#Routine maintenance car checklist drivers#
#Routine maintenance car checklist driver#

#Routine maintenance car checklist driver#

Why is diesel engine maintenance important?Īvoiding unscheduled vehicle downtime is critical to the commercial fleet’s success and driver revenues. Want to know more about preventive maintenance? Check out Motive’s guide on preventive maintenance. Giving your vehicle more TLC in the winter months to help keep it in optimal condition.Keeping diesel filters properly cleaned.Prevent damage to the engine and protect the gearbox from vibrations. Maintaining a moderate revolutions per minute (RPM).Putting it in neutral when you come to a final stop helps keep your turbochargers in top shape. Allowing the engine to cool down after every trip.Use the best quality you can afford and fill the tank instead of using just a few liters.

#Routine maintenance car checklist drivers#

Still, drivers and fleet managers can help make a diesel engine run longer. The spontaneous combustion diesel engine has a lot going for it in its design. Tips to make your diesel engine last longer The vehicles using diesel engines that tend to be built with more heavy-duty components.What makes the diesel engine more resilient? The longevity is due to:

That’s substantially less than the diesel engine’s 1-1.5 million miles. Does a diesel engine last longer than a gasoline engine?įor comparison, a car’s gasoline engine might last for around 200,000 miles before it needs serious work or replacement. Keep your trucks on the road with preventive maintenance. That means a well-maintained diesel engine might be on the road for 30 years or more. As the Department of Energy further notes, “Unlike the emission control systems on gasoline vehicles, many diesel vehicles have additional after-treatment components that reduce particulate matter and break down dangerous nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions into harmless nitrogen and water.” How long does a diesel engine last?ĭoes a diesel engine last longer? That depends on several factors, but it’s estimated that a diesel engine can run continuously for 1,000,000-1,500,000 miles before it needs major work. Since the diesel engine only compresses air, its compression ratio is much higher than gasoline engines, which leads to better efficiency. The piston forces the combusted fuel out of the cylinder as exhaust.The piston draws down again, with intake and exhaust valves closed.Before it reaches top-dead-center, diesel fuel is injected into the cylinder for combustion. The piston moves up to compress the air in the fuel cylinder.

The combustion cycle is a four-step process that repeats: The heat of the compressed air ignites the fuel without the need of a spark plug, as in a gasoline engine. However, as the engine developed, the answer to “how does a diesel engine work?” has remained the same.Ī diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that takes air, compresses it, and then injects fuel into the compressed air. German engineer Robert Bosch’s 1927 improvements to the fuel injection pumps helped too. Credit also goes to Swiss engineer Alfred Büchi. In 1925 Büchi turbocharged the engine to improve its efficiency substantially, creating the modern diesel engine. Rudolf Diesel developed the diesel engine prototype in 1893, and the first engine in production in 1897. Over its years of evolution, proper diesel maintenance is has remained essential to keep the engine working in top form. Today, the diesel engine is the top source of power for the commercial trucking industry. They were so much more efficient than steam-powered engines. Diesel engines were revolutionary when first introduced around the turn of the 20th century.