How to Tell If Engine is Damaged from Overheating (8 Ways)
Internal combustion generate a lot of heat in your car engine. But how to tell if the engine is overheating and is on the verge of collapsing? Being stranded on the roadway waiting for a tow truck to come to your rescue is something all of us would like to avoid in our lifetime.
Therefore, knowing the symptoms of engine damage from overheating can help you stay put from actually damaging the engine. Thus, if you seek to know in detail about engine overheating causes, this guide is intended for you only. This guide will explain the possible causes of engine overheating and its symptoms.
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Also, once you read the article, you will find all the easy ways to tell if your car engine is overheated. Check out how to keep your car engine always in working condition.
Why is My Car Overheating? 7 Possible Causes of Engine Overheating
The engine is the most important and central part of a car, and ignoring the overheating issues of the engine could cost you a high expense later. Therefore, examining the situation and symptoms of engine damage from overheating would help.
For your ease, below are the 7 most common possible causes of engine overheating that you never neglect.
Cause #1: Low Coolant or No Coolant
The coolant is the primary liquid that keeps the engine cool. The whole coolant system keeps the smooth flow of coolant to continuously provide cooling to the engine. This entire process pulls out the heat from the engine, as the combustion part could reach up to 240 Degrees Celsius.
Therefore, the coolant often gets low within the time, which could cause the engine to overheat in extreme situations. Low coolant or no coolant could be one of the causes of engine overheating. If you are maintaining coolant constantly and still facing overheating issues, you must figure out where it is going.
Cause #2: Cooling System Leaks
As mentioned above, you have read the low coolant cause of engine overheating. Adding to this, an internal leakage in the coolant system or pipe could drain up the coolant. The coolant system includes a pump, Radiator, Thermostat, hoses, and gasket, which keeps the engine cool. Therefore, leakage in any part of the coolant system would cause engine overheating even after you stop the oil off.
The leakage in the cooling system would mix the coolant with different things, like your oil, and nothing will cool down as it ought to. Spots or puddles can detect leaks in the coolant system on the surface. If you spot green spots on pipes or the surface would be coolant leakage and the reason for engine overheating.
Cause #3: A Broken Water Pump
The water pump is another main cooling system component that keeps coolant traveling through the cooling system smoothly. The coolant ingests heat from the engine, and the water pump helps to flow it through hoses to the Radiator. When the Radiator sets apart heat from the coolant, the coolant transfers back to the engine, and this process keeps on running to keep the engine cool in any situation.
Although, if you are sure with coolant, no leakages, and still facing engine overheating causes, the broken or bad water pump must be the main reason for engine overheating.
Cause #4: Thermostat Failure
Like any other cooling system part, the Thermostat has an essential role in cooling the engine. The failure of the Thermostat could easily spell overheating to the engine. The Thermostat controls the coolant and helps hold the engine back from overheating.
Apart from overheating issues, irregular fluctuations in temperature are other indications of a bad thermostat.
Cause #5: Clogged or Damaged Radiator
The Radiator is a main part of the entire cooling system. It assists in pulling heat away from your engine. Hence, if anything turns out badly with the Radiator, for example, a build-up from dust particles and debris, it could become another possible cause of engine overheating.
In such a situation, your engine could undoubtedly overheat. Apart from it, sometimes any leakage or damaged radiator cap hinders extracting hot air from coolant and makes the engine overheat.
Cause #6: Head Gasket Failure
The head gasket is only the part that seals the engine’s combustion system for the proper compression of the engine power. The head gasket keeps the engine block and separates the cylinder head in simple terms. Somehow, if the head gasket blows off, it would make the coolant get into the ignition chamber, and the cooling system fills with oil. The weird it sounds, the major it causes the problem.
Consequently, the leakage in coolant or less coolant levels would be the result of this. Therefore, it is one of the reasons for engine overheating. If you detect any milky-white oil stuff anywhere in the combustion pipe, it would be due to a blown head gasket
Cause #7: Damaged Radiator Fan
As earlier discussed, the Radiator helps to extract hot air from the coolant and keeps the engine cool. It eliminates the hot air with the fins as they pull it out from the coolant, yet this process only runs with the moving car. Thus, when your car is stopped, the Radiator has a fan that starts pulling out the heat from the coolant.
The air moves across the Radiator with the fan, but if the fan is broken, your car might start to overheat even if it’s standing by. So, to cool the engine, you need to move it. Hence, a broken radiator can be one of the symptoms of engine damage from overheats.
How to Tell If Engine is Damaged from Overheating?
Car engines are built to handle temperatures up to 110 degrees celsius to easily maintain fuel economy, car performance, and emission control. Therefore, possible damage could happen to the engine if the temperature rises from a specific limit. There could also be other issues that can damage the engine from less to more extensive range, but those are sporadic cases.
If you want to detect damages, particularly from overheating, below are symptoms of engine damage from overheating. Let’s check the 8 best ways to tell if the engine is damaged from overheating.
Engine Detonation
One of the dangerous engine damage from overheating is engine detonation, also known as engine knock. It usually happens when the fuel combusts prematurely or erratically inside the cylinder chambers. With a perfect working engine, this issue ought not to occur usually.
In any case, due to the overheating problem, the engine detonation occurred. The fuel has its highest combustion state, and when fuel combusts before a particular state, it diminishes the fuel’s energy and further affects the fuel economy.
It could also put a lot of pressure on the car’s engine since the fuel’s explosion generally creates a power that pushes toward a path that is inverse to the pressure stroke of the piston. While various elements might cause detonation, overheating will generally be a typical reason.
When the engine gets heated, it makes the gasoline progressively unsteady. Overheating makes fuel immediately detonate, mainly while acting related to different factors like known sensors, nonfunctional EGR valves, and excessive carbon development.
Seals and Gaskets
Do you want to know what happens when engine overheats? Well, check the Head gaskets and seals. The cylinder heads and block are separated by Head gaskets with a seal to forestall compression loss. It also seals oil and coolant entries to hold oil and prevent the mixing of coolant and oil.
As referenced above, extremely high temperatures can cause the cylinder head to expand. Therefore, the swell head further crushed the head gasket. Eventually, any damage to the gasket could lead to compression loss among cylinders and coolant leakage issues in cylinders. All this could dangerously affect the other engine parts. This kind of car engine damage from overheating could affect the owner financially.
Engine overheating damages the head gaskets and causes various issues, and fixing it also costs more. At the same time, the seals are meant to bear the normal engine heat. Yet, overheating, the seals start to melt, break, or crack and cause leaks. It tends to raise specific oil issues.
Warped Cylinder Heads
If you are wondering how to tell if an engine is damaged from overheating, check the cylinder heads. The cylinder heads are built with Aluminum, and it usually melts with overheating. Therefore, if you keep driving an overheated car, there are high chances of warped cylinder heads. It further leads to less power, failing, and high oil-consuming issues.
Apart from the cylinder head, other parts, including sensors, belts, and wiring, could also get melted with overheating problems.
Continuing with a warped cylinder head wouldn’t adequately seal the blocks. If the problem is detected late, warped cylinder heads could further damage the head gasket and stop working. The warped cylinder head is one of the signs of the engine going bad, and the car may not function as expected.
Scuffed Pistons
Metal usually expands due to overheating situations. The car manufacturers consider this propensity while making an engine. Therefore, as long as the temperatures stay under a limit, there wouldn’t be any expansion of metals and mechanical issues. However, an overheating engine often results in metal expansions.
The piston, specifically, often encounters expansion issues from overheating. With the overheating, pistons expand and start hitting the cylinder walls while moving. Touching the walls could arise several matters, including scuffing, scratching, rubbing, or even worn patches that explicitly impact the piston’s ring.
Scraping pistons can ultimately tend to piston failure if the problem isn’t tackled immediately. Once the piston edge wears down, the gasoline moves upwards past the compression cycle. If this issue is ignored for a long time, the piston could affect the engine with severe damage, and it would be costly to get fixed.
Blown Head Gasket
The chamber heads and the engine block are the two main parts of a car engine. In Between these two parts, another component sits that is known as the head gasket. The head gasket makes a tight seal to make sure the air, oil, and coolant remain where they should.
