6 Common Diesel Engine Problems to Watch For

Your car or truck walk a delicate line between producing the power necessary to do what you want it to do and remaining cool enough to function. If you’re experiencing overheating issues, MDP Diesel & Auto has these suggestions as to what might be causing the problem.  Head Gasket Issues The one problem you don’t want to have is an issue with your vehicle’s head gasket. This piece seals the space between the cylinder head and the engine block. Fluids that don’t need to be in the wrong area stay on their side because of this gasket. They fail occasionally, and that leads to almost instant overheating. If the temperature gauge suddenly pegs in the red area, you might be looking at a head gasket failure. Thermostat Trouble The thermostat in your vehicle’s engine has one very simple job. It opens when the temperature rises to a certain point and then it closes again when the temperature falls. This allows coolant to flow as needed in order to cool the engine properly. When the thermostat fails, as they sometimes do, it’s no longer doing it’s job and your vehicle is likely to start overheating rapidly. Low Coolant Levels Coolant does need to be topped up periodically. This is a liquid that travels through extremely hot areas and does evaporate a bit. Eventually old coolant burns up, which is another reason that flushing and refilling coolant periodically is an important service. Thankfully, coolant levels are usually easy to check because the reservoir is usually easy to spot and has a little bit of visibility to the contents. If the reservoir is empty, you need to top up. Leaks or Blocks in the Cooling System The entire cooling system for your vehicle’s engine consists of a variety of hoses and components. The water pump, the radiator, and the heater core can all spring leaks, losing essential coolant from the system. Beyond that, hoses can get brittle and spring leaks, too. If any of these same areas develop a blockage, that’s just as bad, if not worse. If you’re running into trouble with your vehicle overheating, let us help you troubleshoot the problem. Give us a call at MDP Diesel & Auto in Jackson, MI and we can set up an appointment to run some diagnostic testing. Once we know what’s wrong, we can give you a plan for getting back on the road without overheating. The post Why Is Your Vehicle Overheating? appeared first on MDP Diesel.

Diesel engines are the best, but there can still be some issues that need to be addressed before they cause catastrophic problems. MDP Diesel & Auto wants you to watch out for these potential problems so that you can get your diesel to the shop in time. Rough Starts It takes a lot to get your diesel engine going. As a result, you might experience harder starts with a diesel than with any other type of vehicle. But those starts shouldn’t feel impossible. If you’re noticing that your diesel is starting a lot rougher than usual, there’s probably something else going on that needs to be corrected. This is usually more of a problem for diesels during cold weather, but you can have trouble any time of year. Exhaust Problems All engines release some exhaust, but ideally it’s as little as possible. Diesel engines that are kicking out a lot of exhaust smoke are likely experiencing trouble with the fuel to air mixture. That balance of fuel to air is crucial, because it allows the engine to run properly. Too much exhaust or it’s really dark exhaust? That likely means that your engine has too much fuel running through it and that can damage the engine and the environment. Humidity Very few things do well in humidity and your diesel engine is no exception. Humidity is a measurement of how much water is in the air and high humidity levels means that there’s excessive moisture in the air. That moisture is bad news for things like engine oil and other vital engine fluids because it breaks them down. Oxidation Oxidation happens when oil sits for a while without circulating through an engine. Air is everywhere, and it’s no friend to engine oil. When air comes into contact with engine oil for a long period of time and the oil is simply sitting, those air bubbles build up in the oil. If you turn your diesel on again and get it running, that oxidized oil is now running through the engine, potentially causing some damage you don’t expect. Want to make sure your diesel is in tip-top shape? Give us a call at MDP Diesel & Auto in Jackson, MI . We’ll be happy to inspect everything and let you know exactly what’s going on with your diesel engine. If there is a problem, we’ll give you the information you need to make an educated decision.

The most obvious sign that your diesel truck has possible brake issues is that the brake light starts shining on your dashboard. MDP Diesel & Auto wants you to know what else to look for in terms of brake problems, too. There’s a Brake Fluid Leak It’s a good idea to periodically check the area around where your diesel truck is parked to see if you notice any fluids at all. Brake fluid is most likely to leak around your wheels, but you might spot it under the truck, too, if there’s an issue elsewhere in the brake lines. Brake fluid is usually brown or red in color and it’s extremely oily. Your Diesel’s Brakes Are Noisy You probably already know that your diesel’s brakes don’t make too much noise when they’re operating as expected. So, if you’re hearing lots of squealing, grinding, or other unusual sounds when you apply the brakes, there’s something happening that you need to take a closer look at. The Truck Pulls to One Side When Braking When you hit the brake pedal, your diesel truck should keep following the same path it was following. If that’s not happening, you may very well have a brake problem. Often the issue is that there’s something wrong with the caliper on one set of brakes or the rotor isn’t connecting properly with the brake pad. The Brakes Smell Hot Hot brake fluid has a distinctive smell, and that is not a good sign. Overheating brakes aren’t able to stop as well and you might even be burning off brake fluid, which means stopping is going to be even more difficult. If you’ve never smelled burnt brake fluid, it’s a very chemical smell. You might also see steam coming off your wheels, especially in cooler weather. The Brake Pedal Doesn’t Feel Right Pay attention to how your brake pedal feels, too. If it feels too soft or depresses lower than usual without giving you much braking power, there’s something going wrong. If the pedal sinks all the way to the floor, you’ve got a really big problem that might require using the emergency brake. Believe that you’ve got brake issues? You might well be right. Let us help at MDP Diesel & Auto in Jackson, MI inspect your brake system for you. We can diagnose the trouble and get you repaired again as soon as possible so that your diesel truck gets back to working hard for you. The post Five Signs Your Diesel Truck Has Brake Issues appeared first on MDP Diesel.