As a driver, you’re probably aware that you should regularly change your oil in order to keep your vehicle in tip-top shape. However, what you might not know is that you should regularly change your oil filter as well. This is an often over-looked repair that is crucial to your vehicle’s performance.
Why Are Oil Filters Important?
Your car’s oil is essentially the blood of its engine: oil is distributed to all the moving parts of your vehicle for lubrication and temperature control. The oil filter’s job is to remove as much dirt and grime from the oil in order to ensure that the oil works effectively. The last thing you need is to disperse debris-filled oil to each individual part of the engine, which will spread gunk on everything.
If you go too long without changing your oil filter, then you might find it has become completely clogged. In this case, your engine stops using the oil filter to remove debris and, instead, it circulates dirty oil throughout the engine. As you can imagine, this dirty oil can cause significant long-term issues.
How Often Should I Change My Oil Filter?
Some manufacturers recommend that you change your filter every other oil change. On the other hand, oil filters are inexpensive, so it may be worth changing them every time. In some cases, you will actually spend more money on the oil than on the filter, so think of it as insurance for your newly purchased oil.
Since oil is moved throughout the engine so frequently, it only makes sense to keep it clean. The best way to do this is to perform regular oil changes, including changing your filter. There’s no point to changing your oil if you’re just going to reuse a dirty old filter. Let the professionals at Quality Lube Plus guide you to the right decision regarding changing your oil filter.