Furthermore, it also guarantees that the pressure produced by combustion remains in the system. The Head gaskets, especially those made from Aluminum, usually experience heavy effects from overheating.
Aluminum absorbs heat and extends significantly from other metals used in engines. The expansion of the head gasket in its restricted area puts pressure, and the gasket wraps or breaks.
Indeed, a blown head gasket is one of the signs of an engine going bad. The blown head gasket tends to begin the engine coolant and oil mixups. Eventually, this coolant and oil mixup flood the engine, causing severe damage to the transmission and essential engine parts.
One of the common symptoms of engine damage from overheating in a blown head gasket is white smoke from a vehicle’s exhaust.
Cracked Engine Block
Engine overheating damage can impact the block, and you can witness cracks on the engine block. Even though the cylinder heads, head gaskets, and pistons directly impact the engine block when expanded with high temperature.
Consequently, the engine overheats for a long time, and some block areas face incredibly high temperatures and might expand and contract, which makes the cracks. A cracked engine block could make the overheating problem worse.
The cracked engine block is adequate to permit the engine’s liquid fluid to spill out of the engine, which may overheat the engine temperature, resulting in a more extensive impact on the car’s performance – the antifreeze of engine circles inside the engine block, in and around the primary engine combustion parts.
Hence, even with a small engine block crack, the cracks would worsen and expand profound enough within an engine to uncover the antifreeze passageways. It would be another engine overheating damage sign.
Burnt Exhaust Valve
An engine has at least one camshaft that opens and closes a series of valves. The engineer cylinder heads are positioned where the valves are situated by guides. Every cylinder commonly has two to four valves, contingent upon the engine’s design.
Indeed, engine overheating outcomes could likewise lead to the exhaust valves. The exhaust valves could get affected by the overheating of the engine and cause significant harm to it. Thus, as a result, these valves might stick or scrape in their guides, prompting critical compression leaks.
The issues like high operating temperatures, valve not seating correctly, and bad engine performance due to heating issues could lead to the burnt exhaust valve. So, next time you notice misfiring or rough running and check engine light flashing, it is better to take it as an indication of overheating engine damage.
Exploded Radiator and Heater Hoses
Do you ever think about what can get damaged when a car overheats? The explosion of the Radiator and hoses might be one of the overheating engine symptoms. The overheating of the engine begins a chain of certain events. With the overheating, the combustion chamber will probably become a hot spot of the engine, resulting in erratic combustion.
Consequently, the combustion will keep on rising the overheating of the engine, which will break the head gasket. This event further led to the blown head gasket permitting coolant leakage, and in the end, coolant would come to a boiling point.
The coolant at boiling point implies whenever it passes through worn old radiator hoses, it builds the tension in the Radiator and the hoses linked to the engine. Perhaps, Radiator could only handle up to a particular amount of pressure; in any case, the hose swells and probably explodes at extreme pressure levels. Even the radiators with plastic tanks carry high chances of explosion in such extreme situations.
How Hot Can an Engine Get Before Damage?
If you are wondering how hot can a car engine get before damage? If the radiator water is not at boiling point, it would be safe to run the car at 100 degrees, and it wouldn’t cause any damage to the engine. However, it is of utmost importance to keep the engine’s temperature below the boiling point of the coolant to prevent any extensive damage. Usually, the coolant starts to boil at 135 degrees Celsius, even if the radiator can’t resist the overheating situation.
In general, 75 to 105 degrees celsius is considered the average operating temperature of a car with ideal performance. Even though the temperature indicator on the dashboard doesn’t alert with this temperature. With the 80 to 90-degree Celsius temperature, the Thermostat starts functioning.
It moves the coolant fluids via the cooling part, and as the temperature rise, the radiator starts cooling down the engine. You could possess a high risk of exploding radiator and coolant if running a car over 102 degrees Celsius, and that would be symptoms of engine damage from overheating.
The answer to the question: how hot can an engine get before damage? It is simply 118 to 120 degrees Celsius. Running above 120 degrees would cause metal expansion cracks and damage the engine and cooling system.
How Long Can a Car Overheat Before Damage?
