My independent mechanic is within walking distance of my house and im taking it in for an oil change tomorrow morning. It’s going to be chilly and I’m wondering if it’s necessary to drive the car for a bit to get it warmed up before dropping it off? Or if the engine is cold does that simply mean that the oil will take longer to drain?
Does hot oil more effectively drain contaminants from the crankcase?
Thanks
Does your independant mechanic offer instructions to you? after all he will be doing the work,he should not be working on your car unless you trust his judgement 100%.
Well it is a little better from the car’s point of view to be warm. From the mechanics point of view, it will save him a little time as it will take longer to drain. Neither is really material, but as OldSchool suggest, ask your mechanic.
Unless he’s going to do your oil change immediately after you drop off the car, it won’t matter. Your mechanic will probably allow the engine to warm up before he pulls the car into his shop to change the oil.
This is not worth worrying about.
Thanks all. My mechanic knows I live close by and has never said anything like “make sure the car is warm when I get it” so i’ll just drop off and not worry.
Whenever I can . . . I warm it up and drain it overnight in my garage, then re-fill the next morning. There are two ways to look at this, I suppose . . . cold drain will (probably) mean that all of the dirt and contaminants will have drained down into the oil pan, but will flow more slowly. Warm will mean (probably) that the dirt and contaminants are in suspension and come out faster due to the warm oil. I do both, I suppose, by warming it up i put the contaminants in suspension and also allow all of the “stuff” to drain out overnight. Not always, but sometimes. Just remember to re-fill it before driving it the next morning. Rocketman