SMITH'S AUTO REPAIR
Digital Inspections
Engine Tune-ups
Examining The Exhaust SYSTEM
By P Sanchez
Maintaining a good running exhaust system isn't always a priority concern among car owners. But just because a typical exhaust system (at least one from a naturally aspirated engine) does not have any moving parts, it's easy to think that the exhaust system is less prone to failure. To an extent it is true but at the same time, the exhaust system is also directly affected by the health of the engine as well as external factors. A bad engine and specific environments can ruin an exhaust system.
But how can you (or a mechanic) tell? In this article, we'll talk about a few ways an exhaust system can be diagnosed for problems
Tale of the TailPipe (PART 4: The Turbo)
We've talked about the exhaust system and its common parts but I will be completely remiss if I didn't touch on one component of the system that's slowly becoming a usual fixture among all automobiles, whether its for high-capacity performance or small-engine fuel economy: the turbo
TaLE of the tailpipe (part 3: the cat)
Last time we talked about how the muffler, perhaps the most prominent feature of the exhaust system, has been designed to address a character flaw of the internal engine: the noise. Now we'll talk about the real dirt on driving and see how science, policy, and engineering have effected an automobile feature that's staving-off the death of the planet (or at least making things a lot less harmful to public health.)
Hint: It doesn't go "meow".
Tale of the TailPipe (PART 2: the muffler)
Last time we looked back on how exhaust systems on vehicles came to be. At its most basic, a car's exhaust system provides a way for spent gases to safely exit the vehicle and as such, require nothing more complicated than having connecting pipes, with one end bolted to the exhaust ports of the engine block while the other end opening just behind the under-body.
But as much as the internal combustion engine is a marvel of modern engineering, it is not without its flaws. In this article, we take a look at how the exhaust system has been purposed to address some of these flaws and further making the automobile a suitable everyday transport
Tale of the TailPipe (Part 1: history)
The tailpipe. For a lot of people, it's the part of the car that is both mundane as it is a patent indication of the nature of the machine. More accurately, the tailpipe is the most visible part of an important sub-system of an automobile: the exhaust system.
At its most basic, the job of the exhaust system is to safely route the exhaust gases out of the engine and away from the vehicle. After the engine makes useful mechanical work from the combustion of fuel and air, the spent gases need to be vacated from the cylinders which have to be ready for the next charge of fuel-air mix. Thus the gases are released into the exhaust manifold, go through connecting metal tubes and out the back through the tailpipe.
It sounds simple enough but the exhaust system actually serves other functions than just plumbing for waste gas. Much like the rest of the modern car, the exhaust system is a product of decades of purposeful design.
THE case for electrics
​From the luxury segment new contender Jaguar I-Pace to the zero emission everyday vehicles of Hyundai, or from the high-concept speedracer-esque outing of Infiniti to the 2nd generation of arguably the best selling electric vehicle (EV) in the past decade, the Nissan Leaf, major manufacturers have prominently displayed their budding fully electric vehicle lines in the last Chicago Autoshow. If big car brands are putting EVs front and center, is this a sign of an all electric future?
The Case Against Electrics
​With the sales of electric vehicles growing year-by-year, and major manufacturers creating their own electric lines of vehicles to get their share of an expanding market, with one major manufacturer even announcing their plan to cease designing new gas-only models by next year and concentrating on battery-powered cars only, are we seeing the end of days for the internal combustion vehicle? ​
Lessons in Lubrication
It is said that performing oil change at OEM precribed intervals is perhaps the most important maintenance you can do to your car. Oil provides critical lubrication between surfaces that move against each other, avoiding heat and premature wear from friction.
But how does engine oil get into those nook and crannies where they're needed? Before, I've had a mechanically simplistic view that for oil to get to all the places needing lubrication, the crankcase of an engine had to be filled with oil to the brim, with all its moving parts fully submerged. Apparently, that's not the case, as having free space is as important as having the right amount (and right age) of oil.
SHAMELESSLY CHEAP DETAILING HACKS
I own a 2004 Nissan Sentra. I got it last year for about 17 hundred. It had only 87,000 miles on the dash and came with everything stock: engine, rims, original paint. It has an underwhelming 4 cylinder but other than its spark plugs needing replacement, it ran well. The suspension was stock as well, but a little squeaky. Shocks were promptly replaced and so were the headlight housings which were yellow and dull. I could have lived with the squeaks and the light but since they were a safety issue, I'm glad those got replaced anyway.
Initial repairs cost half of what I paid for the car, and by most accounts, that's well within expectations of getting a used car. There's some fading of the top coat by the window frame, and a few minor scratches here and there. Otherwise, the car is in great condition, much props to the previous owner for taking very good care of the car. All in all, a great deal.
But I'm too cheap (or destitute) to splurge any further on Old Red. However, she still got some well-deserved TLC, with me having to spend next to nothing at all. Here are a few tips.
THE NEXT TECH IN LUXURY (pT.2)
Last week we talked about next level technologies applied to the internal combustion engine as they make themselves available to the public through luxury brands and the high-end of the high-ends. We went into some detail on how Infiniti's simple but ingenious rocker-armed piston assembly is giving in-chassis variable compression another shot at commercial reality. We also looked at the latest iterations of camless valve control technologies as they make their first production intro in exotic cars.
Today, we're discovering more of these engineering marvels that promise better performance, higher operating efficiencies, and safer emissions. For now, these technologies come as part of a car that'll cost you an arm and a leg (and perhaps a house mortgage) but wait a few years as they'll come standard on more sensible price models.
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