The nightmare scenario for drivers is that you are motoring along the highway, only to find that your ‘check engine’ light illuminates – or worse still – bits of your engine start falling out behind you!
Obviously, one of the best ways of making sure that your car stays in tip-top shape is to have it serviced on a regular basis, so make sure that you develop a close relationship with your local auto repair shop. But there are plenty of signs which you need to watch out for that demonstrate that your car engine is in difficulty. Let’s take a closer look at some of them here.
A Lake of Oil
If you have parked somewhere for a while, and when you drive away, you leave a lake of oil in your wake, this is a sign that something may not be quite right with your car. And if you top up your oil only to find that the problem occurs again, there could be an oil leak in the engine, and this could end up with is seizing up somewhere down the line.
Knock, Knock
One of the most obvious signs that your engine is in trouble is that there is a knocking sound which you can’t seem to properly identify. This could mean that your camshaft is no longer working in time with the pistons, and this is certainly something which shouldn’t be ignored.
Smoking is Bad for Your Health
We have known that smoking is not good for your health for a number of years now, and the same is certainly true of your engine’s health as well. This could indicate everything from a problem with your tappets to a flawed piston ring. Whatever it is, this can’t be good, and you need to get it checked at the earliest possible opportunity.
Catching a Cold
Many older engines struggle to turn over when it is cold outside, but after a while, they will get going. If you are finding it difficult to start your engine on a regular basis, the problem may be with a cylinder casing which has cracked due to pressures caused by the temperature change. It may be obvious that something needs to change, but many people will try to persevere and keep their car running despite obvious faults such as this.
Boiling Over
Any signs of steam rising from your engine certainly can’t be a good thing, and it could be an indication that something in your car is leaking such as your gasket, radiator or pipes. If this is the case, it won’t be long until your engine becomes flooded and even drops out of your car entirely.
Unfortunately, not enough people watch out for the warning signs that are telling them that there is something not quite right with their vehicle. The engine is obviously one of the most crucial features of a car, and you certainly don’t want to ignore anything which may be going wrong with it.
