Last week, we looked at the cooling system. What we didn’t mention was that oil is key in the cooling system of any vehicle. The next time you go for an oil change, have it in mind that it contributes to the cooling system as well.

The engine oil serves four main purposes in an automobile. It dissipates heat, it reduces tear and wear of moving parts, it cleans and it seals. For all the above to be handled properly, the quality of engine oil used should be of paramount interest to the person receiving the oil.

Different manufacturers are advising motorists to change oil at different intervals. The right time to change the oil should depend on the way you use the engine. For example, a vehicle moving through the floods will need more urgent servicing than one moving on paved roads. While manufacturers recommend those mileages, some of them have never driven on unpaved roads. Their recommendations are therefore for roads that are of a higher standard than we drive through here. On our state of roads, the dust from the roadside - even on paved roads - is higher than the average. The air is used for combustion and the oxygen will always be required. There is no way you will avoid that ingestion.

Now that we agree that there is need to change oil, why do we need to change the oil? The oils have a base from which additives are added. The additives are the necessary components which help in the cleaning, sealing, transferring of heat and reduction of friction.

The temperature at which these oils are subjected to is very high. The additives will therefore become less effective in performing their different rolls. However, with technology improvements, even the oils are presently made to meet the challenges. Hence it is ok, depending on the type of oil used, to run higher mileages between oil changes. The best recommendation is to have the oil changed before additive depletion as oil contamination can begin to affect engine performance and life.

The oil filter is recommended for change at every oil change because it is the oil filter that traps all the impurities in engine oil. Some motorists have a weakness for preferring to buy cheaper spare parts and therefore go for cheaper oil filters. The capacity of a cheap oil filter to handle all the impurities is not advisable. It is best to go for the right filters all the time to save your engine.

By this time we should all be conversant with viscosity of the oil we need. Get to understand the classification of oil in terms of API when going to a service bay. Do your own research beforehand. Using service bay technicians is not always the best since their main interest could be to make a sale, and will advise you to use whatever oil is available in his stock and not necessarily the right one. Remember to watch out for the cheap lubes which are stocked in bigger quantities in many places.

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