Castlehill Truck and Car Mechanical Repair

Posts Tagged ‘castle hill oil change’

If you imagine your car is like a human body, motor oil is the equivalent of blood. Your car needs oil to run, and the oil needs to provide the required lubrication properties specified by the engine manufacturer for you to have a happy and healthy car engine.

So what exactly does the oil do?

Oil lubricates your car’s engine and helps protect the moving parts, especially when you first start-up the engine. As you drive, water vapour, un-burnt petrol and gases from the engine’s combustion process all end up contaminating your oil. If you don’t change your oil at the recommended intervals, it can thicken, and lose its protective ability, as it can’t reach and protect the moving parts. When this happens your oil has lost its protective qualities and it’s time for an oil change.

What does the oil filter do?

The oil filter strains dirt and other particles out of the oil as it circulates. When changing oil, it’s best to replace the filter as well, as you don’t want a dirty filter contaminating new oil.

How often should I change my oil?

Most mechanics advocate oil changes should be carried out in accordance with the service schedule set by the vehicle manufacturer. Often this recommends an oil change every 10,000km or 6 months.

However, motorist’s should take care. Most manufacturers say that the frequency of an oil change is largely dependant on your driving habits. When you travel over 20km the oil in your engine has time to fully heat up, allowing it to flow freely and vaporise the water and unburned fuel that build up in the oil.

However if you rarely travel more than 20km after each cold start, your oil can become saturated with contaminants, failing to lubricate the engine properly and, over time, lose its protective abilities. This applies no matter what quality of oil you are using. If this sounds like you, most manufacturers recommend an oil change every 5,000km or every three months.

It’s also worth remembering that simply topping up an engine that’s low on oil is not the same as giving it an oil change. Contaminants left behind increase in concentration each time the oil levels drops which accelerates engine wear. In addition to this, the mixing of oil brands and viscosities can harm you engine, and is not recommended.

What kind of oil should I be using?

Today if you walk into an automotive shop you will be faced with many choices of oil, so which one do you need?

There are many brands of oil available, and different engines require oil of different levels of thickness or viscosity. Zecs mechanics will know best what to put into your car based on the manufacturer’s recommendation and your driving habits.

Most mechanics use a conventional motor oil that is a product of the crude oil refining process. This is the most basic oil grade recommended by most manufacturers to keep your car in good working order.

The next step up is a synthetic fortified oil like the Valvoline ProBlend that NRMA MotorServe uses. This is a synthetic blend that combines the properties of conventional and synthetic oil to help it burn cleaner and withstand greater temperatures, giving your engine greater protection than a conventional oil.

Synthetic oils are developed from chemical compounds such as polyalphaolefins. Their entire structure is different, and more stable than conventional motor oil. It is able to maintain viscosity, or flow, across a wider temperature range and under more severe demands. The best quality motor oil is therefore fully synthetic, although because it is costly to manufacture this comes with a significant price tag. It’s also not suitable for all cars.