Learn Russian: Пускай двигатель барахлит, но мы всё же едем быстро. - Even if the engine acts up, we are still driving fast.

In this sentence, пускай introduces a concessive clause, meaning "even if" or "granted that." It is completely interchangeable with пусть, though пускай is slightly more colloquial. It sets up an obstacle or condition that is then countered by но (but) and всё же (still) in the second half of the sentence.

What does the verb барахлит mean here?

Барахлить is a very common colloquial verb meaning "to act up," "to malfunction," or "to run poorly." It derives from the noun барахло (junk or old stuff). You will frequently hear it used for engines, electronics, and even body parts like a heart that aren't working quite right.

Why is барахлит in the present tense instead of a conditional form like we use with если бы?

When пускай or пусть is used to mean "even if," it takes a regular indicative verb (present, past, or future) to show that the situation is real or highly likely. Here, the engine is actually acting up right now. If this were a purely hypothetical or unlikely situation, you would instead use даже если бы followed by the past tense.

Could we drop всё же and just say но мы едем быстро?