People often question, how long can an engine run hot before damage? Perhaps, it would be a little challenging to tell the exact time your engine will be a disaster due to overheating situations. As earlier mentioned, 120 degrees Celsius is a warning sign, and if the temperature rises from 120, you would immediately stop the car.
Shockingly, engine overheating is one of those issues that can promptly damage the engine in the blink of an eye. Even though automotive specialists ideally recommend not to run the engine for more than 30 to 60 seconds whenever you detect any overheating signs of the engine.
Perhaps, in the overheating situation of a car’s engine, it would be wise to pull over and turn off the engine as quickly as possible to prevent the devastating consequences that could cost you an extensive amount of dollars down the road.
How Much Does It Cost to Fix Overheating Car?
The significant parts of the cooling system rarely get damaged by overheating, and cooling system fixes normally don’t cost much. Usually, the wear and tear of small parts commonly cause overheating. Therefore, decrease the overheating chances by following your car manufacturer’s manual guide, including timely service plans. These plans also include replacing the cooling system and parts at a particular time.
But If you have a damaged engine and other parts and want to know the average Cost to fix overheating car. The cost could depend upon the type and model of the car you are driving and the availability of its parts. In the majority of the cases, flushing the coolant and refilling it will probably be considered an approximate expense of $100 to $200.
To be more precise, the average cost to fix overheating car and its components are:
- Replacing Thermostat’s approximate cost: $200 to $260
- The average cost of radiator hose replacement: $110 to $190
- Cost of radiator fan replacement: $300 to $420
- The average expense of a new water pump: $400 to $550
On the contrary, with severe damage to the engine, if the head gasket breaks, is wrapped, or damaged to walls. This overheating engine repair cost of the head gasket would cost you $1300.
How to Know If Engine is Damaged from Overheating – Author’s view
In conclusion, engine overheating is serious and could be more damaging if not addressed immediately. Rather than running to a mechanic during emergencies, it is ideal to have regular maintenance, servicing, and inspection by expert mechanics. Mechanics will probably detect all possible causes of engine overheating and cooling before they occur and damage the engine to an extensive level.
However, with this guide, you must clearly understand some primary symptoms of engine damage from overheating and possible causes of an engine overheating. Yet, suppose you detect the exploded radiator and heater hoses, burnt exhaust valve, and cracked engine block. In that case, these are signs of engine going bad and the reasons for engine overheating. So, it is better to rush to the mechanic and address these issues before they entirely damage the engine.
About Jace Cuban
I am an automotive enthusiast who loves to be around cars and pickup trucks. Applying innovative car care products and installing different latest car accessories are my hobbies. Also, I love sharing my adventurous experience with car lovers.
10 Bad Habits That Are Ruining Your Car’s Engine
Cars are, in general, a lot more reliable than they used to be. Newer manufacturing processes, better materials, and the advancement of onboard diagnostic technologies have certainly helped. Car engines are staying alive longer on average, and diagnosing issues is easier than it used to be. All mechanics have to do these days is plug a machine into the ODBII port on your car and it will tell the mechanic what’s going on. It’s easier than ever to keep a car on the road longer.
However, none of those improvements matter if the vehicle’s owner isn’t being careful. Although it is entirely possible to knock around a car quite a bit without causing damage, bad habits can build up over time and reduce the overall lifespan of the car. You wouldn’t see damage immediately; you’d only realize it at the end of the car’s life when the engine goes down at 100,000 miles instead of 200,000 miles. It might not be that dramatic, but you get the point.
So, here is a list of bad habits that you should avoid assiduously if you want your engine to live longer. Some of these are not always avoidable, and that’s okay. Performing some of the actions below once or twice isn’t going to harm anything. It’s only if you do it over and over again over a long period of time that it starts to harm your vehicle.
Not changing your oil on time (or ever)
Nothing in life is maintenance-free, and that’s personified no better than oil changes for your car. Oil is the lifeblood of your engine and is responsible for lubrication and heat dissipation. It’s used directly in the movement of essentially any moving part within the engine. Each engine is slightly different and may require a different type of oil. Thus, it’s not only important to change and monitor your oil but ensure that you’re using the correct oil for your car.
