How Does Oil Prolong the Life of Your Car Parts?

We all know cars need oil to run properly over the years. But why is that? And what happens if you neglect to check the oil and allow your car to run without it? If you’re not sure how important oil is for your car, it’s time to get to know what exactly it does for your vehicle. Once you learn what oil does for your car, you probably won’t put off your next oil change for long.

Oil Keeps Your Engine Cool

There are so many important parts under the hood of your car, and they’re constantly moving to keep your car running. But they’re also really close together, which means when they’re all moving at once, they can create a ton of friction.So what does oil do for your car? If you don’t want your engine to overheat, you need to avoid excess friction between all those car parts, and that’s where oil comes in. Having enough lubrication between all the moving parts will keep everything cool so your engine doesn’t overheat and need to be replaced. As you might guess, paying a few dollars to keep your oil pan full is a lot less expensive than replacing an engine that overheated!

It Reduces Wear and Tear on Your Engine

Another reason cars need oil is that it keeps engine wear and tear as low as possible. Not only do car parts heat up when they’re not lubricated with oil, but they also wear down as they rub against each other. You need oil to absorb that friction if you want to keep the engine parts in good shape. And you need to make sure you buy the right oil for your car. Otherwise, you’ll allow those parts to keep wearing each other down. So check your vehicle’s owner’s manual to find out which type of oil to put in when it comes to the grade and weight you need. Having enough of the right oil in the engine will reduce friction and decrease wear and tear.

It Eliminates Engine Debris

Yet another reason to keep oil in your engine is that this liquid can pick up tiny contaminants that you don’t want to keep under the hood. For example, it’s normal for dirt, dust, and other types of debris to build up over time in the engine, and your oil can help clean that up as it sweeps over all the parts. Tiny metal particles can also be picked up by the oil and deposited into the oil filter. If you don’t have enough fresh oil in the engine, these small pieces of debris won’t get collected and filtered out, which is why you need to check and change your oil frequently.

Now you know how important it is to always have sufficient oil in your engine. So how can you do that? First, check your oil to find out if you need to add any. If you’re not sure how to do that, read our Beginner’s Guide On How to Check Your Oil. If the oil seems dirty, it may be time to change it, which you can learn more about when you read: How Many Miles Between Oil Changes? And now that you’re aware of how why your car needs oil, you might place a little more importance on that next oil change, whenever it might be!