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16/03/2021 News

DIESEL ENGINE MAINTENANCE GOES BEYOND ROUTINE OIL REPLACEMENT

Diesel engine cars continue to be popular in the Indonesian market not only as private passenger vehicles but also mass transportation vehicles. Diesel engine is favored thanks to its capabilities that some believe to be better than fuel engine: fuel economy, heat efficiency, engine durability, and bigger torque.

Nevertheless, just like any other car, diesel cars also require routine maintenance to extend its lifetime. See the following list for some helpful tips.

Engine warm-up

Engine warm-up is always important, either before storing the car or driving it. Turn on the engine and wait for at least 10 minutes to allow the oil to lubricate all parts of the engine.

Choose the right oil

The right lubricant product is essential to keep your diesel engine in top condition. You can refer to the owner’s manual to see the manufacturer-recommended oil.

Additionally, you can ascertain the oil product’s quality by identifying its API (American Petroleum Institute) service code that has different systems for diesel and fuel engine oil. Diesel engine oil is assigned with the code “C”, such as API CI-4, and CK-4 – the highest class in the quality rating system.

For petrol engine oil, API assigns code “S”. There are API SJ, SL, SM, and the highest currently is API SN. However, there are also products that can be used for both diesel and fuel engines, which you can identify from the API code on the bottle: SN/CF.

Now that you know which product to choose, don’t forget to replace oil as scheduled to enjoy your car’s optimum performance.

READ ALSO: MIXING FUEL OCTANE, MORE EFFICIENT?

Use high quality diesel fuel

Another way to ensure your diesel engine consistently performs as desired is to use only high-quality diesel fuel. This means fuel products with high Cetane Number (CN) or low sulphur content, which are available in Indonesian gas stations.

Low sulphur is important to lower carbon emission and maintain the cleanliness of fuel line, fuel filter, and the combustion chamber. Conversely, high-sulphur fuel may damage fuel injector and cause combustion problems.

To note, subsidized fuel is at the lower CN range and labeled as CN 48 with sulphur content at 3,500 parts per million (ppm). Non-subsidized fuel products, on the other hand, are CN 51 with just 1,200 ppm of sulphur – some products even go as high as CN 53 with sulphur content as low as below 300 ppm.

Timely replacement of fuel filter

Fuel filter needs replacement, especially if your car used to consume low-CN fuel products. The filter prevents water and dirt from getting into the combustion chamber, so regular maintenance and replacement when needed is important to ensure engine performance.

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