Letting Your Oil Filter Get Clogged Will Damage the Engine

Make sure to always get your car, truck, or utility vehicle’s oil changed when it needs it. Letting the oil filter get clogged will damage the engine. It is much less expensive to pay for an oil change than it is for an engine replacement. Unfortunately, we are exaggerating here at Righteous Auto Care. A clogged oil filter can damage your engine beyond repair if you keep driving your automobile.

The first thing you might notice, however, is how poorly your engine is performing. This is because the engine needs clean motor oil circulating through it. A clogged oil filter will not clean the oil. Rather, it will make it dirtier and cause problems when it circulates through the engine. The oil can deposit gunk all over the moving parts that will cause your engine to sputter when it is trying to run.

Naturally, any time your vehicle is not running as it should be it will burn through more fuel. Consequently, you will notice a difference in your vehicle’s fuel economy. This can create problems for people who are living on a tight budget. Having to head to the service station more often with gas prices what they are these days can be a huge financial burden.

Your car’s engine control module will also turn on the oil light because the clogged filter will reduce the oil pressure. Unfortunately, this means you will not have oil circulating through the engine at the rate it should be. This can be the beginning of the engine damage we talked about above. The engine control module will keep the oil light on until you replace the oil filter and oil.

The next step in the process will be metallic noises coming from the engine. Now, the oil filter is so clogged that it is blocking the oil from circulating through the engine. What you have going on underneath the hood is metal-on-metal contact that can damage the auto parts severely. Continuing to drive the automobile will harm the engine irreparably.

Finally, as an aside, dirty motor oil makes your exhaust dirty because it adds hydrocarbons to it. If you live in an area where your vehicle needs to pass an emissions test to get registered, you may want to have your oil changed first.

Righteous Auto Care in Racine, WI, is here to help, so give us a call today to set up an oil change service.