Exhaust is a crucial part of combustion. As your engine burns air and fuel to run, the exhaust gases must be drawn out and expelled so the engine can burn more air and fuel. This is a cycle that happens the entire time you are running your European automobile. Your exhaust system is something you may not think about until you run into a problem. Star Motors European can help prevent this with maintenance and also repair the following common exhaust system problems.
1. Bad Catalytic Converter
The catalytic converter uses a honeycomb filter to take carbon monoxide and convert it into a safer gas, carbon dioxide, before it is expelled through the tailpipe. The catalytic converter can malfunction, and the most common problem a catalytic converter suffers from is getting clogged. Once this happens, you could have carbon monoxide back up into your vehicle’s cabin.
2. Damaged Muffler
If you end up with a damaged muffler, you’ll likely know about it pretty quickly. If the muffler is leaking, you will hear a difference in how loud your engine is. The engine is actually always that loud; the difference is the muffler can no longer muffle the sound. Because the muffler is located underneath your automobile, it can easily be damaged by road debris.
3. Leaking Exhaust Manifold
As air and gasoline are burned in the engine’s cylinders, the exhaust manifold takes the resulting gases, burns whatever hasn’t been burnt away, and pushes it through the exhaust system. As you can imagine, the exhaust manifold deals with tremendous heat and pressure, and it can succumb to that eventually and crack. A leaking exhaust manifold will overheat your engine.
4. Malfunctioning Oxygen Sensor
The oxygen sensor is located in your European automobile’s tailpipe. It measures the amount of oxygen that remains in the exhaust once it has traveled through the system and is on its way out. If there is too much oxygen in the exhaust, the oxygen sensor alerts the engine control module, and it, in turn, will increase the fuel in the air and fuel mixture. It may also turn on the check engine light.
5. Pouring Exhaust Smoke
Finally, even if you drive a diesel European automobile, exhaust smoke should not be excessive. In most cases, you won’t see your engine’s exhaust at all, which is one reason why it’s dangerous. Maintaining the exhaust system ensures you never end up with carbon monoxide in your cabin. Excess exhaust smoke means your engine is burning too much fuel, oil, or coolant.
Star Motors European treats our customers like family because we strive to be the best European auto repair shop in San Juan Capistrano, CA. Schedule an appointment today for an exhaust system check.
