We here at J&S Auto Repair do not want to be the bearers of bad news but there are four occasions when your vehicle’s engine cannot be repaired and must be replaced. The good news is that these things generally do not happen unless you’ve already put a ton of miles on your automobile. If you have, however, you might need a replacement if any of the following happen while you’re driving.
1. White, Black, or Blue Exhaust
When it comes to vehicle exhaust, keep in mind that white means coolant, black means fuel, blue means oil, and all of this means serious trouble. Any time you see excess exhaust, it’s safe to assume something is wrong. In older vehicles, the engine can burn coolant, fuel, or oil for a number of reasons, such as a blown head gasket. If your engine is burning any of these things, you have extensive damage.
2. Nonstop Knocking Sounds
When you hear constant knocking, that’s the sound of your engine bearings telling you they’re in serious trouble. The bearings knock when they wear out and when they do they cause irreparable engine damage. If you have the knocking sound investigated right away, the bearings might be able to be replaced before they damage the engine. Most of the time, however, there’s significant damage.
3. Metal Shavings
We do a lot of oil changes in our shop and if we find metal shavings in your motor oil, we’re going to have some very bad news. Metal shavings indicate that crucial engine parts have broken down and are shedding into the motor oil as it passes through the engine. Once the parts have broken down to the point of releasing metal shavings into the oil, your car, truck, van, or C/SUV’s engine is a total goner.
4. No Power
Finally, older vehicles eventually lose their get-up-and-go no matter how well you take care of them. You might not need a total replacement in one shot, but you will find yourself replacing major parts and systems one after the other. This happens with machinery. The machine will not last forever. Once the engine is closing in on the end of its lifespan, it will begin to lose more and more power.
J&S Auto Repair located in Warwick, RI, can inspect your automobile engine and address any problems that are creeping up due to age or mechanical failure. If you need an engine replacement, we can help you with that, too.
