Andy's Tire & Auto Service
3001 Washington Ave, Alton, IL 62002 618.465.6272

Engine and Exhaust

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The “Man-Made” Engine Oil (Synthetic Oil Change)

If you own a newer vehicle, your vehicle’s manufacturer may require that it use synthetic oil instead of conventional oil.  Synthetic oils are more stable, don’t break down as easily,...
Published on: Feb 09, 2025

Oil Filter

As your engine runs, dirt gets into the oil.  Oil sludge can also start to build up.  Fortunately, motor oil contains detergents that clean the engine and gather up contaminates.  The o...
Published on: Oct 27, 2024

Motor Oil—The Synthetic Advantage (Synthetic oil vs Conventional)

You’ve probably already heard that regular oil changes are extremely important for the health of your vehicle’s engine. That’s sound advice.  But what you might not know is when...
Published on: Aug 25, 2024

Simple Answers from Andy's Tire & Auto Service: Synthetic Oil

Question What is synthetic oil, and should I use it? Answer Regular oil, also called conventional oil, comes from dead dinosaurs.  Conventional oil molecules are long hydrocarbon chains of var...
Published on: Mar 27, 2023

Andy's Tire & Auto Service Advice on Synthetic Oil

Heard of synthetic motor oil but would like to learn more information?  Well, synthetic motor oil is a substitute for conventional oil.  Synthetic doesn’t gel or gum-up like conventio...
Published on: Dec 07, 2021

Change Your Oil, IL Drivers!

As engine technology advances, recommended oil change intervals have gotten longer.  High quality oil in a well-engineered engine has led to extended intervals.  Here’s the problem:&n...
Published on: Jan 07, 2020

Oil Change

An oil change:  Sounds simple, but there’s some important things to know about preventing oil sludge. Oil eventually starts to turn into jelly.  Literally – petroleum jelly.&nbs...
Published on: Sep 06, 2018

alton: Have You Considered Synthetic Oil?

I recently saw an ad for synthetic oil.  I really hadn’t heard about it before, so I asked by service advisor for some background.  Basically, the inside of your engine gets hot becaus...
Published on: Aug 03, 2018