02/08/2018
WHY DO I NEED TO HAVE MY VEHICLE SERVICED ON TIME?
It depends on how much overdue you are for that oil change.
At some point, your oil starts to break down at the molecular level. As this happens, oil loses its lubricating properties. As oil becomes less slippery, damage to your engine from one part moving against another starts to occur.
Properly working oil creates a film between moving parts. A barrier between pieces of metal. The metal move across the oil film rather than through it, separating the parts and protecting them from each other.
Oil also collects crud and chemicals from the combustion process. It moves this crud to the oil filter, which traps the crud and allows the oil to move back for more circulation, providing your oil filter is working properly and is not plugged up. When an oil filter plugs up, the bypass opens and the oil bypasses the filter. This can happen to a filter with a faulty bypass or to a filter that is plugged up with crud.
Oil breaks down by shear also. When you have two parts that move past each other and oil at high pressure, the oil molecule can be sheared by the two parts. Molecules that are sheared do not protect as well as a whole molecule.
Heat breaks down oil. Heat damages everything. Excessive heat damages oil. Engines are hot, especially at the exhaust valve and piston crown areas. Both areas that have oil pumped at them or past them to carry away that excessive heat.
Combustion chemicals dilute oil.
All of this happens over time. Oil is built to protect an engine for so many miles or hours of use. Manufacturers tell you how many miles you can expect your oil to last. This number is always extremely conservative, meaning you could go a lot longer than you think on the oil you have in most cases.
So, if you are only a bit overdue for that oil change, don’t sweat it. Get it changed this week or next.
If you are double or more the recommended interval, then get your oil changed as soon as possible and budget for the next change on time.
