Oil is a necessary lubricant for your car's engine. An engine is
built of various moving metal parts that work continuously to provide
your car with the power it needs to move. Of course, where there is
movement, there is also friction. In the case or your car's engine, this
friction is caused by metal on metal contact. An engine lubricated with
a high quality motor oil runs smoothly with little or no friction.
Regular oil changes are important because oil has a limited life. As oil ages, it starts to lose its lubricity and your engine oil gets contaminated with carbon deposits. Tars, waxes and other contaminants can also affect your car's engine oil. Allowing these deposits and other contaminants to build up can seriously damage your engine.
When oil has not been changed for a long time, the carbon deposits, and other contaminants, will being to clog the oil filter. As the oil filter gets dirtier and dirtier, the oil becomes sludge, losing its lubricity. As a result, friction dramatically increases and your car's performance, and gas mileage, dramatically decrease. Even nastier, carbon deposits begin to build up in other parts of your engine, such as, the throttle body and EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system. At this point, your check engine light may come on and your car's idle will be rough.
Along the loss of lubricity and the ongoing buildup of carbon particles, engine oil loses its cleansing properties. When this occurs, oil is no longer able to dissolve the contaminants that are too small for the oil filter to catch, and wear and tear on your engine will rapidly increase as a result. If left unchecked, the internal metal-on-metal friction will create so much heat that your engine's vital moving parts will weld together and your car's engine will freeze up. As you can see, the consequences of not changing your car engine oil regularly are unappealing. Most engine problems can be avoided by a checking your oil on a regular basis.
As a general rule, check your oil at every fill-up. Keep a quart of oil in your trunk handy and top off the oil as necessary. Don't wait until you need a full quart of oil, and just pour in enough oil to bring the oil level to the full mark. Avoid over-filling. The oil should appear as a shiny, almost gold-orange color on the dip-stick. This color indicates clean oil. If the oil appears black and cruddy, then you are way past due for an oil change.
Every time you change your oil, change your oil filter as well. It is not expensive to change your oil and doing so adds years to the life of your engine. Excess engine wear and tear as well as serious engine damage can be avoided by following the simple practice of regularly changing your car's engine oil.
Regular oil changes are important because oil has a limited life. As oil ages, it starts to lose its lubricity and your engine oil gets contaminated with carbon deposits. Tars, waxes and other contaminants can also affect your car's engine oil. Allowing these deposits and other contaminants to build up can seriously damage your engine.
When oil has not been changed for a long time, the carbon deposits, and other contaminants, will being to clog the oil filter. As the oil filter gets dirtier and dirtier, the oil becomes sludge, losing its lubricity. As a result, friction dramatically increases and your car's performance, and gas mileage, dramatically decrease. Even nastier, carbon deposits begin to build up in other parts of your engine, such as, the throttle body and EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system. At this point, your check engine light may come on and your car's idle will be rough.
Along the loss of lubricity and the ongoing buildup of carbon particles, engine oil loses its cleansing properties. When this occurs, oil is no longer able to dissolve the contaminants that are too small for the oil filter to catch, and wear and tear on your engine will rapidly increase as a result. If left unchecked, the internal metal-on-metal friction will create so much heat that your engine's vital moving parts will weld together and your car's engine will freeze up. As you can see, the consequences of not changing your car engine oil regularly are unappealing. Most engine problems can be avoided by a checking your oil on a regular basis.
As a general rule, check your oil at every fill-up. Keep a quart of oil in your trunk handy and top off the oil as necessary. Don't wait until you need a full quart of oil, and just pour in enough oil to bring the oil level to the full mark. Avoid over-filling. The oil should appear as a shiny, almost gold-orange color on the dip-stick. This color indicates clean oil. If the oil appears black and cruddy, then you are way past due for an oil change.
Every time you change your oil, change your oil filter as well. It is not expensive to change your oil and doing so adds years to the life of your engine. Excess engine wear and tear as well as serious engine damage can be avoided by following the simple practice of regularly changing your car's engine oil.