Most of us take precautions to prevent heart attacks, but we tend to turn a blind eye when it comes to our cars. We know that auto lubricants are necessary for their engines, but how many of us know what will happen if we fail to change the oil regularly, and how many of us know what engine oil sludge is?
When contaminants (water, dirt and other waste) combine with oxidized oil, sludge is the resultant unwanted byproduct. Although contaminants should be held in suspension in the oil, over time, they come away and settle on the engine’s components.
If auto lubricants are not regularly changed, these deposits accumulate even more and form a nasty gel-like substance inside the actual engine. This is called sludge, and this is what it looks like:
If you keep topping up the oil as the level goes down, or you’re too lazy to have it changed, you might literally end up with this mess. Of course sludge is harmful, but early detection can save an engine, as well as money and time. Below are some tell-tale symptoms that sludge is forming:
- Chug-a-chug-chug
- Misfire
- Engine too hot
- Low oil
- Bad mileage
- Uneven acceleration
Being on the lookout for these signs and changing auto lubricants according to manufacturers’ recommendations, along with scheduled maintenance, will prevent this nightmare!