A Clean Engine Is a Happy Engine!
By Thom Marshalland January Marshall
We all know that regular oil and filter changes are extremely important to the life of our automobiles, but do you know the main reason why?
Motor oil is designed to lubricate the moving parts inside the engine, but it is also designed to help with keeping the engine cool from all the friction caused from the engine's internal parts moving around at high rates of speed.
When your car's engine runs it burns gasoline and when gasoline burns, the by-product is carbon residue. We've all seen burned carbon left over after a barbeque or, on the backs of our fireplaces. The carbon that's left behind from burned fuel mixes with the engine oil which is why engine oil turns from the clean golden color when you pour it from the bottle to your engine, to black when you drain it out.
We've all been taught that we want to change our oil on a regular basis because it gets dirty.
The thing to know is that carbon is carbon whether it is burned gasoline, carbon build up in your fireplace, or even just diamonds. The carbon that the oil filter traps is very fine just like a fine abrasive powder, just like Ajax or Comet!
It's that very fine abrasive that causes continual grinding on "all" internal engine parts. The dirtier the oil the more carbon in the oil, the more carbon, the more wear and damage is done to your car's engine plus - numerous other parts.
Here's why abrasive carbon deposits mixed with the oil causes a couple of problems:
1. It now wears on the moving parts rather than lubricates.
2. It absorbs and holds heat, causing even more wear on moving parts.
This is the reason engines have an oil filter. The oil filter is there for one reason, to filter the carbon residue out of the oil as well as it can.
Your oil filter is designed to catch as much of this carbon as it can, but it can only trap so much before it becomes full. Even a new filter will not catch every bit of carbon, as very fine particles will find their way through.
So how often should you change your motor oil?
Very simply, if you don't change it often enough, the parts inside your engine will fail!
We suggest to always follow the manufacturers recommended oil change intervals!
Thom Marshall and January Marshall, Brother and Sister team/owners.
German and Japanese Auto Repair & Service, Dallas' Dealer Alternative
Visit our website at http://www.marshallmotors.com and sign up for our emails and promotions in the North Texas area.
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