When to overhaul a car engine: what to consider
It should be noted, that the reliability of modern cars in recent years has declined markedly compared to many legendary models of the 90's, and with later developments. The point is, that the main role today is played by marketing and globalization of production.
Rapidly changing environmental norms and standards also have a significant impact on the quality and overall reliability of transport. In simple words, it is simply unprofitable for manufacturers to create machines for developed countries, which can be further operated without any problems 10-15 years.
If you do not even touch on the issues of interior and exterior design, as well as active and passive security, the engine itself, installed on an old car, in terms of environmental friendliness and economy will become irrelevant because 5 or maximum 7 years.
Quite obviously, that manufacturers, taking into account these factors, have stopped investing in the internal combustion engine a large resource. Naturally, many motorists in Russia and the CIS, where we are often talking about old cars with mileage, interested in the question, when to overhaul the engine. Let's understand.
Engine overhaul: when to do
First of all, the mileage of the engine before overhaul for a number of reasons may differ on two completely identical models. The point is, that the life of the engine is strongly influenced by the quality of engine oil and fuel, driving style, timeliness of service, etc..
For this reason the technical condition of the engine, example, with mileage 200 thousand. Km., It may be noticeably better, than in exactly the same unit, who passed for everything 120-130 thousand. Km. It turns out, to determine the state of the internal combustion engine only by mileage is not always correct.
In practice, it is not always necessary to start from that resource, which was laid by the manufacturer himself. Example, if written in the manual, that the manufacturer determines the planned resource on the symbol in 300 thousand. Km., Then it is clear, that even a normally running engine with mileage in 250-270 thousand. Km. will need repair earlier, than a serviceable unit with a mileage of about 150 thousand.
Although this information is more for reference, as at responsible owners motors quite often left and on 350-400 thousand. Km at the declared 300 thousands. On the contrary, things are going with motors, which are not serviced in time and are in difficult operating conditions. At the declared conditional resource in 300 thousand. Such engines often "die" before 100-150 thousands.
It becomes clear, that the need for overhaul determines does not run, and the general technical condition of the engine. When it comes to internal combustion engines, the claimed resource which is the same 300 thousand. Km, at the same time on the odometer only 120-150 thousand. Km. fair run, then attention should be paid to the actual state of the power unit, instead of looking at the mileage figure and compare this figure with the estimated resource of the unit.
Signs of rapid engine overhaul
To determine the condition of the engine, such a motor needs diagnostics. Diagnosis can be as in-depth, and superficial. In this case, even the results of the preliminary assessment can be determined, that the power unit will need to be overhauled or overhauled very soon or right now.
- First of all, serious problems are indicated by a knock during engine operation as "cold", and "hot". Usually knocks indicate worn crankshaft liners and necks, problems with pistons, etc..
If, when such knocks are clearly audible without the use of additional devices (phonendoscope), and the oil pressure lamp is lit or blinking (reducing the pressure in the lubrication system), then the engine needs urgent repair.
- Increased consumption of engine oil, as well as blue smoke from the exhaust pipe in many cases indicates problems with CHP (wear of cylinders, pistons, piston rings, etc.). Note, that the engine can "eat" oil for various reasons, however, most often it is the critical wear of CNG elements on engines with mileage leads to overuse of oil and oil exhaust.
The decision, it's time to disassemble the engine (make major repairs or partition) can be taken in that case, if at the same time with the increased expense of oil decrease in compression on cylinders is also noted, insufficient oil pressure was noted, especially at low speeds.
The only thing, to be determined, whether it will be possible to be limited only to partial sorting, and not the "capital" of the whole motor, possible in that case, if compression has fallen due to burnout of the valves, and oil consumption is due to problems with the oil caps or the presence of piston rings. In any case, the unit must first be disassembled and the engine damaged.
For what reasons the engine wears out quickly
Excluding unforeseen breakdowns (engine overheating, jamming due to oil leakage, etc.), then we can identify a set of factors and causes, contributing to accelerated wear.
- As mentioned above, engine oil and its quality, oil level and compliance with the type of internal combustion engine, as well as the state of the filters play a primary role. The oil must be selected correctly, its replacement must be carried out strictly taking into account the peculiarities of the operation of the vehicle.
You should not try to replace the recommended semi-synthetics or synthetics with cheap mineral oil, save on oil filter, etc.. If the engine is loaded, then oil change intervals should be reduced. The oil level should be checked regularly and refilled if necessary, avoiding mixing different types of oils.
Ignoring these rules significantly increases the wear of the engine and brings the moment of overhaul. By the way, the air filter also needs to be changed regularly, as its contamination leads to the ingress of abrasive particles into the cylinders. These particles can cause burrs and damage.
The operating conditions of the car engine also affect the timing of overhaul, as motor wear can be quite accelerated in cases, if the engine:
- often runs at maximum speed;
- the car with the started internal combustion engine stands for hours in traffic jams (idling mode);
- the driver used to drive at low speeds in high gears (riding in tension);
- cold starts of the engine constantly occur;
Example, many experts say, that one cold start in -25 degrees is equal to the wear on the run about 150 km. Also, when driving on the road, the engine wears much less, than when driving around the city with frequent acceleration and stops. It turns out, habitual urban operation negatively affects the condition of the engine and its service life before overhaul is reduced.
How to overhaul the engine
Overhauling a car engine is a complex process, which involves many operations. Thus qualitative repair allows to restore completely the power unit and to return to it indicators, as close as possible to the factory.
The only downside is the high cost of such a procedure, especially if you use only original spare parts when repairing internal combustion engines on foreign cars.
- As for the process itself, during overhaul the engine is disassembled, then the parts are cleaned (example, ultrasound) and subsequent defects.
- Experts assess the condition of the head of the unit, crankshaft, pistons, cylinder block, etc.. The cylinder block and cylinder head are pressed, worn parts are replaced with new ones, some elements are restored whenever possible (crankshaft grinding, boring / sleeve block, etc.)
We also recommend reading a separate article about it, what is a car engine overhaul. In this article you will learn about the features of this procedure, as well as what operations are carried out as part of the overhaul of the engine.
- Then the engine is assembled, "cold" run-in is performed on the stand, so that the parts and surfaces rub against each other. After completion, the power unit is installed on the car and run, then the appropriate settings and adjustments are made.
- Later the first 3-5 or even 10 thousand. Km the engine needs to be run in after repair. This approach will maximize the life of the unit after overhaul.
Let's summarize
As you can see, engine overhaul is required in that case, if there are certain "critical" faults, ICE is very worn, etc.. With, although overhaul is an expensive procedure, after such repair it is possible to restore the initial characteristics of the power plant.
This means, that the engine will be almost new, especially if the original spare parts were used and most of the parts were changed, and not repaired. We will add, that overhaul without replacement of the cylinder block allows to save engine number, which eliminates further problems in the legal part.We also recommend reading the article about it, what is engine failure and why this procedure is necessary. In this article you will learn about the features of defecting, as well as why it should be performed as part of the engine overhaul or engine overhaul.
By the way, this is one of the main advantages of "capital" in comparison with the purchase of a contract engine or transmission. We will note still, that only the use of quality oil and fuel, timely service, as well as proper operation can significantly extend the life of any engine before overhaul.
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