Here’s Why You Should Never Put Off an Oil Change

[Lee Stewart]

Don't think changing your oil often is important? Well, it is. If you don't do it, bad things happen to the oil itself that could cause extra wear and tear on your engine. Jason Fenske from Engineering Explained is here to show exactly what happens to your oil if you leave it in your engine for too long.

Many of the problems that arrive from prolonged oil usage actually come from additives, rather than the oil itself. There are seven specific additives Fenske covers, all of which are worse off as time and usage continues.

Antioxidants in the oil reduce oxidation, the main cause of oil degradation. Leaving your oil in your car for too long means these antioxidants break down and and lose their effectiveness.

Anit-wear additives like zinc react with rough surfaces to smooth out metal and reduce friction. Eventually, the zinc gets all used up, and breaks down over time. Without it, your engine wears more.

Detergents are present in the oil as a way to stop sludge from building up. As the oil ages, these detergents lose their effectiveness, allowing deposits to build up and block oil passageways within the engine. That, as you can probably guess, is a bad thing.

Dispersants are clever additives that prevent deposits from sticking in place, causing blockages. When you change your oil, the dark stuff coming out is the dispersants carrying out potential deposits. Eventually, the dispersants stop working, leading to more deposits and blockages. Not great.

Viscosity modifiers allow the oil to change its viscosity as its temperature changes. Oil left unchanged, the modifiers will begin to break apart and fail. That means the oil can't change thickness as it warms, which isn't great for the contact points in the motor.

Pour-point depressants allow the oil to maintain its ability to flow in low temperature situations, such as engine startup, where most engine wear occurs. These break down as oil ages. If oil can't flow when the engine starts up, that means a lot more metal-on-metal contact is happening, which is bad.

Foam inhibitors prevent foam from forming in the crankcase, caused by sloshing from components under the cylinder. These inhibitors lose their effectiveness over time, meaning the foam, left unchecked, can build up and reduce oil pressure.

So if you've been putting off an oil change on your car for one reason or another, we suggest getting it done as soon as possible.

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