If the routine maintenance schedule is strictly adhered to from the date of purchase of the vehicle, frequent checks of fluid levels and the condition of wear components as suggested in this manual are carried out, the engine will remain in good working condition for a long time, and the need for any additional work will be reduced. to a minimum.
More often, however, it happens that the engine runs inefficiently due to the neglect of regular maintenance. This happens even more often when buying a used car, the owners of which did not bother themselves with frequent and regular checks and maintenance. In this case, in addition to performing normal routine maintenance procedures, it will be necessary to tune the engine.
The first step in any tuning or diagnostic procedure to improve engine performance is to check the compression ratio in the cylinders. Compression test (contact the head Engine) will help determine the condition of the internal components of the engine and should serve as a guide when tuning and repairing. If, for example, checking the compression ratio indicates serious internal wear on the engine, a simple adjustment will not improve its performance and will be a waste of time and money. Since the procedure for checking the compression ratio is extremely important, it should be carried out by a specialist who owns equipment specially designed for this.
The following procedures are most often required to bring the engine into good operating condition.
Minimum Settings
Checking all fluids associated with engine operation (Chapter Checking fluid levels, leak control).
Check of a condition of all hoses of an impellent compartment (Chapter Checking the condition and replacing the engine compartment hoses, localizing leaks).
Checking and adjusting the tension of drive belts (Chapter Checking the condition of the ribbed belts of the serpentine drive of auxiliary units and Chapter Engine).
Cleaning, inspecting and checking the battery charge (Chapter Battery check, care and charging).
Replacing Spark Plugs or Glow Plugs - Diesel Engine (Chapter Engine electrical equipment).
Checking the air filter (Chapter Replacing the Cabin Air Filter Element/Charcoal Air Cleaning Filter).
Checking the cooling system (Chapter Checking fluid levels, leak control and Checking the functioning of the cooling system and frost resistance of the coolant. Fluid replacement).
General settings
All of the above minimum setup items, plus...
Checking the ignition system or preheat - on a diesel engine (contact the head Engine electrical equipment).
Checking the charging system (contact the head Engine electrical equipment).
Fuel system check (contact the head Power and exhaust systems).