How to Identify a Problematic Cylinder Head

What is CC or cubic centimetres?

CC denotes a metric unit to gauge engine volume or capacity. It refers to the distance travelled by the piston inside the cylinder during one full cycle of the engine, from the top to the bottom.  Essentially, the measurement of a vehicle‘s engine capacity is cubic centimetre or CC.

How does a cylinder relate to an engine capacity?

Technically speaking, a vehicle's performance has a lot to do with the size of its engine. It helps in figuring out some important engine characteristics like engine power, torque, and mileage.

In plain English, a vehicle's power increases with the cubic capacity of an engine. The air and fuel mixture are kept in a cylinder before being pressurised and burned. And since there is more room, there is also more fuel to burn. As a result, the power output increases along with the amount of fuel being burned. Therefore, in a conventional engine design, the power output of an engine is directly proportional to its capacity.

But adding more fuel to the engine makes it run more powerfully and use more fuel. The power output increases along with the cylinders' volume. However, this eventually lowers the mileage. This makes cars get more mileage when the engine size is bigger.

However, the cylinder facilitates the air to fuel burning, and combustion happens under the protection of a cylinder head. A cylinder head is equipped with various valves, springs, and lifters. It is the top portion of the internal combustion engine of a vehicle. The cylinder head regulates flow during the intake of fuel and air and blowing gases out.

A cylinder head uses the head gasket to close the combustion chamber and seal the cylinders. Besides, the cylinder head governs the intake of lubricants that manage the friction of the cylinder’s inner walls. The cylinder and its head are some of the most critical components that might have severe impacts from small wear and tear.

Here we are going to discuss some potential problems with the cylinder head.

The cylinder and its head are some of the most critical components that might have severe impacts from small wear and tear.

The cylinder head is prone to overheating.

Cylinders deal with the combustion process, so no one can deny the presence of heat. However, there is coolant to deal with the excess heat managing the proper temperature. But, constant exposure to heat might put cylinder head internal components under pressure. There might be some congestion due to distortion of shape that does not allow coolant to pass through. This might put the cylinder and its head under immense heat.

However, you can counter such a situation as your car’s engine starts to hint about the high temperature on the dashboard. Moreover, Service My Car assists you in dealing with engine issues so that you can spare yourself from costly car engine repair.

Sustained Oil leakage

Oil leaking is not a good sign. However, a cracked cylinder head could cause a significant leak.Check the engine to see if there is any evidence of oil around the cylinder head, even if you are unable to personally detect a leak but the oil light is on the dashboard.

However, a worn head gasket might be a culprit behind an oil leakage as it cannot hold things right. If things are obscure, it is better to go for a professional inspection by an expert at Service My Car. Lack of engine oil invites several underlying issues that can damage your car’s engine entirely.

The lower level of coolant

The fact that your engine overheats frequently indicates a serious problem. Typically, a leak turns out to be the main cause of a low coolant level. Additionally, coolant leaks unnecessarily due to a cracked cylinder head or a worn head gasket. However, as the engine begins to heat up from the lack of coolant, this could lead to more serious long-term problems.

Sign of smoke at the tailpipe

A cylinder problem, especially when it gets cracked, is the constant presence of smoke at the tailpipe. However, it implies that the crack and damage are probably much more severe. If this has happened, you should try to have a professional fix the issue as soon as possible to prevent further harm to the engine. However, a smoke at the tailpipe tells you about an emergency under the hood. Nevertheless, replacement of the engine’s cylinder head is possible if repair is not feasible. But the problems should be clear when it comes to remedying them first.

As cylinder head might sustain a crack but it is quite rare and often happens with old vehicles mostly. On the other hand, head gasket wear and tear is a major issue with most vehicles.  However, the head gasket replacement is easy at any of the Service My Car workshop.

Service My Car is equipped with all the necessary tools and our experienced mechanics leave no stone unturned to serve you. Book a car service or order a car repair quote at our website or app anytime