The negative effects of not changing your oil are well documented but we’ll go over them briefly here. Oil breaks down over time whether you drive the car or not. When oil breaks down, it loses its ability to lubricate effectively. Additionally, oil can become contaminated with water, fuel, and dirt over time, which also reduces its effectiveness. Finally, all vehicles burn oil, even if it’s in small quantities, which means the oil levels will naturally go down as you drive.
So, knowing all of that, it’s obvious why changing your oil will prevent premature engine wear. Old oil with contaminants doesn’t lubricate as well as fresh, clean oil, and that additional friction in your engine can wear down various engine components, leading to an eventual failure of some sort. Fortunately, this is easily solved with an oil change. You can do it yourself, take it to a shop, or even take it to a dealership to have it done. Most modern vehicles have evolved enough to where you can go further than 5,000 miles between oil changes, but we recommend checking out your owner’s manual for the exact numbers.
Avoiding regular maintenance with your other fluids
Oil is the big fluid that needs to be changed. However, it is not the only engine fluid that can cause issues if not changed or at least checked for proper levels. A good example is your radiator fluid. If your radiator springs a leak and your fluid empties out, your car will lose its ability to cool itself down, resulting in engine overheating. Such an event can easily lead to engine damage down the road. There are a number of fluids in the car, including coolant, transmission fluid, brake fluid, and more. They don’t all directly correlate to engine damage, but they can all contribute to vehicle failure.
It’s even a good idea to keep your fuel topped off. A lot of folks may not know this, but driving a car on its last gallon of gas too often is actually bad for your engine. It can cause damage to the fuel pump, because fuel pumps often require a certain amount of gas to function properly. Continuous low fuel can make engines misfire and even cause issues with the catalytic converter in rare instances. Make sure to top off your fuel a bit sooner to avoid all that drama.
The number of ways the other fluids in your car interact with your engine do matter, even if it’s not as big a deal as it is with oil. The generally accepted notion is that you should flush your coolant and brake fluid every couple of years or 30,000 miles. Of course, you should check your owner’s manual for the exact numbers for your model.
Ignoring the check engine light
This one is fairly self-explanatory. The check engine light comes on when the car detects an issue with something in the engine bay. Unfortunately, it could be any one of dozens of different potential issues and not all of them can cause engine problems. For example, some models will turn on the check engine light if you leave your fuel cap off. That’s a pretty easy problem to fix. However, not all the issues are that simple, so it may be worth taking the car into a mechanic to find out what’s up with the light.
A few potential causes of a check engine light include spark plug issues, a damaged oxygen sensor, a dirty mass air flow sensor, a catalytic converter issue, or something being physically wrong with the main engine components. Depending on the issue, you can drive around for days, weeks, or even months without additional issues. However, each mile you drive could be putting wear on your engine that can eventually cause it to fail. If the wear is caused by an engine component issue, that part (or parts) will continue to wear and degrade until you get the problem resolved.
There are two ways you can deal with this. The first is buying an ODBII device and checking the error code yourself. There are usually instructions on how to do so with the ODBII device, and you can find information on how to check your car online. Some auto parts stores, like AutoZone, have services that will check the codes for you for free. Or you can just take it into a dealership or mechanic and have them check it out. It’s your call.
Hard acceleration and aggressive driving
Having a fun car is an exercise in restraint. Sometimes, it’s fun to just put the pedal to the metal and enjoy a spirited drive around your favorite backroads or highways, provided that you do so within the limits of the law. However, if you drive your car like you stole it too often, it can actually lead to premature engine wear. It’s not necessarily difficult to see why with heavy acceleration, heavy braking, and lots of aggressive driving behavior. Cars are designed to live through this without any damage — to an extent. But driving like a maniac all the time will eventually start causing problems.
The other big potential issue is doing all of the above while the engine is cold. Most modern OEMs recommend driving with a light touch for a little while until the car can properly heat up. Going straight from the driveway to driving like a banshee means the engine oil doesn’t have the time to reach its operating temperature, which affects its viscosity. That can cause engine wear if you do it too often. In general, you don’t have to let the car sit in the driveway for ten minutes first, but it’s a good idea to drive it less aggressively until it warms up a bit.
