Author Archives: Justin Smith

You car’s radiator cap. A small piece of the overall mechanical setup, which can cause a lot of problems if it goes wrong. At worst, you could even be left sitting by the side of the road, waiting for a recovery vehicle. Fortunately however, as with most problems, there are some early warning signs that will give you an inkling that all is not well with this part. Use a little observation and vigilance and you could swerve any issues (and the costs associated with them) before they occur.

Spark plugs are an integral part of the engine. Each one sends a little high voltage spark between the terminals, which is used to ignite fuel in the engine. When spark plugs fail, this means that your engine will stop running efficiently.

Over time spark plugs can become dirty, picking up a residue from the burned fuel, coating the electrodes with carbon. Additionally, repeated sparking of the metal components can simply wear them down, increasing the distance the spark has to jump between electrodes, requiring additional charge from the battery which is not always available.  In short, spark plugs will wear out.

Over the years, sitting behind the wheel of your car, you become accustomed to the way it works and its capabilities. It’s no surprise therefore, that you’ll quickly notice when your vehicle lacks the same oomph as you usually experience. A loss of power is most apparent when you’re accelerating, and can be due to a number of reasons including air flow into the engine, fuel flow and even faults with the exhaust system. So, if your vehicle is consistently putting in a sub-par performance, these could be some of the reasons why…

We’ve all been there. You’re driving down the road and there’s something not quite right with your vehicle. What’s that sound? Rattling noises are not only annoying, but they could be a little early warning sign that something else is up with your car. What are the most common causes of the rattle, and what does each one mean?

The fuel filter is often a forgotten feature of your vehicle. Like all filtration systems, it will fail over time as it becomes increasingly clogged with all the particles it’s blocking. You might think of fuel as fairly clean, but even at the pump, fuel can contain many impurities such as dirt, rust from the storage tanks or even chips of paint.

The filter prevents contaminants from reaching the engine, which could impact its performance and shorten its lifespan. How can you ensure your filter is working properly at all times – and also tell when it’s on its way out?

­It’s important to extend the lifespan of all your car’s parts. However, as your gearbox can often be in constant use on those shorter urban journeys, it needs a little bit more TLC than other parts in the engine. And it’s worth bearing in mind that transmission problems are also painful and expensive. The last thing you want is gearbox failure, when you’re out on a larger road.

Stop the potential hurt with a little bit of vigilance, good driving and simple mechanical checks and procedures, to get a long and healthy lifespan out of your transmission: