Why You’ll Need to Change Air Filters Once Your Start Your Auto Mechanic Apprenticeship
Fuel-burning engines require a constant supply of air in order to run smoothly. An air filter is what catches dust, dirt, and other debris from the air before it gets passed through to the cylinders. Filters basically prevent particles in the air from getting into the workings of an engine and causing damage.
As you train to become a mechanic, you will learn that inspecting a car’s air filter is an important part of a routine maintenance check. There’s set answer to how often a filter should be changed, but vehicles that are constantly driven in rural, dusty areas should get their filter replaced more often. Aside from keeping engines cleaner, read on for a few other benefits to changing an engine’s air filter.
Reduce Emissions by Changing Filters During Your Auto Mechanic Apprenticeship
During your auto mechanic apprenticeship, you will likely be tasked with changing filters. This means that you will be reducing the amount of harmful emissions produced by cars. Because clogged air filters reduce the air flow to an engine, they can affect the emission control systems of a car that can lead to serious long-term issues.
Spark plugs can get dirty, resulting in a rough idle, and this will make the engine work too hard as well as affect the fuel mileage in a substantial way. Having the right air and fuel mixture allows the engine to work properly and reduces emissions.
Increase Fuel Efficiency by Changing Air Filters During Your Auto Mechanic Career
While this is not commonly known to most drivers, changing a car engine’s air filters regularly will increase fuel efficiency. Studies indicate that replacing a dirty air filter can increase acceleration by 6 to 11 per cent on fuel-injected cars.
Other studies have shown that clean air filters help cars get a 10 per cent increase in gas mileage which can save vehicle owners a lot of money in the long run.
Any Auto Mechanic Knows that Changing a Car’s Air Filter is a Simple Task
Auto mechanics know that changing a car’s filter happens to be one of the easiest maintenance tasks to perform. In fact, most auto repair programs can teach students how to change a filter in just a few minutes.
Although engine air filters aren’t universal, they come in just a few sizes to fit any car make and model. Once you pop the hood of a car, the air filter is very accessible, as it is usually located right by the throttle body. On newer cars, air filters are rectangular and are encased in black plastic housing that which feature clips or screws to keep them closed. These plastic cases take seconds to open up, and the filters themselves slide right in and out. On older carbureted models, air filters are round and located in a metal housing that’s secured by a wing nut that can be undone by hand.
It’s important to note that new air filters are extremely cheap, considering all the benefits they can have on a car’s performance. This is another reason for customers to be delighted upon leaving the auto body shop!
Are you interested in learning more about filters by taking auto mechanic courses? Or perhaps getting the latest scoop on keeping cars looking shiny and new in auto body repair courses?
Visit ATC to find out more about our wide range of automotive training programs!
