Changing oil is the most critical maintenance procedure for your McCullom Lake vehicle

It would be nice if your car would change its

own oil right there in your McCullom Lake

driveway. It's not likely and you may want to

accept the responsibility of making sure it

gets timely oil changes.

Imagine someone who takes their car out of their McCullom Lake garage frequently to wash and wax the vehicle in their driveway. They bring it in for regular maintenance, have the tires, suspension, steering and brakes checked on a regular basis. You’d think they take their car’s maintenance pretty seriously, wouldn’t you?

What if you found out they seldom or never had the oil changed? They pulled out of their McCullom Lake driveway, day after day, kept their vehicle looking tip-top but never changed the oil. Would that make any sense?

Of course not.

Engine oil is the lifeblood of your car's engine

It wouldn’t make sense to do all that other maintenance and not have the oil changed. There isn’t any other maintenance procedure that’s as important as having the oil changed.

Engine oil is the lubricant that protects the engine from grinding itself until parts get so hot they fuse together. And long before your engine turns into a 400- or 500-pound paperweight, damage is eating away at your engine, if it doesn’t have its capacity of fresh and proper engine oil.

When operating properly, an automotive engine runs between 195- and 220 degrees. You need a maximum temperature of 160 degrees to cook an egg. You can burn an egg at the normal operating temperature of an automotive engine. But, if the engine oil isn’t up to the job, look out.

An automotive engine will start to overheat above 220 degrees. When engines overheat, engines risk being damaged. That could occur because you’re low on coolant or your coolant has degraded to the point where it can’t do its job. But it can also happen if the oil is old, dirty or unable to protect the internal components of your engine.

Run an engine without any engine oil and it’s only a matter of minutes before it freezes up into a block of metal. Run an engine with oil that hasn’t been changed and the wear occurs far more gradually. But, if your not changing the oil on schedule, the additional wear and tear experienced by the engine is gradual but persistent.

Timely oil changes are the best thing you can do to ensure the longevity of your car’s engine and its resale value. It’s also the most cost-effective maintenance you can do for your car.

Next time you go out to your car in your McCullom Lake garage or driveway, take a quick look at the sticker on your windshield that alerts you to when your vehicle is due for another oil change and don’t let the due date slip away.

Comments

Is your antifreeze safe from freezing this Richmond winter

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing? If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...

Blocks of ice falling from cars in McHenry could cause accidents or damage

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders. Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...

October 20 Hootenanny will benefit veterans with PTSD

Been to a Hootenanny lately? When you read that question did you ask, “What?” Well, if you have gone to a Hootenanny in a while, or if you don’t know what a hootenanny is, we have an event for Oct. 20 that will clear up either question. From 6 p.m. to Midnight, Saturday, Oct. 20, MC3, the McHenry Area Chamber of Commerce business networking group, is helping to host an inaugural Veterans R&R Wild Horse Hootenanny at Beyond Stable Farm (11129 Rte. 176, Woodstock). The event will benefit Veterans R&R Operation Wild Horse. Operation Wild Horse serves veterans with PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). Working with the horses has proven to have an incredibly calming effect on the veterans. And, it’s good for the horses, too, rescued wild mustangs. This means that the hootenanny is for a very good cause. But, it’s also a lot of fun. So, what is a hootenanny? According to a Google search, a hootenanny is “an informal gathering with folk music and sometimes dancing.” The V...

Performance Unlimited Blog

Search This Blog