Water In Engine Oil – How It Got There?
First of all, I am not a mechanic. But as every question asked has to be answered, so here goes the explanation.
The engine compartment of a car, should ideally contain engine or lubricating oil only, and definitely no water. If water is found in this area, it means something is amiss or wrong with the car mechanically.
For those not too competent in mechanical aspects of a car and wish to ask, “How did water appear in the engine oil,” you have to know a few basic mechanical terms.
The water actually came from the radiator or tangki air, as they say in Bahasa Malaysia. The radiator has no bearing or connection with the engine. Water from the radiator in fact runs along tracks within the engine block. Its purpose is to keep the engine cool and thus the temperature meter low.
In the process of keeping the temperature low, the fan obviously plays an important part too, as well as the thermostat. Failure of the radiator system causes overheating. Constant overheating will eventually cause the engine to jam up. It happens when the temperature meter reaches H or High.
Should the above situation persists too often, it would lead to the engine gasket getting burnt. In layman language, this means the gasket is destroyed. When this happens, water, which is meant to cool the engine block seeps in to the engine compartment and mixed with the engine oil. This cannot be allowed to happen.
What happens when this were to take place?
Water level in the radiator will certainly decrease. You will then have to fill your radiator regularly. That becomes troublesome, isn’t it?
Two, the car temperature will perpetually rise above normal and reach the higi level. And the result is, you will have to stop driving. Thirdly, water begins to be mixed with engine oil in the engine compartment. This will cause the viscosity of the engine oil being lowered. This will lead to engine damage.
An engine, that is filled up with too much water will lead to engine failure as explained earlier. Too much water in the engine compartment is also dangerous!
Compression building up in the engine can sometimes cause the engine to explode, especially when the engine is started. Allow me to explain a case, whereby the son of a friend who topped up the engine oil to the brim (full), finally caused the engine to explode. This led to massive damage and the car needed expensive repairs or “overhaul”.
Having explained rather extensively regarding the presence of water in the engine compartment, it is hoped that readers should take immediate steps to rectify the problem. Your mechanic would be the best person to advise you regarding this problem.
Basically, the problem of water present in the engine oil can be solved by carrying out a top overhaul. You have to replace the leaking gasket.
6 Tips On Car Battery Maintenance And Repair
They are famous brands of car batteries available today in the Malaysian market.
1) Types of batteries available.
Basically, there exist 2 types of batteries you could obtain for your car. They are 9 and 13 plate batteries.
9 plate batteries are smaller and cheaper, whereas 13 plate batteries are bigger and therefore lasts longer. Ideally a motorist is advised to secure the larger battery. Most batteries come with a warranty period of 1 year. Batteries normally last for 15 – 20 months.
The 2 types of batteries available in the market are normal battery which requires filling of solution or battery water and the latest types of battery known as the “water-free” battery.
The first types if roughly sold at RM130 – RM150. The second type is slightly more costly, around RM150 – RM170.
Old or used batteries can be traded in for RM10. Unless you know the proprietor selling you the battery well, you are advised to keep the receipt in a secure place.
It might come in handy later on when you make a claim for a new battery. The previous battery might have developed some problems. It might not last the guarantee period of a year.
2) What are suitable solutions that can be used to fill up a battery?
Unlike the water free type of battery, all other batteries have to be filled up periodically. Solutions used are:
i) Sulfuric acid
ii) Battery water
iii) Rain water free from oxides.
New and inexperienced drivers, especially those in the “P” category can always go to battery shops to secure their assistance.
3) Can a vehicle start if the battery is weak?
To start an engine, a car needs a good and strong battery. Mechanic friends of mine advised, an automatic car cannot start if the battery is weak.
So, owners of the above type of vehicle should ensure their vehicle batteries are in good condition. It is further understood that you cannot jump start an automatic car. Neither can one do a push start on an auto car either.
Manual cars facing problems can however be helped to start by the following methods:
i) Push starting
ii) Jump starting using jumper cable
iii) Installing a new battery into the car
4) How a vehicle is started?
Some drivers may wish to know how a vehicle is started. The 12 volt battery cannot by itself start a car. The voltage is way too low. With the assistance of a coil, the high voltage cables (4 of them) are supplied 6,000 volts each to the spark plugs of the engine. A total of 24,000 volts therefore is supplied to ignite the engine into starting.
Some readers may wish to know if the above can kill a person should he come into contact with it. Medical sources say, it could.
Therefore, mechanics are advised to switch off the ignition key whenever they wish to do some repairs to the engine. A person with a weak heart, when coming into contact with such a high voltage may probably die of heart attack! So, why take chances.
5) Symptoms to show a battery is becoming weak and needs to be replaced.
Can a driver know if his battery is becoming weak and needs to be replaced?
In fact, there are certain signs or symptoms your vehicle battery is becoming weak. According, again to my mechanic friends and my own father who is a lorry driver, they advised that:
i) Head lights become dimmer or less bright.
ii) The horn becomes less audible.
iii) Ignition becomes more difficult and the engine takes a longer time to start.
iv) In modern days’ cars, the alarm system will begin to sound or wail.
v) There will also be some problems with your automatic door systems.
The above are some tell tale signs that your battery system is having some problems. So, you are advised to visit your battery dealer as soon as possible.
Avoid waiting until your car dies or stall in a traffic light or traffic jam. By that time, it might be too late as you then cannot start your car. Imagine the panic you will get into in such an emergency situation.
6) Can a driver do anything to prolong the life of his battery?
Pertaining to this question, permit me to disclose to your some tips that you could follow. Again, these tips come from mechanics and friends who have been driving for many years.
