Forgetting an oil change here or there isn’t a big problem, but if you’re avoiding oil changes on a consistent basis you might be asking for trouble. Clark’s Professional Car Care wants to help you to keep your car running as well as it can. Here’s some information you need about why regular oil changes are so important.
Your Engine Endures More Wear and Tear
To fully understand what happens to your engine with old, dirty oil in it, you have to understand what engine oil does. It circulates through the engine, lubricating parts. But it also helps to keep the engine cool and it picks up debris that shouldn’t be in the engine and carries it out of there. When you’re using old, dirty oil these things aren’t happening and your engine is going through more wear and tear than it should.
Your Engine Is More Likely to Overheat
Because the engine oil is old and dirty, it also isn’t cooling the engine very well. Engine coolant does its part, but the engine oil is what picks up the slack when it comes to hot engines. You might find that if you’ve gone a long time between oil changes, your engine is running hotter than it usually does. Assuming there’s no lasting damage, your engine should run cooler again after an oil change.
Your Gas Mileage Gets Pretty Bad
Any time you make your car’s engine work harder than it was designed to work, gas mileage suffers. But what if you aren’t tracking your gas mileage? Track your gas budget instead. You might be able to see that you’re spending a lot more on gas than you would consider typical. Usually, after an oil change, you should see fuel efficiency improve again.
You Might Have to Replace Your Engine
In a worst-case scenario, you might skip oil changes until the damage becomes way too severe. That means you kill the engine and it has to be completely replaced. There are usually some warning bells before this happens, such as gas mileage, knocking sounds, an oil leak, and even the check engine light coming on. But if you’re ignoring those, you’re on the way to needing a new engine.
Give us a call at Clark’s Professional Car Care in Pascagoula, MS if you need to schedule an oil change. We don’t judge when it’s been a while since you’ve had your car serviced. What we will do is change your car’s oil quickly and professionally, helping it to keep running.
