Engine oil filters come in various grades, both in design and materials used, but they all work to remove all these impurities from your engine oil. There’s a great deal of varieties between different types of engine oils, the various synthetic additives they include, and countless other factors (such as city driving vs highway driving) which can influence the performance and longevity of engine oil. Lets take a closer look at the oil pump and filter to learn more about them.
Recognizing Oil Pump Problems
When the oil pump warning sign lights up on your control panel, by this point the oil pump can’t draw enough oil through the filter to keep all the journals lubricated. In addition to creating a lot of metal-to-metal contact and causing serious damage to your engine, the extra heat from the friction is burning the oil from the inside-out. The more damaged the oil becomes, the less it can do to protect your engine.
If you remove a filter that appears ballooned, bulged or deformed, this indicates it was subject to too much oil pressure, and the oil pressure regulating valve located in the oil pump should be serviced immediately. This valve regulates the oil pressure in the engine. If the valve is closed, restricted or sticks, excessive oil pressure will cause filter deformation and possibly cause the lubricating system to lose all its oil, resulting in engine damage.
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When the filtering media is coated with sludge, the sludge could be caused by excessive combustion blow-by gases contaminating the oil. It might also be due to the engine operating temperature being too low, excessive idling, or most likely, an extended oil change interval. Any of these problems should be corrected as soon as possible.
If the filter has collapsed internally, there has been excessive media restriction with possible engine damage due to the lack of proper filter maintenance. You should inspect the engine for damage and make certain the driver changes the oil filter at every oil change. If you find excessive metal particles in the used filter, you should perform an oil analysis or disassemble and inspect the engine components to help determine what components are failing and causing excessive engine wear.
Benefits of Changing the Oil Filter
By performing preventive maintenance such as changing the oil and filter, a vehicle’s engine life can be extended. Remember, however, if a filter is suspected to be involved in engine damage, it’s probably best not to tamper with or destroy the filter. It may be best to return it to the filter manufacturer for testing and inspection. It has been scientifically proven that oil filters should be changed every time the oil in the car is changed.
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Oil passes through your engine four times for every mile you drive. By the time you drive 5,000 kilometers, the same oil has passed through your filter 12,000 times. To provide greater protection against engine wear, most experts suggest changing your customers’ oil every three months or 5,000 kilometers (3,000 kilometers with turbo-charged designs and stop-and-go driving styles).
A used oil filter contains dirty oil and contaminants, and if the oil is changed but the filter isn’t, that dirty oil in the filter quickly adds its load of contaminants to the fresh oil. It’s like pouring fresh milk into a dirty glass!
To summarize the benefits of oil filter change at every oil change are as follows:
– Keep the new engine oil starting to flow as fresh as possible.
– Normalize the oil pressure as far as the filter material has been kept with full filtering function.
– Extend the engine life as is suggested by car manufacturers.
– Maximize the oil pump function.
– Keep engine exhausts as clean as suggested.
– Extend fuel mileages.
How BE FORWARD Advise Oil and Oil Changes
BE FORWARD provide customers with as much information as possible in regard to vehicle maintenance records if available. In case no record has been kept for the vehicle you purchase, we recommend oil and oil filter changes before you start the engine.
We are pleased to offer a variety of oil filters best fit to the vehicle you have purchased from our expansive database of both new and used car parts. Click below to browse the available stock now!