Amongst the things that a driver can do are:
i) Switch off all your radio or cassette items before switching off your engine.
ii) Accelerate the car prior to switching off your head lights. In short, rev your engine a few times.
iii) Try not switching on your radio while the vehicle is stationary.
iv) Take out the battery and send it for recharging periodically. It only costs RM4 – RM5.
v) Check the battery water levels to ensure the solution in it is at its proper and correct levels.
Old and used batteries should ideally be handed back to the dealers. They should not be kept in our homes as it may cause problems pertaining to dengue.
Furthermore, batteries can easily pollute our surroundings. The better solution for drivers is to opt for the new form of batteries – the water free types.
It may be a little bit more expensive, but in the long run, it’s actually worth it. Less hassle to drivers who are mostly busy and most dealers claim, they are able to last longer, so they say.
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Car Engine Won’t Start – How To Solve It?
From the time a driver gets his “P” or probationary license until the day he finally decides to give up driving, a driver will face countless emergencies.
Broken windscreens, fires breaking out in the engine compartments, brake failures and the car being unable to start, are but some of the major troubles faced by a driver.
Today’s article will therefore concentrate upon one of the above troubles which a driver faces. The topic selected especially for this article is none other than the problem of a vehicle not being able to start. How do we solve this problem?
Some people believe it’s only the old cars which usually cannot start. And the new cars usually provide no trouble at all to the owners. In fact, this is a wrong assumption.
If you know nothing about vehicles, you will understand that mechanical problems such as a vehicle not being to start pertain to both old and new cars. Whether a car can start or otherwise, depends on one important factor which is the condition of its battery.
There is one thing I should advice you before continuing any further with this article. It has always been reiterated before that an automatic car cannot start if it does not have a good battery.
While talking about this topic in my Kursus Pendidikan Pemandu (K.P.P.) class just a week ago, a young Indian mechanic tested my knowledge regarding this interesting topic. The mechanic put up his hand and cheekily inquired, “can an auto vehicle start if its battery condition is weak?”
Of course, readers all should now know what I answered. This young mechanic smiled and nodded his head, as if agreeing with what I said.
For being able to answer, I should actually convey my thanks to my many mechanic friends such as Ah Lau, Ah Keng, Wah Chye and Raman. Not to forget too, my good friend Abbas from Kampung Delek, Telok Pulai in Klang.
This article today, will not touch upon the subject of why a vehicle cannot start. Only upon the subject of what one should do if one is faced with such a predicament.
If you are faced with such an emergency, there are actually 2 things which you can do:
1) Push start the vehicle.
2) Jump start the vehicle.
And if you do not wish to opt doing the above 2 things, the only alternative is to replace your car with a new battery.
In a short while, I will attempt explaining to readers of this blog how to execute the two things above.
The reason why I have not chosen to write on this topic earlier is that I feel it’s not easy to write about it. As this blog is now almost 1 year old, topics to be written upon have in fact become a scare commodity.
I therefore have no other choice but to write upon it even though it’s a difficult one to attempt.
First of all, let’s deal with the problem of “push starting” a car.
Push Starting A Car
Push starting a car is dangerous. It should not be done by people who do not know how to do it. Therefore “P” drivers and drivers who have very little experience should avoid to push start a vehicle.
It could lead to unforeseen accidents. A few weeks ago in Terengganu, an inexperienced girl was asked to sit inside the car to control it. Her friends push started the car.
When the car suddenly started, the girl lost control of the car and it crashed through the walls of a supermarket, went down the escalator inside it. It was reported a young girl, doing her shopping, was killed in the incident.
How do we push start a car exactly?
The steps to be followed are:
i) Put the ignition on.
ii) The driver controlling the car should ideally put the car in gear 3. Some suggest gears 1 or 2. It does not really matter which.
iii) The driver should press the clutch down as his friends begin pushing the car.
iv) When the car had gained enough momentum, the driver is advised to leave up the clutch suddenly. The car then jerk violently and this should then start the engine.
v) The moment the car starts, the driver should quickly step on the brakes, free gear and rev the engine quickly.
Do not permit the engine to die off. This would then require the car to being pushed again.
Jump Starting A Car
Next, we move to the question of how to jump start a car with a pair of jump cables. Jump cables in fact are one important item which we should have in our car. Good jump cables can be obtained from supermarkets and spare parts shops in town.
One good jump cable, which I wish to recommend to readers is Bosch. It costs around RM75 – RM90.
If your vehicle’s battery system is weak and the car cannot start, this is what you have to do:
i) Either bring the donor car alongside the car whose battery is weak or arrange for both cars to be with its head facing one another.
ii) The jump cable has 2 poles. Red (positive) and black (negative).
iii) Taking the positive pole, connect it to the positive pole of the car whose battery is weak.
iv) Connect the negative pole to negative pole of the car whose battery is weak.
v) Start the ignition switch of the donor car. Rev its engine hard to ensure a strong surge of current is supplied to the car whose battery is supposedly weak.
vi) Another driver who is at this time manning the car with the weak battery should attempt starting the car.
If done correctly, there should not be any trouble starting the car now.
When the car with the weak battery starts, the driver manning it should rev its engine hard in order to keep it running. When the engine begins to idle perfectly, it’s now time to disconnect the jump cables one pole at a time.
With the completion of jump starting the car, it’s now time to roll up the jump cables for safe keeping in the booth. We may not know when the next time will be when we will need it again.
After jump starting a car, mechanics suggest that the car should ideally be taken for a spin for quite a distance to allow the dynamo system to charge the battery.
However, it would be better if the car battery be sent to the battery shop to have it recharged for a few hours. Recharging a battery takes but only a few ringgit.
It is hoped that with this article, drivers who have very little experience in either jump starting or push starting a car, will now have the necessary know how to perform it.
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