An unexpected oil discovery made TV’s most famous hillbilly Jed Clampett a wealthy man, allowing him the money to move away from the backwoods to the Hills of Beverly. But an unexpected oil discovery on the driveway under your car is probably going to make you a bit poorer. But worse than the mess on the ground is the specter of engine damage that looms over an oil leak. Just about the only way to damage a modern engine is to run it without enough oil so it is imperative to keep the oil in the engine and off of your driveway.
The oil in your crankcase is the lifeblood of your engine; with the exception of the bearing between the crankshaft and the piston connecting rods, a thin layer of oil is the only barrier to wear between metal parts in your engine that are pumping and whirling within tight tolerances of each other. With modern advancements in metallurgy and oil formulation, an engine that has been maintained with fresh oil can last nearly indefinitely. But if you neglect the oil, your engine’s useful service life will be severely curtailed.
Chefs and cooking experts tell me that there is a difference in using corn oil, peanut oil, olive oil or palm oil when cooking. It is equally important to your engine that you use the correct type of oil for your car. The engineers who designed your car’s engine have specified the exact viscosity (often called oil weight) for your engine and you should follow those guidelines. Your owner’s manual will give the recommendations for your climate and driving conditions.
Generally, manufacturers recommend a type of variable viscosity oil that is thin when cold and gets thicker as it heats up that is usually designated as being “10-30� or some similar designation. The lower number represents the thinner viscosity of the oil when cold and the higher number tells how thick the oil becomes when the engine has reached operating temperature. In warmer climates, a manufacturer may recommend an oil with a higher set of numbers and conversely they will recommend a lower viscosity in cold climates.
Many manufactures recommend an oil change every 7,500 miles and it is probably OK to follow this schedule. But it is cheap insurance to change your oil more frequently, particularly if your drive in stop and go driving or dusty conditions. I am a firm believer in changing your engine’s oil every 3,000 miles or every six months as old oil loses its effectiveness.
Dusty conditions has an impact on your engine’s oil? Yes, dust and dirt from the atmosphere does work its way into the engine’s oil and that dirt acts like sandpaper on the moving parts, wearing them out.
Synthetic oil and “special oil for older cars� are major profit centers for the oil change industry. The Old Car oil is not much different for regular oil, but tends to be a bit thicker and less resistant to leak from old, dried up gaskets. If you have maintained your older car and run the engine regularly the gaskets will be in good condition and leakage will be less of a problem.
Some high performance engines are specifically designed for synthetic engine oil and I would not suggest ignoring the manufacturers recommendations. But unless your car’s engine requires synthetic oil, I would not bother spending the extra money charged for synthetic oil. One of the key justifications for using synthetic oil is the extended period between mandatory oil changes that synthetic oil enjoys. But as we have discussed, the oil in your car is exposed to atmospheric dirt that will contaminate synthetic oil as easily as regular oil. I prefer to use organic oil and change it regularly to insure that the lubrication system of my car is always filled with fresh, clean oil.
Take good car of your car by keeping current with your engine’s oil level and have the oil and oil filter changed regularly. In turn, your engine will reward you with years of reliable service.