CONTAMINATION

Motor oil contamination also causes deterioration of the oil. Some of the more common contaminant sources include dirt, sand and dust from the air, soot, unburned fuel in the oil, water from condensation of the combustion process, wear metal particulates that the oil filter cannot trap and hold, corrosion by-products and additive elements that have degraded. In addition dirt, sand and dust can continue to enter the engine and, in addition to creating more wear debris, combine with other contaminants and cause more damage than they would separately. One of the many by-products of combustion and/or blowby is soot. Soot can be highly abrasive as well as cause filters to become filled and/or plugged in extreme cases. Another contaminant is acidic by-products of combustion, which can produce a highly corrosive mixture and cause corrosion and pitting of internal engine components and additional generation of wear debris. These same acidic solutions can also mix with water inside the engine and form an emulsion that can cause problems with oil filters and passageways.