How does a car engine work?
A car engine is your vehicle’s powerplant - consisting of cylinders, pistons, crankshaft, camshaft, and ancillaries - housed under the bonnet. It burns fuel to produce the torque that makes your wheels turn.
A modern car engine is essentially a controlled sequence of small explosions (combustion events) that convert chemical energy (fuel) into mechanical energy (motion). Most cars use a four-stroke internal-combustion engine.
A car engine orchestrates millions of tiny combustion events every minute. Most car engines have 4, 6, or 8 cylinders. They fire in a staggered order so that there’s always at least one piston in its power stroke - this smooths out torque delivery and reduces vibration.
By precisely coordinating intake, compression, ignition, and exhaust across multiple cylinders, it converts fuel into the rotational force that ultimately turns your wheels.
What happens during an engine diagnostic or inspection?
An engine diagnostic is a structured check to find the root cause of warning lights, rough running, overheating or loss of power, so you only pay for the inspection and then for any fixes needed (if you want).
A mechanic will generally listen to the symptoms you’ve noticed, checks fluid levels and visible leaks, and may take a short road test to confirm the fault and capture data (if the car is driveable).
They connect a diagnostic tool to read fault codes and live sensor values (airflow, temperatures, fuel trims, misfire counters, etc.). This quickly narrows the hunt to ignition, fueling, air, or mechanical issues.
Under-bonnet inspection of hoses, intake pipes, belts, wiring and connectors; simple voltage/earth checks to rule out obvious causes before any deeper tests.
You’ll get a clear explanation of the fault, any supporting test results, and a fixed-price quote for the repair where possible.
In reality, many “engine” worries turn out to be repairable components (e.g., sensors, coils/plugs, leaks, water pump/thermostat, timing belt/chain work). If a more serious issue is found, your mechanic will explain options and costs before any repair is started.
How do I know if I need an engine replacement?
Here's some ways to judge whether your engine is truly beyond repair and likely needs a rebuild or full replacement.
Red flags that often mean “engine out”
- No oil pressure or loud bottom-end knock (deep, metallic thud that rises with revs) likely means bearing failure; running it will destroy the crank.
- Seized or won’t turn even with a good battery/starter could be internal seizure or hydrolock.
- Severe overheat followed by constant white smoke, mayonnaise in oil/coolant, or external cracks
- Heavy, persistent blue smoke and very low compression on multiple cylinders
- Glitter/metal in the oil or sump
- Repeat head-gasket failures after a previous repair indicates underlying block/head damage.
When repair (and not replacement) might still be sensible
Problems confined to the top end: single-cylinder low compression from a valve issue, a first-time head-gasket failure on a non-overheated engine, or noisy tappets/cam followers.
Clear external causes you can fix at the same time (e.g., water pump/thermostat on an overheating car, oil leak that starved the engine).
What does an engine replacement quote cover?
ClickMechanic does not provide a full engine replacement or engine rebuilds but we are able to help with most engine-related repairs.
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Frequently asked questions about car engine replacement & rebuilds
Read our answers to questions about car engine replacement & rebuild costs, symptoms and more.
How much does a Car Engine replacement cost?
The cost of a full engine replacement can vary wildly. Depending on your vehicle and using a used or reconditioned engine the replacement can cost from £1000 to over £5000 for the biggest engines. It is advisable to get an opinion from a mechanic on whether the engine perhaps can still be repaired, provided no catastrophic engine damage has occured.
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Mechanics that undertake car engine work
- Arty Mobile Mechanics, Peterborough
- Auto-line Recovery And Repairs, Shardlow
- BB Automotive, Biggin Hill
- Cns Mobile Autos, Bletchley, Milton Keynes
- JARRETTS MOTORS LTD T/A Wilmoths Folkestone, Kent
- JTS Mobile Mechanic, Swadlincote
- Lowe Vehicle Care LTD, Roxwell
- M & O Motors, Newton Abbot
- M&M Motors, Blackpool
- SGC Mobile Motorhaus Ltd, Pontefract
- Saint Auto, Colchester
- Sjf Automotive Ltd, Bracknell
- Test Valley Tuning, Andover
- Watts Automotive, Sandbach