Sludge – An Engine Killer
The Death of an Engine and How to Avoid it
It sneaks around when no one is looking. It doesn’t care if it’s day or night. It can paralyze its enemy if its enemy isn’t super careful. Then it starts to destroy everything else in sight. It’s dark and clumpy and oozes all over. What is it? It’s engine sludge — coming soon to a vehicle near you. The thick, sticky sludge forms when the motor oil breaks down, turns dirty, and builds up in the engine. Its greatest weakness is a strong opponent. One who stays in tip-top shape so it can stop it before it starts! The real hero in this story is clean, fresh oil. So yes, spoiler alert: the oil is its own worst enemy! You can help prevent it from turning on itself by scheduling regular oil changes with Silver Lake Auto & Tire Center in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
Engine Sludge, Mystery Solved
With exposure to constant wear, oxygen, moisture, and debris, the clean engine oil will eventually weaken and stop using its power for good. Its ability to lubricate the moving parts of the engine will cease. Then it will turn into the bad guy, thickening up into a sap-like substance. The sludge will gum up key elements and compromise your engine’s ability to perform its job. Because oxidation happens naturally, and heat and friction are unavoidable, the only defense against the formation of engine sludge is changing the oil and oil filter on your vehicle every 5,000 to 10,000 miles depending on the year, make, and model of your car. Your driving habits also play a major role in this page-turner. If short, stop-and-go trips are routine for you, you should consider more frequent oil changes. Every time you start your engine, the oil becomes more corrupt. You must stop it before it’s too late!
The Real Heroes in the Story
Now we all know that in a suspense story, the characters often make poor decisions. We’ve seen it a hundred times. We yell at the TV, or the book, telling them not to go out there or to turn on the light, but they just don’t listen. It’s not intentional, so we give them a break. Unfortunately for them, they don’t get a break. Sometimes, everyday life gets in the way of us making the best decisions for our vehicles, and the engine ends up being taken hostage by sludge anyway. If you think the enemy has taken over, you’ll want to have professionals remove it for you since it may require disassembling part of the engine. The ASE certified experts at Silver Lake Auto & Tire Center’s Brookfield location are the true heroes. Once it’s all clean and the oil and filter are replaced, you can expect a happy ending!