These days, the engine is typically the most expensive part of your car. So it makes no sense for anyone to skimp on an oil filter or try to get away with a cheap oil filter, when the oil filter is designed to protect that expensive engine. When it comes to vehicle maintenance and upkeep, the Oil & Filter Change is by far the most important and most frequent maintenance you will do. So, the quality of the oil filter really does matter.
Paper Element
Your vehicle manufacturer has designed the oil filter for your car with a certain material type, thickness, and quality of paper element inside the filter housing. Cheap and bargain-priced filters tend to a lower quality paper element in them as a way to drive down the overall price of the oil filter. Besides not properly filtering (cleaning) the motor oil, lower quality paper elements inside an oil filter can actually fall apart. Many internal engine components that must remain lubricated have small passages though which the motor oil circulates to lubricate those internal engine components. We have seen cheap oil filter paper come apart and plug these small passages in an engine, causing the engine to eventually fail. What an irony: the filter that is supposed to protect the engine ends up being the cause of the engine’s demise, when one uses a cheap, bargain oil filter.
Oil Filter Check Valve
Another component integrated into oil filters these days is a check valve or anti-drain-back valve. This valve is designed to keep motor oil from draining out of the filter when the engine is off. Some bargain oil filters may not have this valve built in at all or, if they do, it could be a valve that doesn’t hold the amount of pressure specified by the vehicle manufacturer. Using an inexpensive oil filter that lacks this check valve will, of course, cause the oil to drain out of the filter. This, in turn, causes delayed lubrication of critical engine parts every morning when you start your engine. This delay in lubricating certain components, over time, will cause premature wear and failure of the internal engine components.
When changing your engine oil, it is well worth it, even imperative to invest in a quality oil filter and the right motor oil. At Budget Auto Repair, all our oil change services come with a quality oil filter that meets your vehicle manufacturer’s specifications and we only use API Certified Motor Oil of the type and viscosity recommended for your vehicle by its manufacturer. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that we price our oil change services very competitively, while, at the same time, delivering to you a quality oil filter and motor oil that meets your vehicle’s specifications. Click here to make your next oil change appointment.
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Oil Change Coupons
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The Importance of Routine Oil Changes
