WHEEL WORLD NEWS
September 2018
7
Dean's Car Corner
Monthly Column
The Importance of Oil
Oil. It is the lifeblood of a healthy engine. I have been in the automotive industry my whole life and if it’s one thing that I’ve seen time and time again is people not following a strict schedule for changing their oil. This month I’d like to express the importance of oil in relation to the longevity of the engine in your vehicle.
0w20, 5w20, 15w40, Synthetic, Conventional, these are some of the terms you may have heard of in relation to the type of oil used in your engine. I don’t necessarily have to go into the details of what a 0W20 oil is, but what YOU need to do is make sure that whatever vehicle you have and whoever you take that vehicle to for oil change is putting the correct “weight (viscosity)” in your engine and making sure it is at the proper level. Every oil change should include a new oil filter and a new drain plug gasket to ensure a good seal. After all, oil belongs inside your engine not on the outside or on the ground.
How does oil get on the outside of your engine? Most commonly, a gasket will fail and allow oil to seep out. If left alone, the seep will get worse and gravity will pull it down while wind will spread it all over. There are 3 problems here.
1- A bad enough oil leak can become a fire hazard as it can drip onto your hot exhaust.
2- A leak will cause your oil level to drop, and if it drops too low you can risk destroying your engine.
3- A leak that drips onto your engine mounts or wire harnesses, or anything made of rubber or plastic, will destroy those components.
All 3 of these things can be very costly. If you have a leak, get it fixed as soon as you can!
As far as the inside, your engine is made up of different types of metals all of which come in contact with each other at very high rates of speed and at very high temperatures
Without oil, your internal engine components would destroy each other very quickly. This wear & tear is prevented by having clean oil in your engine at the proper level. Conventional or semi synthetic oil should be changed every three months or 3000 miles whichever comes first. Full Synthetic oil should be changed every six months or 6,000 miles. I personally would never exceed 6000 miles on any oil change. I run Mobil 1 full synthetic oil in my vehicles and I still change it about every 3,500 miles. It’s never too soon to make sure your car has clean oil in it!
So where should you get your oil changed? I suggest you have your oil changed at a repair facility. I advise against using those quickie lube places for the simple fact that those who work there are not necessarily trained technicians who will look for safety related concerns while your oil is draining. These quickie lube places exist because they can push the car through quickly and make a dollar. A repair facility will usually cost a little more but in the long run will save you money because the trained eyes of a good technician will catch unseen problems, therefore making your vehicle safe, reliable, and more valuable.
Another good thing about going to a repair facility, for example 3A Automotive (where I work), we offer protection plans with certain oil changes. Some of these protection plans will reimburse you up to $6,000.00 towards engine repairs if a failure occurs and is related to a lubricated internal part. The details are too broad for this column, but if you’d like more information, please email me and I can give you the information you need to decide which protection plan works best for you.
That’s about it for this month’s column. If you’d like to have us do an oil change and a complimentary bumper to bumper inspection, please send me an email or call me at the number below. Thank you for reading and I’ll surprise you with some other topic next month!
Dean Joyce
Service Advisor a 3A Automotive & Diesel
602-997-7978