5 COMMON SYMPTOMS OF A CLOGGED OIL FILTER -

This article will show you how to recognize a clogged oil filter and avoid bigger trouble.

The oil filter is a cheap yet vital part of your car’s engine. It cleans the filth and debris that gathers over time in the engine oil, and this way protects the engine.

If the oil filter gets clogged for some reason, the oil flow is interrupted, which can have serious consequences and eventually damage the engine.

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SYMPTOMS OF A CLOGGED OIL FILTER

1. REDUCED ENGINE PERFORMANCE

The first thing you’ll notice with a clogged oil filter is reduced engine performance.

The accelerator response will be sluggish, you’ll notice mild overheating that’s present all the time, and due to all of this, higher fuel consumption.

You’ll notice this just before the next symptom appears.

2. LOW OIL PRESSURE

Next, the oil pressure will go down due to the clogged oil filter. As mentioned, the clog prevents the oil from flowing through the engine and lubricating the vital parts.

You’ll best notice this symptom by the warning on the dashboard.

In most cases, the warning light will at first appear occasionally, but soon after, it will appear immediately when you start the engine.

On this part, it’s important to know that when you notice this warning light, you must turn off the engine and inspect the problem. Otherwise, the engine may suffer damage.

For more information about low oil pressure, click here.

3. KNOCKING SOUND FROM THE ENGINE

Accompanied by all this will be a disturbing knocking sound coming from the engine, usually when it starts gaining working temperature.

This means that the engine is getting deprived of oil, which is dangerous, and this is where the damage actually begins.

If you hear this, best not to drive the car until you solve the problem.

4. THE ENGINE OIL IS DARK AND SLUDGY

At this point, you’ll probably want to check the oil level.

When you take out the dipstick, put some oil between your fingers and rub it.

If you see that the oil is dark, sludgy, or even worse, has traces of debris in it, you can suspect the oil filter.

But this is only in case you know that the oil hasn’t been changed in a long time or during the last oil change. Otherwise, there may be other reasons for this.

For more information about how to change oil, click here.

5. LEAKING OIL FILTER

Finally, you may notice oil leaks around the oil filter and the housing.

This is mainly due to pressure build-up within the clogged oil filter, which then causes a leak at the filter seal.

In the best case, you’ll notice the area around the filter is smudgy and wet; in the worst case, there will be a leak you’ll see under the car, on the ground, or on the protective under cover.

CONCLUSION

Dear readers, you can almost surely forget about these problems if you change the oil filter together with the engine oil.

This is common practice, especially since for most cars, the oil filter is cheap and simple to replace.

Despite this, some people choose to skip the filter change, and this way, for a couple of Euros or Dollars put an expensive engine at risk of big damage.

By big damage, we mean a complete or partial engine overhaul.