These Five Things Point to a Clogged Oil Filter

Bring your car, truck, or utility vehicle to Total Auto Care right away if it is doing any of the five things listed below. If you can hear metallic sounds coming from the engine, have the automobile towed to our shop. The problems discussed in this blog post point to a clogged oil filter. This may not seem like a big deal, but a clogged oil filter can literally damage your engine. Let’s talk more about this below.

1. Reduced Engine Performance

The oil filter cleans the dirt out of the motor oil that it picks up when it circulates through the engine. If the filter is dirty, the motor oil will remain dirty as it continues to circulate through the engine. This will create engine performance problems such as sputtering and power loss. The reason why is that the dirty motor oil is depositing grime throughout the engine that affects the moving parts.

2. Poor Fuel Economy

As you already know, anytime your engine does not run efficiently you will see a reduction in your fuel economy. With gas prices what they are these days, this is not only frustrating but also can be hard on you if you are living on a tight budget. Getting an oil change every 3,000 miles puts a new oil filter in your car. This prevents a clogged filter and all of the problems that go with it.

3. Reduced Oil Pressure

Another problem that goes with a clogged oil filter is a reduction in the oil pressure in the engine. This can also affect your engine’s performance because it does not have oil circulating through it at the right pressure. System sensors are going to report problems to the engine control module and it will turn on the oil light. This is your warning that there is an oil problem in the engine.

4. Odd Metallic Noises

As we mentioned above, if you hear odd metallic noises coming from your engine, you need to stop driving your automobile right away and have it towed to our shop. The metallic noises are being made by metal-on-metal contact. This means you do not have any oil circulating through the engine and lubricating the moving parts. Driving your automobile will kill the engine.

5. High Hydrocarbons

Finally, when you have dirty motor oil circulating through the engine the hydrocarbons in your exhaust increase. If you live in an area where you need to have your automobile tested for emissions regularly, these high hydrocarbons can cause your vehicle to fail the test.Call Total Auto Care in North Branch, MN, today to schedule a service visit if you believe your oil filter is clogged.Photo by ollo from getty images via Canva Pro