Car Servicing | 4 Warning Symptoms Of Damaged Piston Rings

If you have high quality wheels and tyres, it makes it easier to navigate your life, both literally and figuratively. Learn more about tyres.

Car Servicing | 4 Warning Symptoms Of Damaged Piston Rings

18 August 2016
 Categories: , Blog


The piston ring within your car's engine works to seal the combustion area. This prevents losses of gas and improves heat transfer between the cylinder wall and piston while regulating oil use within the system. If these piston rings are damaged, then these vital functions will fail and your engine will overheat. If you notice any of these symptoms of damaged piston rings, visit a car servicing professional immediately.

Grey Or White Smoke Emanates From Your Exhaust System

If you notice grey or white smoke emanating from your exhaust system, then you can be sure that your piston rings are damaged or broken. These damaged piston rings cause oil to enter into the engine and burn incessantly. A damaged piston ring may also cause a blowout in your engine. Dirty fuel injectors typically cause your piston rings to get burnt or damaged. A car servicing professional may need to clean the fuel injectors and check for other problems to rectify them.

Your Car's Engine Gorges More Oil Than Necessary

If you find that your engine is consuming more oil than necessary, then your piston rings may be worn out or broken because of regular wear. Damaged piston rings trigger greater oil consumption because they are unable to send excess engine oil from the cylinder walls back to the sump. Apart from the fact that more engine oil is gorged, damaged piston rings will also cause oil to be contaminated. In this case, a car servicing company may need to flush out old engine oil and replace it completely to ensure that your vehicle continues to run smoothly.

Not Enough Power To Accelerate The Car

If you notice that there isn't enough power to accelerate your car, then you can expect the problem to be because of a damaged or dented piston ring. The piston rings enable proper compression to run the accelerator smoothly. When they are damaged, high pressure goes past the pistons and travels into the crankcase. This will reduce the compression and pressure needed during acceleration.

Your Engine Misfires Regularly

Engine misfires are triggered because of a loss of compression from damaged piston rings, which means that your cylinders are not firing. Your car will also start to shake and vibrate when idle. In this instance, the car servicing company may need to replace the piston rings completely to solve the problem.

Replacing or repairing piston rings requires care and expertise because any gap will affect your car's normal functionality. Make sure you head to a car servicing professional immediately if you notice any of these warning symptoms.