Is Your Car Engine Happy and Healthy?
If you’re like most car lovers, you take pride in keeping the outside of your car clean. Sure, looks are important, but what about what’s inside, under the hood? Should you be just as finicky about keeping your engine clean? You better believe it! Here’s why…
Over time, thick, gummy deposits form and settle throughout your engine. Unfortunately, deposits clog oil passages and restricts oil flow to vital engine parts” especially the upper valve train areas. A lack of lubrication in this area will increase engine wear and fuel consumption. Even worse, it decreases engine power. That’s why the motor oil you choose is so critical. Your engine needs protection against this kind of harmful build–up.
Even if you follow a routine service schedule, driving conditions are anything but routine. Your engine performance is constantly challenged by factors that contribute to deposit formation, including:
What Causes Engine Build-Up?
- stop and go driving
- prolonged periods of idling
- short trips that don’t allow your engine time to warm up
- towing trailers or other heavy loads
- airborne dirt
- fuel dilution
- condensation
- longer drain intervals
Industry experts say some modern engines are more prone to deposits than older engines. Here are some additional reasons:
1. Engine breathing
Water vapor and combustion gases that develop inside an engine must be purged, usually by burning in the cylinders. If the combustion gases and water vapor are not disposed of, deposits can form.*
2. Hot and cold spots
To warm engines quickly and reduce emissions, engineers in recent years have moved the catalytic converter closer to the cylinder head. In some cars, the converter has been integrated into the exhaust manifold. Both scenarios bring a major heat source closer to the engine, causing hot and cold spots. Hot spots bake oil causing deposits. Cold spots cause acid and deposits.*
3. Tighter tolerances
Engines now burn less oil because more accurate machining has created an extremely tight fit between the engine’s moving parts, such as piston rings, bearings and valves. The result: low oil lights don’t flash, and customers neglect oil changes.*
Do your engine a favor and keep it just as clean as you would your car’s exterior. You’ll see a big “thank you” in the form of increased performance and longer engine life.
* Automotive News April 18th, 2005.