If you just recently changed your engine oil and you noticed that your car engine is making a rattling
noise after an oil change, there are a couple of things that went wrong.
” Your car engine could be making a rattling noise after an oil change if you forgot to fill the oil filter with engine oil before installing it, you used the wrong oil filter, you added the wrong oil viscosity or you didn’t add enough oil. The rattling noise is just a warning that the engine is not getting the needed lubrication.”
Car is Making a Rattling Noise After Oil Change
After an oil change, your car could be making a rattling noise. The rattling noises coming from the engine are associated with a lack of lubrication and your engine is telling you that something is wrong. There are a couple of things why your car sounds different after an oil change:
1. No Engine Oil In The Oil Filter
The first and most common thing that people forget to do is to put oil in the oil filter before installing it. It is important that you fill your oil filter with engine oil because the oil pump will need to pump the oil into the filter and then into the engine. If there is no oil in the oil filter when you start, the engine it will just start pumping air into the system and that can cause the lifters to make a rattling noise. Here is a complete guide on oil change.
2. Wrong Oil Filter
Another thing that can make your car engine louder after an oil change is installing the wrong oil filter. Installing the wrong oil filter will restrict the oil flow into the engine and this can cause rattling sounds coming from the engine. This can happen to anyone.
If you are a mechanic and your shop is full of vehicles that require an oil change, you can misplace the oil filter and install the wrong type. Or you could be a regular guy who is doing his first engine oil change and somehow you ordered the wrong oil filter.
3. Engine Oil With Wrong Viscosity
Adding the wrong oil can cause rattling noises in your engine. If you don’t use the manufacturer’s recommended viscosity, the oil is not thick or thin enough to run the engine properly and you can have an engine louder than before the oil change.
4. Not Enough Engine Oil
Not adding enough engine oil is also a very common mistake that people make. If you are a regular guy who wants to save some money by doing the oil change yourself, make sure that you read the user manual and see how much oil is required for your engine to run smoothly.
Also, make sure that the draining bolt is tight and that it isn’t leaking. You could also add more oil than needed and cause a so-called engine oil overfill. This can create a different set of issues.
Is it OK To Add New Oil To Old Oil?
Adding new oil to old oil is very bad for the engine. It is the same as not changing the oil at all. The engine oil has a function to lubricate the engine so it can run without any issues. While lubricating the engine, over time small particles start to come out of the engine parts.
Those small particles are caught in the oil filter. If you don’t change the oil filter and the oil, the small particles would run through the engine over and over again causing even more damage. It is important that you change your engine oil and oil filter every 5,000 to 7,500 miles. Here is a YouTube video of a mechanic actually opening an engine that had engine oil added.