There are other ways of driving that can hurt your engine as well, and we’ll get into that later. Until then, it’s not a bad thing to drive your car aggressively on occasion. Just don’t make it a habit or you’ll start wearing out your engine components prematurely.
Overloading the car
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Every vehicle has a maximum weight limit and, as you can imagine, it’s not a good idea to exceed that weight limit. Even vehicles without tow ratings still have weight limits. For example, a 2019 Honda Accord with the 2.0-liter turbo engine has a payload capacity of 850 pounds. Once you exceed that limit, it can cause damage to all sorts of systems within the vehicle, including the engine, suspension, brakes, and even the transmission. If you go too far overboard, you might even drag the undercarriage of the car along the ground, bottom out the vehicle more often, and damage the outside of the car in other ways.
For the engine, though, the big problem is engine strain. A car’s engine is designed to pull a certain amount of weight. It can and will pull more than that, but it causes an immense amount of strain on the components. That strain will eventually lead to component failure and engine wear. Plus, there are myriad negative benefits to overloading your car. Many insurance companies will void your car insurance for doing so. So, if you do it too often or to an extreme degree, you could wind up with a broken-down car and no car insurance. That’s a rough double whammy.
While it may not be as convenient, it’s a smarter idea to rent something capable of carrying the weight you want to carry. U-Haul trucks and other types of rental trucks will fit the bill just fine, as their engines are designed to haul a whole lot more than your sedan. Let the proper engine do the work.
Making short trips too frequently
This isn’t terribly different from the kind of engine wear that you could get from driving your car aggressively, because it stems from more or less the same issue. When you make short trips, your engine never really gets to warm up all the way. Driving your car around cold all the time has the same potential outcome as driving it around like a lunatic while the engine is cold. It can lead to engine wear.
The problem is especially pronounced in newer engines and turbocharged engines where fuel dilution is a common issue. Fuel dilution occurs when fuel gets into the engine oil, which can cause the oil to overflow. That causes problems all on its own. The best way to fix dilution is to drive your car around long enough for it to warm all the way up. Once the engine is at its operating temperature, it’ll burn off the fuel in the oil, allowing the oil levels in the car to return to normal. While this likely won’t cause any noticeable damage in the short term, it may cause increased engine wear and potential issues over the long term.
The fix is simple enough. Every now and then, get in the car and drive it around for 30-60 minutes to let the engine warm all the way up and burn off the excess fuel in the oil. Since many folks commute to work, and commutes are, on average, about 20 to 25 minutes, many folks can avoid the issue simply by taking their morning and evening jaunts to and from work. If you’re not one of those people, just drive the car a little more often to solve it.
Not letting your turbocharger cool down
Turbochargers are commonplace these days. They allow cars to deliver more power while also being more fuel-efficient than most of their six-cylinder counterparts. By attaching a turbocharger to a four-cylinder engine, manufacturers can get similar power numbers to a V6 without the hit to efficiency, fuel economy, or emissions. However, the addition of a turbocharger means a little extra care has to be taken in order to make sure things stay OK inside the engine bay.
In general, typical driving won’t affect the turbocharger at all. They’re designed to handle everyday driving without complaint. However, turbocharged cars are fun to drive, and some spirited driving gets the turbocharger heated up quite a bit. It’s recommended to either drive around normally for a few minutes before parking the car or let the car idle once parked for a few minutes to cool the turbo down if you’ve just engaged in an afternoon of fun. This can prevent damage to the turbocharger, which of course helps it live longer.
A lot of the other things mentioned previously also apply to the turbocharger. For example, your engine oil also lubricates and cools the turbocharger in your car at least some of the time. Thus, changing your oil consistently also helps your turbocharger stay cooler and better lubricated. That leads to less turbo wear and tear, which helps prevent premature failure. If your turbocharger is messed up, it can also mess up your engine, since it’s all part of the same system. In other words, make sure to take proper care of your turbo.
Engine lugging
Engine lugging isn’t done as much as it used to be since the proliferation of automatic transmissions. Such transmissions shift automatically, which takes a lot of the control out of the driver’s hands, and it’s also a great way to prevent engine lugging. However, if you drive a manual transmission, it’s a good idea to know what engine lugging is, why you should avoid it, and how it can damage your engine.
