Water in engine oil – symptoms, causes, consequences and whether you can keep driving
Water in engine oil is not an oil fault, but a symptom. Either you have condensation from short trips, which disappears after a longer drive, or coolant getting into the oil through the head gasket...
Oil in the intercooler – symptoms, causes and what to check before replacing the turbo
A thin film of oil in the intercooler is normal – in every turbocharged engine, the breather routes blow-by gases back into the intake, together with oil mist. What should concern you is a standing...
Cleaning the air-conditioning evaporator – how to do it yourself and when to take the car to a workshop
A musty smell after switching on the air conditioning comes from the evaporator – the coldest part of the system, where moisture condenses. You can disinfect it yourself with a spray, without remov...
Swirl flaps – symptoms of sticking, a broken flap and what to do about it
Swirl flaps stick because of carbon build-up in the intake manifold. The most common symptoms of damaged swirl flaps are jerking at low revs, loss of power, higher fuel consumption and a fault stor...
Can you use an engine flush in an old, high-mileage engine? And which one should you choose?
Yes, you can – and it is precisely in high-mileage engines that a flush often makes the most sense, because that is where deposits are most likely to have built up. There is one condition: the engi...
Engine flush or flushing the engine with oil? A comparison of the two methods
Both methods lead to the same goal, but one does it in a matter of minutes and the other over several months. Flushing the engine with oil is not inherently bad – the problem is that to get close t...
When should you use an engine flush? Before an oil change, during an oil change and how often
You add the flush to the old oil just before draining it – it is one moment, not a separate workshop visit. The question “before or during the oil change” is therefore a little misleading, because ...
EGR cleaning – why the system clogs up and what really affects it
Before anyone starts talking about methods for cleaning the EGR valve, it is worth understanding why it clogs up in the first place – because that determines whether an intervention will help or wh...
DPF cleaning – why the filter becomes clogged and what really determines it
A clogged DPF is almost always an effect, not a cause. The filter itself is rarely the culprit – it is usually the last link in a chain of problems that started elsewhere: in the fuel system, the c...
What can water leaking from the exhaust pipe mean?
Water drips from the exhaust pipe and the question arises: is that normal, or is some problem with the engine starting? Many drivers notice it especially in winter or in the morning after starting ...
Adding oil – on a cold or warm engine, and how often should you top up the lubricant in your car?
A low oil level is one of those problems drivers often only notice once the engine starts running louder or the oil warning light comes on. And by then it can already be very close to a serious fai...
Your diesel has no power? There can be many causes
A diesel that suddenly starts accelerating poorly does not always mean a damaged turbocharger or an expensive rebuild straight away. In many cases the problem begins much more "down to earth" – wit...
Water in the fuel – symptoms, effects, how to get rid of it? Find out!
On the face of it everything works normally, but the car starts losing power, is harder to start or jerks strangely – and that's usually exactly when a problem begins that can't be seen with the na...
A damaged catalytic converter: symptoms
Problems with the catalytic converter rarely appear suddenly. Usually it starts innocently – the car loses a little power, the engine runs less evenly, fuel consumption slowly rises, and a strange ...
B0 fuel – pure diesel with no biocomponents. What is it, where can you buy it and is it worth it?
B0 fuel is pure diesel with no added biocomponents (FAME) – the kind we used to fill up with before 2009, when the EU imposed mandatory blending. It is valued for its stability, its resistance to m...
Oil in the coolant – which symptoms shouldn't be dismissed?
Sometimes one look into the expansion tank is enough to know that something bad is starting to happen in the engine. A greasy layer appears on the surface of the coolant, the colour turns suspiciou...
Fuel pump replacement – how much does it cost, how long does it take and how is it done?
A fuel pump very rarely fails from one day to the next. Usually there are small signals beforehand: the car starts worse, sometimes it jerks under acceleration or loses power at higher revs. Many d...
A faulty water pump – what are the symptoms, the causes and what about the repair? Rely on proven advice
Has your car started behaving strangely – the temperature climbs one moment, you hear a worrying whine from under the hood the next, and something is dripping onto the driveway? Very often the prob...
Oil in the exhaust: causes, effects and solutions
First a dark stain appears at the exhaust tip, then you notice the characteristic smell of burnt oil. After a moment you start wondering whether that's normal, or whether something is beginning to ...
Symptoms of a clogged catalytic converter
A drop in power, higher fuel consumption, strange engine behaviour – many drivers put it down to “the car's age” or poorer fuel. Meanwhile, the culprit is very often a clogged catalytic converter, ...
Metal filings in the fuel: how do you recognise them?
Sometimes it all starts with a trifle. The engine cranks a little longer when starting, the car loses its urge, and fuel consumption suddenly rises by a litre or two. Many drivers put it down to fu...
Types of diesel fuel: B7, B10, XTL and the seasonal grades – which diesel for which car?
At Polish stations diesel comes in three official designations shown in a square label: B7 (up to 7% FAME biocomponents), B10 (up to 10%) and XTL (synthetic diesel with no crude oil). On top of tha...
B7 fuel for diesels – the key facts
B7 is standard diesel with up to 7% of the FAME biocomponent added – the fuel you will put in the tank today at practically every station in Poland. It is safe for the vast majority of diesel engin...
A noticeable smell of petrol in the oil – the problem may be a leaking petrol injector!
Sometimes it's enough to unscrew the oil filler cap or check the dipstick and a strange impression appears – the oil smells of petrol. Many drivers ignore this signal at first. The engine works, af...
