crankcase, which dilutes the oil and causes accelerated wear on engine components such as bearings and pistons, not to mention a loss of performance and fuel economy. Companies such as Blackstone Laboratories offer free test kits to send your oil in for analysis, to gauge the health of an engine.
02. Cracked Fuel Lines
Fuel lines rarely need replacement, but over time rubber will begin to age and harden, developing cracks and leaks. When they begin to go bad, the results can be catastrophic. Vibrations, rubbing against other components, or impact can all cause an old line to rupture or crack, leading to engine fires or fuel starvation.
03. Faulty Injectors
Clean fuel injectors are a must for peak engine performance, fuel economy, and emissions. Dirty injectors lack the necessary means to deliver proper amounts of fuel, and cannot maintain the correct spray pattern that is essential for efficient combustion. Injectors are exposed to extreme heat which evaporates fuel from the injector surface at engine shutoff, leaving gasoline distillates to build up and bake on the nozzle, impeding the flow of fuel.
The harder you drive your car, the more often injector service and cleaning are required. A typical routine checkup of injectors at 100,000 miles is recommended on daily driven street cars, (turbo RX-7 owners should have their injectors cleaned every 50,000 miles, due to higher engine temperatures). Companies such as RC Engineering specialize in inspecting, cleaning, and flowing injectors of all sizes for both street and race applications.
04. Cracked Bushings
Control arms manage the orientation of the wheels in relation to the chassis and are important parts of your vehicle's suspension system. Too much free play and you and your passengers will find yourselves feeling car sick, not to mention excessive wear and tear that worn-out control arms can cause to the rest of the suspension system. The most common signs of a worn control arm bushing is a dull clunk or heavy click from one side of the car when moving from a stopped position or applying the brakes. Heavy vibration from the chassis at speed is also a good indicator that your bushings might be compromised. Other factors can cause clunking sounds, so you should also check the integrity of bushings visually or with a pry bar. There should be zero movement. Companies like Super Pro offer polyurethane replacement inserts to repair those torn bushings, while improving your vehicle's handling.
Check all fuel hoses, including metal fuel lines, for stress fractures or corrosion. This image of a cracked fuel line was taken from an '05 STI with less than 6,000 miles on the odometer.