Know how clean motor oil and oil filter affect performance of your car's engine @ Partsavatar

You can change your oil and oil filter to prevent undue engine wear.
The oil filters of car are the filters that screen out the contaminants like dust, metal shavings from engine oil, transmission oil or lubricating oil.
Oil or engine oil is like blood to the engine in your car. As the oil circulates through the engine, it also picks dirt with it. If the contaminants remain in the oil for long time, then the engine may get damaged and eventually car won’t start. So oil filter filters the dirt so that clean oil flows through the engine. It is advised to replace oil and oil filter every 3 to 6 months to ensure better lubrication and engine’s performance. In this article importance of oil and oil filter in an auto mobile is described.   
                                                                                                     
Why clean oil?


Clean oil is very important for good performance of the engine. It keeps all the engine components like valve trains and piston rings lubricated to prevent excess friction and overheating. The tiny, hard particles present in oil can damage surfaces of the engine. This contaminated oil can wear the oil pump machined components. So, to help the lubrication process, engine needs these little cylinders i.e. oil filters.

How does oil filter work?

Talking about structure of oil filter, the outside of the filter is a metal can with sealing gasket. The filter material inside the oil filter is made of synthetic fiber. In early internal combustion engines, due to poor quality of oil and absence of oil filter, oil change was quite frequent. The lubrication systems found in internal combustion engines, create filter by pass so that even under critical circumstances, oil circulates through all parts and keep them lubricated.

Like in winter, if the oil is thick or plugged, it is allowed to bypass the filter. Because of these circumstances, sometimes oil is not filtered.

In oil filters, oil enters the oil filter through the series of holes on the outer edge of base plate. The dirty oil is pushed under pressure through the filter and back through the centre hole, where it re-enters the engine. Modern oil filters come with anti drain back valve. This drain back valve covers the perimeter holes in the base plate in the form of rubber membrane. When the engine is idle, rubber membrane covers the holes. When the engine runs, the rubber membrane is pushed aside, as the oil enters the filter. These valves basically prevent the engine dry starts.

The oil filter captures contaminants like metal shavings, dirt, debris that finagles their way into your engine. Oil filter cleans the oil, thus keeping the engine healthy. Healthy engine results in better fuel economy and optimized car performance.

Types of oil filter

Oil filters are of different types and not all filters are the same.  A wide range of Oil filters is available in the market. Most oil filters look very similar but small differences in gasket size can determine whether or not a particular filter is fit for your engine. It is best to check your owner’s manual to get manufacturer’s recommended oil filter. Not only oil filters but filter media also comes in different ranges.

First let us know about different kinds of oil filters.

PRIMARY OIL FILTER

Also known as full flow filters, these filters are primarily installed in the engines of most automobile manufacturers. Though primary oil filter can filter 100 % oil, but they have lower flow restrictions. In winters, the oil becomes thick and primary oil filter allows small contaminants to pass through them. If the filter becomes clogged, a pressure system will re direct the motor oil to the engine and continue lubrication.

SECONDARY OIL FILTER

These filters are also known as by pass filters. These filters clean small portions of the motor oil before circulating it to the engine. You can install secondary oil filter as they work independently of primary filters. These filters screen out additional contaminants hence reducing the oil change in the engine.

CONVENTIONAL OIL FILTERS

These filters are a form of secondary filters and need replacing more frequently because they could screen small amount of contaminants.

SPINNER FILTERS

Also called centrifugal filters, they use spinning motion to hold and trap the dirt and particles in the oil.

MAGNETIC OIL FILTERS

These filters screen out the metallic impurities present in the oil. You can simply clean these filters regularly to keep it functional.

Now let us read about filter membranes

SYNTHETIC FILTER MEDIA

The high quality oil filters use synthetic filter media. These can filter particles 50% of particles of size 20 microns and need replacement at every 5000 miles.

CELLULOSE FILTER MEDIA

These filters can clean 40 % of the motor oil.  These are used in disposable oil filters and need replacement at every 3000 miles.

MICROGLASS FILTER MEDIA

Microglass media is made of the fiver that is 10 times finer than cellulose fibers. They need to be replaced every 10000 miles.
Always check your owner manual to determine best oil filter fit for your car. Wrong filters can cause oil to leak out of engine. This would eventually lead to serious engine damage. So be careful.

How to change oil and filter

Make sure you refer to your owner’s manual for correct quantity and type of engine oil for your vehicle. Following are the steps to change oil and oil filter.
  • Park your car at a safe place. Jack up the car.
  • Start and warm up the engine. Switch of the vehicle and allow the engine to rest.
  • Loosen the oil filter cap of car, and drain the oil by placing the pan underneath.
  • Once the old engine oil has been drained, replace the oil drain plug of car and tighten it.
  • Using a suitable filter wrench, loosen the oil filter and then remove it by hand. Wipe around the oil filter mounting surface to clean any old oil.
  • Carefully install the new filter into place and tighten it.
  • Slowly pour engine oil in it.
  • Run the engine for about 1 minute and check the oil level.
  • Check the engine and drain plug for oil leaks.
  • Job done!

Keep your engine lubricated and finely working with clean oil. See aftermarket oil filters of car available at Partsavatar.ca.

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