It’s easy to forget to schedule an oil change, but you don’t want to let it go too long. Changing your oil regularly is essential to prolonging the life of your vehicle, but why? What happens to your engine if you drive around for too long with old oil in your engine?
Here’s what happens when you forget to change your oil regularly.
Old oil turns to sludge.
Unless you have a leak, oil doesn’t really leave your engine, but old oil is not as good as fresh oil, and it can actually damage your engine. As oil runs through your engine, it collects the crud and debris that get into your engine. Eventually, the filter can’t catch any more gunk, and the oil starts to turn to sludge. Once that happens, the oil can’t move freely through the engine to lubricate and protect the engine parts.
The engine overheats.
Oil doesn’t just lubricate and protect the engine, it also keeps it from running too hot. If the engine parts run without being properly lubricated, they run inefficiently and they run hot. There are lots of expensive ways overheating can damage your engine. You can blow a gasket or parts of the engine can warp.
The engine completely fails.
The worst-case scenario is that your engine fails completely. If you continue to run it with old dirty oil, or after that oil has done its damage to your engine, it will continue to cause problems until the engine fails completely. Without oil to lubricate the engine, the friction of metal against metal will cause the engine to seize. Seized engines are beyond repair, so you’ll have to replace the engine entirely or get yourself a new car.
Get an oil change at Weston Automotive and keep your car on the road!
The good news is that it’s actually quite easy to prevent this kind of damage from happening. By changing your oil every 3,000 miles (or 7,000 for synthetic oil), you can keep your engine running smoothly. In most cases, regular preventative maintenance is the best way to keep your car in good shape and avoid expensive repairs.
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