Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/566087
36 | Overdrive | September 2015 READING YOUR OIL W hen oil analysis fi rst emerged, it seemed amazing. Engine special- ists realized they could examine at a microscopic level oil samples taken from diesel engines to identify trace metals and other substances. This data then could be compared with the com- position of fl uids and engine components to get a real-time snapshot of how the engine was performing and what failures – if any – were looming. Experts such as Shawn Whitacre, a Chevron senior staff engineer, say ad- vances being made with used oil sampling analysis can give owner-operators insight into how well their oil is performing while also detecting wear and contaminant issues that reveal the condition of their equipment. "This can be powerful infor- mation when coupled with a full mainte- nance program," Whitacre says. But with truck maintenance now focusing on connected powertrains that can self-diagnose problems and report them to owners, is old-school oil analysis becoming an outmoded technology? To fi nd out, we talked with Ryan Stark, president of Blackstone Laboratories in Fort Wayne, Ind. Overdrive: With recent advance- ments in telematics and diagnostics, is oil analysis still a valuable tool, or is technolo- gy rendering it obsolete? Stark: Oil analysis remains one of the best preventive maintenance measures available to owner-operators. It allows you to see engine problems well before a fail- ure occurs. It allows you to schedule work when you can aff ord to do it in terms of time and money because we can identify future failures as far as 100,000 miles before they actually occur. And best of all, it costs virtually nothing compared to other preventive maintenance practices. Advanced diagnostics still can't replace basic oil analysis BY JACK ROBERTS Sending an oil sample to a lab for analysis is one of the best ways to prolong equipment life and identify failures before they happen.