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Get the most out of your diesel engine with our ten must know tips:

Diesel engines are widely recognised for being more efficient and longer lasting than their petrol counterparts. However, even though modern diesel engines tend to be fairly robust, there’s no harm in taking certain precautions to ensure your engine runs at its most efficient. In this article we share our ten most important diesel engine care tips.

Use Premium Fuel When Possible

Think the type of diesel you choose doesn’t make a difference? Think again. Poor Quality fuel has a direct affect on the diesel injectors inside your car’s engine, not to mention various other engine parts. Diesel injectors are special engine parts that disperse fuel into the engines cylinders. Without them, you would not have a working diesel engine. Diesel injectors can be very expensive to replace so protect them by using a premium fuel every 1000 miles or so, or at least as much as you can afford. Premium diesel helps to clean out your cars engine and remove sooty deposits.

Reduce The Amount of Short Distance Trips

Driving short distances isn’t necessarily ‘bad’ for your diesel engine but driving only short distances and doing so frequently isn’t the best way to keep your diesel car healthy. If your engine isn’t given enough time to warm up, engine particulates can build up within the engine, causing damage to parts or clogging up the engines filter. Make sure to take your car for a longer run, preferably on the motorway between every other short distance journey.

Get it Serviced

As the old saying goes ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure’. Servicing is an important part of car maintenance and health… without it, damage and early signs of wear can go unnoticed, leading to more costly problems further down the road. Don’t allow small issues to turn into big problems by missing your yearly car service.

Check Coolant Levels, Hoses and Belts

A modern diesel vehicle that is well looked after is not likely to overheat, however the same cannot be said for vehicles that don’t undergo regular checks (hence why servicing is so important). However, between your cars yearly service, there’s no harm in performing regular checks yourself. One of the most common occurances of diesel engine damage is overheating. An overheated diesel engine can  be caused by several factors including low fluid levels and worn hoses and belts (amongst others). Checking your fluid levels should be made part of your quarterly car-maintenance routine and should be easy enough to do yourself. However, if in doubt, call for the help of a trusted friend or family member, ask your local garage or seek the help of an online tutorial video. utilising these self help methods can also help to save money on more complex engine checks such as the checking of the engine belt and hoses as mentioned above.

Clean Your Engine

Yes engines need to be cleaned too, especially old ones! Diesel engines tend to have longer lifespans than their petrol counterparts and therefore tend to develop a build-up of dirt and grime over time. Unless you know a thing or two about motors already, you may be unsure as to where to start when it comes to cleaning your diesel engine, if that’s the case, speak to your local garage or vehicle manufacturer for advice. Some car manufacturers such as ford offer written guidelines on how to clean their diesel engines also.