Causes of Bad Piston Rings Symptoms

The piston rings of a car's engine control oil consumption and pressure. As a result, if the piston rings break, the car will have a slew of issues that might eventually ruin the entire engine. This can also lead to an emissions test failure so check MOT expiry and have this issue repaired before your next MOT test.  Although piston rings are among the least costly components of a car engine, they are critical to the vehicle's proper performance.

Several signs of worn piston rings might alert you to the necessity to replace them in order to avoid serious engine damage.

Piston Rings of Various Types

Three piston rings per cylinder are widely used in modern cars. Two rings keep combustion gases contained, while the other retains and directs engine oil to its proper location in the car. The many varieties of piston rings and their roles in the engine are listed below:

Compression Rings - Compression rings seal the top of the piston, preventing gas leakage. These rings are usually found on the major piston grooves, however they can be found in a variety of places depending on the vehicle type. The piston's heat is also transferred to the piston walls through these rings. The oil layer left by the oil ring is sheared by the compression rings.

Wiper Rings - Wiper rings are used to protect the pressure compression rings from damage. They remove the surplus oil from the liner surface and are located beneath the compression rings. They also aid the compression rings in containing any potential gas leaks. Wiper rings have a tapper angle facing the bottom to effectively wipe oil when the piston and crankshaft are moving. Because the wiper rings are improperly positioned, they wipe off more oil at the combustion chamber, resulting in excessive oil consumption.

Scrapper Oil Control Rings - As its name implies, oil govern rings control the quantity of lubricating oil that passes through the cylinder walls. The rings spread the oil equally throughout the perimeter of the liner. Oil spilled on the cylinder walls is scrubbed away with scrapper rings. This scraped oil is returned to the crankcase. They help keep oil out of the little gap between the ring and the cylinder.

Go through your previous service and repair paperwork for your car and also check MOT history to establish if the above have been a culprit of the past.

Symptoms of Faulty Piston Rings

There are a few ways to tell whether your piston rings are worn out. The following are the most prevalent signs and symptoms:

Increased Exhaust Smoke - Having too much smoke pouring out of your car's exhaust is one of the most evident signs of damaged piston rings. Aside from an increase in exhaust smoke volume, this smoke will have a burning smell and will look darker than usual. Because the piston rings have failed to seal properly, engine oil is seeping into the combustion chamber, giving it a dark grey look. Excessive smoke will lead to an emissions test failure. Go online and complete a MOT history check to see if this was also the case in previous MOT test failures and update your mechanic accordingly.

Excess Oil Consumption - If your check engine/engine management light comes on due to excessive oil consumption, your piston rings are most certainly in need of repair. Oil leaks in the combustion chamber caused by worn-out piston rings will immediately result in increased oil consumption by the vehicle. As a result, check the engine oil level on a regular basis. As a result, you will need to add oil more frequently than the typical 4000 miles before refilling your car. When your car starts consuming more oil than usual, immediately examine your piston rings.

Decreased Acceleration - Acceleration is reduced because piston rings control compression and lubrication. As a result, if your piston rings wear out, you lose compression, and your lubrication is insufficient, your vehicle's acceleration power will be reduced. When you step on the gas pedal, the car will struggle to accelerate, and the engine will take longer to respond and speed up your manoeuvre. Valve seals that have deteriorated might also cause decreased acceleration. To determine whether you have faulty piston rings or valve seals, do a compression test. Higher compression indicates faulty valve seals, whereas low compression indicates broken piston rings. Thoroughly check your previous repair paperwork and MOT history to see if any previous work completed was related to this issue.

Poor Engine Performance - As previously stated, lack of compression causes acceleration to be delayed owing to inefficient engine rotation, which causes the engine to stall. When the engine fails on the road owing to faulty piston rings, you may lose all engine power and be forced to tow your car. Minor issues simply wreak havoc on the engine's performance. Only if you ignore the early signs of damaged piston rings and drive the car without having it inspected by a professional will the engine completely stall.

Blow-by occurs when the air-oil combination in the combustion chamber escapes past the fitted piston rings to produce additional pressure in the engine crankcase, resulting in an increase in oil intake. There will be a lot of blow-by and the air intake will be highly greasy when pressure vents from the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) line back to the crankcase. Increasing oil consumption will occur as a result of increased oil intake.