Uptown Imports can help you avoid a clogged oil filter with regular oil changes when your import needs them. Generally, the oil should be changed every 3,000 miles or six months. It’s important to have this service done to avoid damaging your engine. A clogged oil filter can cause irreparable engine damage. Let’s talk more about the oil filter below and how you can tell if it is clogged.
Poor Performance
As the motor oil circulates through the engine, it removes dirt and grime from the moving parts. As such, it needs to be filtered before it circulates through the engine again to remove the dirt and grime it has picked up. If the oil filter gets clogged, it will fail to remove all of the sediment in the motor oil. Consequently, the oil will deposit sediment onto the moving parts and this will affect your engine’s performance. It will reduce the performance.
Poor Fuel Economy
Any time your import’s engine performance is reduced, it actually uses more gasoline or diesel fuel than it normally would. As such, a clogged oil filter can directly affect your fuel economy. Unfortunately, the gas mileage will go south and you will end up at the service station more often.
Reduced Oil Pressure
Another thing that is reduced is your import’s oil pressure. This is because the oil cannot circulate effectively through the engine because the clogged oil filter is in impeding its circulation. Consequently, this, too, affects your engine’s performance and fuel economy. It also causes the engine control module to turn on the oil light because the oil pressure in the engine is not what it should be.
Strange Engine Noises
We mentioned above that a clogged oil filter can irreparably damage your import’s engine. Eventually, the filter will get so clogged that the oil cannot pass through it. This will leave you with an engine that is running without any motor oil circulating through it. You will hear strange metallic noises such as grinding and growling. Stop driving your import right away. If you continue to operate it, you run the risk of killing the engine in a very short period of time.
Increased Hydrocarbons
Finally, a clogged oil filter that causes the oil to deposit sediment throughout the engine increases your vehicle’s hydrocarbons. This becomes a problem for those who live in an area that tests vehicle emissions in order to register automobiles.
Call Uptown Imports in Minneapolis, MN, today if it has been more than 3,000 miles or six months since you’ve had your oil changed.