Oil changes are a vital part of vehicle maintenance and play a significant role in the life and performance of your engine. When you neglect your oil change interval, you allow damage to occur inside the engine that is irreversible without a major engine overhaul.
Understanding Engine Oiling
The engine oil in your vehicle is critical to lubricate all the moving parts in the reciprocating assemble. The bearings and moving parts often move against other metal surfaces, and without oil to lubricate them, friction becomes a severe problem, causing the parts to heat up very quickly.
With the added heat comes more friction, and the result is eventually parts seizing because they got so hot that they weld themselves together. The oil in your engine prevents this, and keeping up with maintenance and doing your oil change on time can play a significant role in keeping this process in check.
Old oil will not protect your engine correctly. Oil breaks down with heat and begins to get thin while losing its lubricating properties. It will eventually worsen the wear inside the engine because it begins to get filled with metal shavings that are then spread to the parts. Unfortunately, this debris causes damage to the surfaces inside the engine.
Protecting Your Engine
The simplest way to protect your vehicle's engine from damage is to take your car or truck to a repair shop and have the oil change completed on the recommended service interval. The tech will drain the old oil out of the engine and then remove and replace the filter that is catching all those metal shavings and other debris. Afterward, they will then refill the engine with new oil.
The entire process only takes a few minutes, and the cost is often manageable. However, it protects the engine in your vehicle for months. Using the oil weight recommended by the manufacturer will provide all the protection you need, but there are optional oils that you can use to add additional protection.
Using synthetic oil is one way to extend the protection inside the engine because these products are engineered to resist thermal breakdown from the engine heat. They often have additives to increase the oil's viscosity and make them more slippery. Synthetic oils are often less likely to gum up in the engine and they foam less. As such, while they are a little more expensive, such oil does not have to be changed as often as standard oil.
Talk to the tech at the service shop where you have your oil change done for more information about synthetics, high-mileage oils, and other specialty oils. These can make a difference in your engine and make those all-important oil changes more effective. For more information about oil changes, contact an automotive service.
Share6 December 2021
When my daughter packed up and left for college, I worried that her car would get her from point A to point B with some sort of problem. I was right to worry. Her car ended up at a mechanic's shop miles from home with extensive repair work needed. Even though the car was fixed promptly and she arrived at her destination on time, I was worried. After that, I created a blog for other young people who are faced with car problems while traveling. My daughter didn't even know how to change a tire! With the research I compiled and a little practice, she can now change her tire and more.