So firstly I would love to thank everyone who read my blog last week, it has blown me away just how many of you did and think this is a great idea. To those who have taken the extra step and have shared and subscribed I am truly grateful!
Today I would wanted to start with the basics. Car Servicing. It’s one of those things that you know you should do, but the car is running well, and really I would much rather buy a new handbag or pair of shoes! The problem with this, is by time you find out you really should have serviced the car instead of going shopping (or putting food on the table), it can be too late and very costly.
So, most people logically know they need to service their cars, and also that it includes an oil change, but don’t really understand why they need to do this. Oil, (and the oil filter) play a critical role in the day to day running of the car. The most obvious job oil has is the lubrication of all the moving parts. What a lot of people don’t know is that the grade of oil is just as important as changing the oil itself. In our shop we have anywhere from 8-15 different grades of just engine oil at any one time.
Oil Change
Oil gets thicker over time because it acts like the washing up soap when you do your dishes. At some point it is all used up and no longer cleaning the dishes effectively. Oil is like the soap. Its gets to the point where it has collected all the dirt, metal filings, and contaminants that it physically can’t absorb any more. When it reaches this point it becomes thick or sludgy. Now considering the main job oil has is to lubricate the engine, when it is sludgy things start to seize. When an engine seizes it is finished and needs to be replaced- very expensive. The oil filter helps to catch some of these contaminants so also needs to be changed regularly. Oil filters also have rubber o-rings that if left for too long will eventually go hard and start leaking- this is how we usually get people in if they haven’t serviced their car for a long time.
Now in regards to the grades of oil. The reason there are so many different types is because the way engines are built decides on the viscosity needed to keep the moving parts moving. If you put in oil that is too thick or too thin it can cause catastrophic engine failure, making what grade oil you put in just as important as the oil change itself.
Knocking Noise
I have seen all too often people not servicing their cars and then coming in when there is a knocking noise. All too often the oil is so sludgy it’s almost solid. We can sometimes recover the engine although it is expensive,messy and very labour intensive, however on occasion we can’t and the customer has to replace the whole engine or scrap the car.
With an oil change, or service, as we call it, we also do a full 65 point safety check on the car and top up all of the other fluids. Regular maintenance is always better, you know how the saying goes, if you service your car you will never know why you need to do it!
So the next time your service reminder light comes up on your dash, or your service reminder text comes through don’t ignore it. If cost is an issue for you at the time ring and speak to your mechanic as they can maybe just do an oil and filter change instead to tide you over until you can afford a full service.
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