In short, engine lugging is when you drive your car in a higher gear than it’s supposed to be in. When this happens, the car drives at too low of an RPM, which causes strain to the engine. Somewhat counterintuitively, lugging the engine can cause the engine to overheat, and we all know what happens to things when they overheat. It happens because the engine is having problems moving the car forward at such a low RPM, and the strain causes excess heat. Over time, the excess heat can wear down engine components, cause damage, and even potentially cause engine failure.
The easiest way to prevent engine lugging is to simply shift when needed. If you’re in too high of a gear, the car simply won’t feel right, and downshifting to the proper gear will get the car moving again the way it should. It may take a bit of practice, especially for younger drivers, to get a good feel for how the car is supposed to run. However, it’s an essential skill to have when driving a manual transmission.
Consistently hitting the rev limiter
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We’ve all been in that parking lot where the souped-up car is revving its engine loudly to announce its presence to everyone within earshot. Such behavior is fun on occasion but doing it too much can actually damage the engine. This is especially true if you run the car up to its limiter. Car manufacturers understand that sometimes folks like to rev the car out, so most of them program the car to limit before hitting RPMs that could actually damage the car. Many also implement fuel cut-offs to prevent you from blowing the engine entirely. However, doing it too often can still cause wear and tear on engine components.
The reason why is pretty evident. You’re running the car at 6,000 or more RPMs and it’s also not going anywhere. Cars aren’t designed to be at redline all the time. Typically, they’re designed to hit the rev limiter during hard acceleration and that’s it. By running the engine that hard consistently, it stresses the engine, which can eventually lead to failure. For the record, it’s not a bad thing to occasionally hit the rev limiter. It’s there for a reason, and it’s to ensure you don’t damage the car when you do get up that high. It’s just bad to do it all the time.
Another way people can bounce off of the rev limiter is with a manual transmission car. If you downshift while going too fast, your RPMs will shoot up super high, which can also cause damage to the engine. It’s entirely possible to blow your entire engine if you downshift to too low of a gear while going too fast. Bouncing the car off of the rev limiter can do that too — it just takes longer.
Ignoring concerning smells, sounds, or visuals
Perhaps the oldest method of telling that something is wrong with your car is the old smell test. While there are myriad sensors in your car to tell you whenever the vehicle does something the sensors do not expect, it’s still possible to have problems that the sensors can’t detect. For those types of problems, you can usually see, hear, smell, or otherwise experience the problem before it becomes big enough to actually cause damage. Being vigilant while driving can not only save your car, but your life as well.
You’re likely familiar with some of these sensations. You’ll hear the engine knocking before it fails, smell burning oil before you see the leak, or notice some sort of mechanical inconsistency while driving that almost certainly points to a problem in the engine. You take it to the mechanic, get it fixed, and you go on your merry way. Ignore the symptoms, however, and eventually the engine will let you know there’s a problem by failing on you. The worst-case scenario is your car breaking down or catching on fire. However, not every issue is so serious that it manifests in that way.
Regardless, if you smell, see, or hear something that sounds off with your car, it’s probably best to have someone check it out before it gets any worse. Doing so can prevent further damage to the engine and its components and allow your car to live longer. You can ignore it, but eventually, whatever is wrong will trip a sensor eventually, and you’ll have to get it fixed anyway. If you notice something wrong, get it fixed.
16 Bad Habits That Can Damage Your Engine
Hoping to get your car engine to last 500,000 miles? Regular maintenance—like changing the oil, filter, drive belt, coolant, and air filter—can help you reach that goal. Even without perfect upkeep, many engines can easily last between 200,000 and 300,000 miles unless you’re driving a model known for engine issues.
But if you want your engine to stand the test of time, avoid these 16 bad habits that could cause serious damage and leave you with an expensive repair or, worse, a full engine replacement.
Neglecting Oil Changes
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You’re asking for trouble if you don’t change the engine oil and oil filter often enough. The owner’s manual that came with your vehicle will include the intervals when this work should be done. Failing to keep up with basic maintenance will likely jeopardize the longevity of your engine.
