The Longevity of Essential Car Parts and What To Know

by IndianAuto Team | 02/07/2018
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Getting to know the life of car components is one of the prerequisites preparation for your car maintenance.

Apart from the engine, other mechanical components in the car such as fuel injectors, headlights, spark plugs, belts, brake callipers, gearboxes, etc. also play an important role in running a car smoothly. Therefore, getting to know the life of these components, you will know when to replace them to have a better car care. The figures below about the longevity of these parts are not absolutely accurate because it depends considerably on the other conditions such as the terrain, the environment and driving habits. However, still, it helps you understand more about your car maintenance.

 

car parts

It is important to know the longevity of car parts

1. Gearbox

"How long does the gearbox last?" is a question that is hard to affirm. There are three main factors that directly affect gearbox life, including maintenance, car oil, and manufacturing quality. In which, gear oil is an extremely important factor. Each range of car will use a specific type of oil, if you use the wrong type of oil, the gearbox will soon be out of work. Gear oil should be replaced after 130,000 to 150,000 km, which is usually bright red when it is new and turns dark red when it should be replaced.

Car's gear box

This is a car's gearbox

2. Engine

Similar to the gearbox, engine life remains to be a big question. For example, the 1966 Volvo P1800 owned by Irv Gordon has run over 5 million km and it is also the Guinness World Record recognized as the most travelled car in the world. Of course, its owner has spent more than 47 years achieving this mileage. The particular thing is that although the car has been replaced most of the details including the gearbox, however, the engine block remains the same and only the owner overhauled twice during the operation.

From the story of the Volvo P1800, it is easy to see that the most important point in keeping your engine upright is maintenance. If you always take good care and never let the check engine light up (engine error warning), surely your car can serve the owner perfectly in the next few decades.

 

Car's engine

Car's engine life remains to be a big question for both consumers and manufacturers

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3. Belts

This is a high-strength rubber cord that is connected directly to the camshaft and the crankshaft. When the belt is out of service, at least one cents and one piston will hit each other leading to cracks. Therefore, manufacturers recommend that you replace them every 60,000 - 80,000 km. Do not wait for the broken belt to replace it, which will cost you more to repair the engine.

Car's belts

Do not wait for the broken belt to replace it

4. Headlight

Lack of light from the headlights at night will be extremely dangerous because you easily hit other cars because you do not clearly see the road. In fact, headlight expectancy is difficult to predict accurately. In addition, there are no warning signs before they show signs of deterioration. Currently, there are three main types of headlights: Halogen, HID and LED, in which HID lamps (bi-xenon) uses Xenon gas for lighting. Therefore, it has a life expectancy of about 2,000 hours. In case your car is using a traditional halogen lamp, it lasts only 1,000 hours of operation.
The reason is that 95% of the energy is converted to heat and only 5% turns into the solar energy that makes the lamp very hot during operation. This sets the lamp life to be short. Meanwhile, as for the LED headlamps which are the high-performance lamps, they are only applicable to high-end models.

 

Car's headlights

Car's headlights

5. Spark plug

The spark plug is only equipped with a gasoline engine option. Its function is to spark the ignite to burn the gasoline and wind mixture in the combustion chamber. After each ignition, the spark plugs will lose some metal, hence, for every 16,000 to 32,000 km, you will have to replace them. In the case of cars using iridium or platinum spark plugs, their lifetime can be as high as 96,000km.

 

Car's spark plug

Car's spark plug

6. Injection fuel

When the fuel injector is faulty, it usually causes the early ignition or late ignition. Accordingly, in case of late ignition, the pressure generated from the gasoline and wind is compressed piston which can damage the engine. On the contrary, as for early ignition, the fuel mixture will explode before spark plugs, which in turn exacerbate heat generation and destroy pistons. According to experts, the system has a life expectancy of 1 billion cycles, which means that they do not need to be replaced. Instead, you should clean them with the rinsing solution on the basis of 15,000 to 20,000 miles.

 

Car's injection fuel

Car's injection fuel

7. Brake callipers

There are many types of brake callipers, most of which are made of composite, metal and ceramic. According to the recommendations of manufacturers as well as mechanics, the brake calliper longevity usually ranges from 48,000 to 112,000km. However, if the driver is careful, the life of the brake callipers can reach 160,000km. The main factor affecting the braking life is the temperature. For example, as for the A-small class car, when you press the brakes at speeds of 100 kph, the temperature measured on the brake system is usually 233 degrees Celsius. This temperature will be higher for vehicles with higher weight. To help increase the brake longevity, IndianAuto recommends that you should regularly check the brake fluid. Apart from that, it is highly recommended to press the brake slowly. When you hear a sound like metal clashing together from the brake callipers, it is the high time they need to be replaced.

Car's brake callipers

Car's brake callipers

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