There are many benefits to visiting a Ford dealership when it comes to vehicle maintenance. The three main reasons to choose your local Ford dealership is price, time, and trust.

Many people worry about going to a dealership because they think it will be expensive. However, the prices of oil changes at local Ford dealerships are highly competitive with other services in your area. Your local dealer can also provide you with a full vehicle checkup, which includes a brake inspection, multipoint inspection, fluid top-off, battery test, synthetic blend oil change, and more.

Time is a priority for many people. We all have things to do, and waiting for car maintenance isn’t something anyone wants. If you make an appointment with your dealership, then the oil change will be very fast. In addition, you will get to enjoy a comfortable waiting room with free WiFi and refreshments.

Finally, why not trust the people who know your car best? It is important to get the help of a properly trained technician. At your local Ford dealership, you can find factory-trained Ford technicians ready to help you. They have been trained by the same people who designed, engineered, and build your vehicle. They know how to get things done well and get them done fast.

With so many reasons to choose a Ford dealership to service your vehicle, you might be wondering why you would need an oil change in the first place. There are many reasons to keep up with your oil change, even though it doesn’t seem like a big deal. Continue reading to learn more about how an oil change can improve the longevity of your car and keep it fully functional.

Missing a Scheduled Oil Change

It is never good to put off something that your car needs. If you miss a scheduled oil change, you are causing damage to your car’s “circulatory system.” This system needs oil to run through it in order to keep things running smoothly. So, to keep your engine healthy, stay on top of your oil changes, and talk to your local dealership about any problems you are experiencing.

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The “Circulatory System”

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When you change your oil and oil filter regularly, it will keep your engine running longer. There are multiple moving parts within your engine, and having clean oil circulating through will help it work efficiently.

Your engine oil has three essential jobs: cleaning, cooling, and lubricating moving parts. Inside your engine, everything has to work in harmony with one another. Each moving part is a moving part that is highly engineered to incredibly tight tolerances. This is why it is essential to have oil to keep everything limber.

Oil Lubricates

The spaces between the pistons and the cylinder wall are about the same width as a human hair. This leaves little margin for error. The oil in your engine keeps these parts from grinding against each other. They can pass one another on a thin film of oil. However, without the oil, they can end up coming in contact with one another and cause wear and tear on your vehicle.

Over time this will damage your vehicle faster than if it had good clean oil to keep everything running smoothly. Although the pistons and cylinder wall seem smooth to the naked eye, microscopically, it has grooves. When these grooves rub against each other, they can create metal shavings that will quickly work their way through the rest of the engine. Once that happens, it will eat away at the other moving parts until your car develops un-repairable damage.

By receiving your scheduled oil change, you can prevent this from happening. Regular oil and oil filter changes will increase the longevity of your vehicle. This will ensure that you are getting the most out of your vehicle when it comes to functionality and travel.

Oil Cools

You have probably felt the hood of your car after the engine has been running for a while. It is warm on top, in some cases, even hot. In addition to lubricating the moving parts, the oil will also cool your engine and help keep it clean. After your car has been running for a while, the engine block can get up to 220 °F. This is why you would want to wait for your engine to cool before doing any work on it.

Keeping your engine cool is a big job. This is why there is a cooling system in place. This cooling system is made up of your radiator, thermostat, hoses, and coolant. In addition to all these parts that help keep your engine cool, your oil plays an important role in cooling the system.

Oil is great at absorbing and removing heat from the engine’s parts. Allowing your engine to overheat or run hotter than intended can cause premature wear on your vehicle. Even the normal temperatures of a vehicle can wear down the oil and additives. Over time these lose their effectiveness, and the oil will thin between the metal parts. With an oil change, it can keep the oil from getting too thin and hurting the car.

Oil Cleans

As you drive your car, your engine can pick up dirt and grime, which then the oil will carry to the oil filter. Once the oil filter is replaced, and new oil is added, then all the dirt from your engine will have been removed.

However, your oil filter can only hold so much. If you wait too long to change your oil filter, then your car’s bypass valve will open. This happens when your oil filter becomes full. When the bypass valve opens, this means that the oil will continue to circulate through the engine without going through the oil filter. By changing the oil filter and the oil at your car’s scheduled times, you can avoid having dirty oil flow through your car.

Sludge is created when oil becomes old and begins to solidify. It is a combination of contaminant build-up and oxidation. If car oil isn’t changed often enough, then this can build up in your engine.

Once sludge beings to form, it will slow the flow of oil throughout the engine. This is because sludge will begin to clog some of the narrow oil passageways, making it hard for things to move through. As sludge continues to cut off the oil flow to parts of your engine, it will cause your engine to develop major damage. Changing your oil regularly is the best way to prevent sludge from forming in your engine.

We’ve heard of oxidation in metal. However, it also happens in car oil too. When oil comes in contact with oxygen, then the oil can begin to break down. Oxidation happens faster when the oil is also exposed to very high temperatures or water. In places where it is extremely cold, the oil can be diluted with water, which will cause the oil not to flow as well.

Overall, oxidation will break down your oil at a faster rate and is as bad for your engine as sludge. Eventually, if the oxidation continues, it will thicken your oil and turn it into sludge. When oxidation takes effect, then your oil will become less effective at doing its job.

These are additives added to oil by engineers to make the oil more effective. About 20% of every quart of oil is made up of these additives. They are essential as they help minimize sludge and corrosion. They even help lessen the chances of oil leaks in high-mileage engines.

The formulas for each oil manufacturer is kept secret. However, these are some of the additives that can be found in them:

Seal swell helps minimize oil leaks in high-mileage vehicles.
Anti-foam agents prevent oil from foaming and keep it lubricating.
Antioxidants prevent corrosion and rust.
Detergents help clean the engine.
Corrosion inhibitors help protect from rust.
Anti-wear agents prevent the moving parts from wearing out.
Dispersants lessen the likelihood of sludge.
Viscosity modifiers help keep the oil at the proper thickness when exposed to high temperatures.

These additives play an important part in helping your car run smoothly. However, these additives don’t last forever. Over time they will break down and become less effective. This is why it is important to change your oil according to the recommended schedule.

Care for Your Vehicle with an Oil Change

Your oil won’t stay clean and functional for long. Over time it will degrade and become dirty. The additives will break down and won’t protect your engine like they used to. So to ensure that the oil in your engine continues to do its job, it will need to be changed regularly. Oil changes are one of the main ways that you can keep your engine running efficiently and protect the longevity of your vehicle. This routine maintenance will help you to avoid expensive repairs and future engine failure.

So, check out your maintenance schedule and make sure to bring it to your local Ford dealership who knows your car best.

Oil Change

Missing a Scheduled Oil Change

The “Circulatory System”

Oil Lubricates

Oil Cools

Oil Cleans

What is Sludge?

What is Oxidation?

What are Oil Additives?

Care for Your Vehicle with an Oil Change

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