Using the Wrong Oil
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When buying engine oil, ensure you get the right one for your vehicle. The right type or viscosity will give your engine the lubrication required to reduce wear and tear, prevent overheating, and perform optimally.
Allowing Oil Level to Drop Too Low
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One of the worst things you can do to your vehicle engine is let the oil level drop too far. Some engines burn oil and must be topped up between oil changes. Allowing the oil level to get too low will reduce lubrication, cause friction, and result in overheating, which can damage the engine.
Ignoring the Check Engine Light
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Some drivers ignore the check engine light on the dashboard. While the light can come on for reasons that aren’t that serious — a loose gas cap, for instance — it’s never a good idea to ignore it. Driving when your engine is compromised can lead to expensive problems.
Ignoring Oil Leaks
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You’re also asking for trouble if you ignore oil leaks. If you notice an oil leak, take your car to a reputable auto repair facility for a diagnosis. You need to know what the problem is and how to fix it before the issue worsens and drains your wallet.
Accelerating Too Hard
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If you have a need for speed, you might like hard accelerations. But your engine doesn’t. Doing so suddenly and frequently can put too much stress on the engine and contribute to premature wear and tear.
Failing to Check the Coolant Level
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You should check your coolant level regularly. If you check the level weekly and notice that it’s always significantly lower than the week before, investigate to see if there’s a leak. Low coolant levels can cause your engine to overheat, blow head gaskets, warp heads, and more.
Riding the Clutch
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There aren’t that many people who can drive a stick shift these days. But if you’re in the minority, riding the clutch is a no-no. Riding the clutch occurs when you rest your foot on the clutch. Unfortunately, that can put unnecessary stress on the engine and wear out the clutch sooner than it otherwise would.
Using Water Instead of Coolant
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Water is not a substitute for coolant. So, if you’re running low on coolant, get some as soon as possible. It’s unsafe to use water because water doesn’t provide the cooling and corrosion protection properties of coolant. Throwing caution to the wind and using water in a pinch can lead to overheating problems and engine damage.
Skipping the Timing Belt Replacement
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It’s never a good idea to skip timely timing belt replacement. Check your owner’s manual to see when the timing belt should be replaced. If it breaks — and that usually only happens when not changed on time — it could destroy your engine.
Ignoring Engine Overheating
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Does your engine overheat? Don’t ignore it should this be the case. If it happens, you need to get the problem figured out and resolved. Otherwise, the end result could be a damaged engine, which can occur if there’s a blown head gasket or a warped cylinder head.
Driving Around With a Dirty Air Filter
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Your car’s air filter is essential. It helps to keep dirt, debris, and other contaminants from getting into the engine and wreaking havoc. Driving around with a dirty air filter is only asking for trouble since it can reduce the efficiency and performance of the engine and potentially damage it.
Using the Wrong Coolant
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While you may argue that using any coolant is better than using water, that’s not the point. Using the right coolant, rather than just any coolant, is essential. If you just pick up whatever’s on sale at the auto parts store or gas station, you could do more harm than good.
The wrong coolant can cause scaling, corrosion, or overheating and damage the engine, radiator, or water pump. It’s not worth the risk.
Revving the Engine in Neutral
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Over-revving your vehicle in neutral is a bad idea. It can cause unnecessary stress on the engine and destroy components like the bearings, pistons, or rods.
Skipping Spark Plug Replacement
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According to one source, spark plugs can last 30,000 to 90,000 miles. Delaying necessary spark plug replacement can lead to engine misfires, inadequate combustion, and accelerated wear and tear on the engine components. So, get them changed when your owner’s manual suggests.
Using Cheap Aftermarket Parts
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Yet another thing that can shorten your engine’s life span is using cheap aftermarket components. While some aftermarket parts are as good as or better than original equipment manufacturer parts, using low-quality parts can damage your engine.
Avoid These 16 Bad Habits That Can Ruin Your Engine
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If you want your engine to last, avoid these 16 bad habits that can lessen its life span. It can cost thousands to fix or replace an engine, so it makes better sense to take good care of it.
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