How Frequently Should You Change Oil Filters

Oil is the lifeblood of the engine in your car or truck (or motorcycle, boat, airplane, tractor and so on). Plain and simple. But as the oil circulates through the engine, it picks up any number of contaminants (in simple terms, dirt). That dirt can obviously damage your engine. And over time, that dirt can bring the engine to its death. While most drivers know it is important to change engine oil regularly, many don’t realize that the oil filter should be replaced at the same time.

In this article, we will explain how to identify when you should change your vehicle’s oil filter and engine oil.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Knowing When Your Car Needs a New Oil Filter

Best Practices for Oil Filter Usage

Maintaining Installed Oil Filters

Frequently Asked Questions About Oil Filter

Conclusion

Introduction

An oil filter is a filter designed to remove contaminants from engine oil, transmission oil, lubricating oil, or hydraulic oil. Their chief use is in internal-combustion engines for motor vehicles (both on- and off-road ), powered aircraft, railway locomotives, ships and boats, and static engines such as generators and pumps. Other vehicle hydraulic systems, such as those in automatic transmissions and power steering, are often equipped with an oil filter. Gas turbine engines, such as those on jet aircraft, also require the use of oil filters. Oil filters are used in many different types of hydraulic machinery.

Knowing When Your Car Needs a New Oil Filter

Each car has a different type of engine as well as their maintenance. Cars with gasoline engines have a slightly different maintenance pattern from diesel-engine cars, as well as technology, large engine capacity, and the quality of engine oil used. The size of oil filters is also mattering. The bigger the surface area of the filter element, the longer a filter can perform well.

The best way to know how often you should change your oil filter is from your car owner’s manual book, mainly in warranty and maintenance manual for your car. In general, most parts and oil manufacturers say to replace oil filters with every oil change, which should occur every 3,000 miles or three months (whichever comes first).

Newer models tend to fall into the 6,000 miles + category. Meanwhile, older vehicles are likely to require more frequent oil filter changes. Your vehicle handbook will give you an accurate time-frame based on your make and model.

However, there are many factors that affect how often you should be changing your oil filter. These span from driving style to average mileage to general weather conditions. Your driving style may involve lots of acceleration and heavy braking. Most of your routes may be through towns. You may have a particularly high mileage. If any of these apply to you, you are likely to require an oil filter replacement more often than the average driver.

It is important to change your engine oil at the same time as your filter. This is because once the filter medium is completely saturated with oil and cannot hold any more contaminants, the oil begins to bypass the filter when it circulates. This runs the risk of contaminated oil entering the engine and causing damage.

Servicing Your Oil Filter

As the oil filter is sealed under the bonnet, it can be difficult to tell whether it needs to be replaced from a quick visual check. If you don’t realise in time, a clogged oil filter can lead to premature engine damage. To avoid this, it’s advisable to book your car in for a service once a year or after every 12,000 miles.

Best Practices for Oil Filter Usage

Storage - Filters can fail long before they are to be used for their intended purpose. Therefore, proper filter storage and handling are essential. Ensure filters are kept clean, cool and dry, and always follow the first-in/first-out rule.

Installation - Even if a filter installation seems simple and routine, refer to the manufacturer’s recommendations for proper procedures. A classic mistake is over-tightening. Most recommendations suggest that a three-quarter turn after seal contact is optimal. Over- or under-tightening can inhibit the seal’s longevity and effectiveness. Confirm that connections, seals and ducts are fitted appropriately and are free of contaminants.

Avoiding Pre-fill - In most cases, you do not want to pre-fill your oil filters before installation. In diesel engines, it is recommended that a pre-lube system be installed instead in order to counteract changes from dry-start conditions.

Choosing Correctly - Many filters and filter housings are designed to be interchangeable, so just because a particular filter fits doesn’t mean it is the correct filter. Make sure each filter is replaced with the right filter. This may not necessarily be the one found on the machine, as an incorrect filter might have been used during the last filter change.

Maintaining Installed Oil Filters

The best way to prevent oil filters from reaching their dirt-holding capacity is to avoid contaminants in the system from the beginning. The fewer external contaminants that ingress, the fewer contaminants that are generated internally (particles produce particles). Use the following guidelines to maintain installed filters:

Frequently Asked Questions About Oil Filter

Why Does My Oil Filter Need to Be Replaced?

Oil filters deteriorate over time, but there are some factors that can cause them to become clogged or damaged more quickly than average:

Poor-quality or incorrect lubricants have been used

The filter has been incorrectly installed

The filter hasn’t been used in compliance with the T&Cs of service

The filter seals are impaired

The vehicle is driven aggressively, particularly when the engine is cold

If you identify damage to the oil filter that isn’t from regular wear and tear, you should also check your vehicle’s lubrication system.

Should You Pre-Fill the Oil Filter Before Installing It?

It depends on your personal preference and the type of vehicle you drive. Pre-filling the filter makes the process easier if you have a large, heavy-duty truck, but if you are just changing the oil in a smaller car, it is not necessary. In fact, pre-filling the filter can get pretty messy and probably isn’t worth the hassle in the long run.

Instead of pre-filling the filter, we recommend first applying a little motor oil to the gasket and then replacing the filter. The motor oil will prevent the gasket from sticking or causing an oil leak.

Conclusion

A change of oil filter is one of the most critical maintenance jobs when it comes to your car. Checking your oil filter during regular car services is paramount to keeping your engine healthy.

Your oil filter traps billions of contaminants over the years, gradually clogging it with tiny particles. Eventually, the filter will become so blocked that clean oil won’t be able to pass through the filter and into the engine. At this point, you may notice signs that mean you need a new oil filter.

So, every 3,000 miles or three months engine oil car usage, you should change your engine oil with an oil filter. Anyway, it is better to always stick around to your owner's manual book for oil filter replacement decisions.

Contact GZ Industrial Supplies for more information on How Frequently Should You Change Oil Filters. We have in stock quality oil filters.