Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/566087
38 | Overdrive | September 2015 READING YOUR OIL Stark: It's a baseline so we can establish how an engine performs. En- gines all wear diff erently based on load, application, geography and operations. Establishing a trend simply tells us what normal use and wear for your engine is. You might fi nd higher-than-normal iron present in a sample. But as long as those levels are consistent, we know that doesn't indicate a problem. O: What are some of the things you can tell by materials present in a sample? Stark: If we see high levels of chrome, that tells us you've got ring wear and poor combustion as a result. Lead indicates that the bearings will have to be replaced soon. Iron comes from steel in oil pumps, cylin- ders and crankshafts. Aluminum usually means piston problems. We can't always identify the exact problem, but we can give you a heads-up that something is starting to fail and give your mechanic a good head start when he tears into the engine. O: Are the reports hard to understand? Stark: We've come a long way on that front. We try to point our clients in the right direction if we see a problem. All reports have an extensive comment section that explains in plain English what we think is going on. Just giving out a bunch of numbers is not helpful, and we know that. O: Has technology today changed oil analysis at all? Stark: The actual method of testing the oil hasn't changed at all. What has changed is how we report our fi ndings. We use email reports now, and we're looking at integrating our reporting in new fl eet management software. It will take some work, but we think it's a good idea. It's easy to fl ood an owner-operator with data. We want to off er a system that will let them organize the information as they want it to be delivered. One approach would be to send an email alert only in the event a problem is identifi ed. O: Trucking will soon undergo a move to lighter-viscosity oils in 2017. What can oil analysis tell us about this new trend? Stark: I'd tell truckers not to worry. Lighter oils work just fi ne. We've been analyzing them on the automotive side since Ford V8s went to lighter oils in the 1990s. And the Japanese have always liked thinner oils. Thinner oils fl ow better and faster, so you get better lubrication on the top end of the engine quicker when starting. As long as you have good oil pressure, oil viscosity doesn't matter: 60 psi gives you plenty of fi lm to coat an engine's bearings. And thinner oil fl ows much better in really cold temperatures. That's a big advantage in winter. O: What about switching oil brands or changing viscosity? A lot of people say that leads to premature engine wear. Stark: There are a lot of myths out there. Any name-brand API oil on the market today is going to perform just fi ne. You can switch brands and weights without any problems. We hear stories all the time about engines that failed after a switch, but usually that engine was about to fail anyway. The owner just switched the oil at the wrong time. Adapted from the 2016 Partners in Business manual, part of the program produced by Overdrive and the consultants at ATBS, the nation's larg- est owner-operator business services firm. It is sponsored by Ryder, Goodyear Smart Fleet and Truckstop.com. The Partners in Business manual is available for order at eTruckerStore.com. For more informa- tion on the program, visit OverdriveOnline.com/pib. PARTNERS IN BUSINESS TIP: THE BENEFITS OF REGULAR ANALYSIS At any point of potential oil change, the oil is either clean enough to keep using it or dirty, already causing damage, so get it out. Oil analysis allows you to not change the oil until it needs it. New engines exhibit levels of contaminants that remain from initial construction of the radia- tor, oil cooler and exhaust gas recirculation cooler. Knowing not only the miles on the oil, but also the total hours the engine has run, is critical to knowing whether a contaminant is coming from outside and likely to cause damage. If you buy oil from an oil supplier and consistently use the same brand, it's possible the oil refi ner will offer free oil analysis. If not, ask your supplier or engine dealer for informa- tion on a reputable lab. A good analysis report might cost $30 to $50. Analysis should be performed at ev- ery drain if using extended intervals. The lab will test for wear metals, including iron, copper, lead, aluminum, chromium, etc. This tells if components are wearing out and which component it might be. Lead and copper together indicate bearing wear, while iron and chromium together could mean cylinder and ring wear. The test also will show if the necessary additives are present in the correct quantities and if contami- nants such as fuel dilution, soot, water or coolant are present in dangerous quantities. Finally, the test will show the oil's physical properties, such as viscosity, total base number (TBN), oxidation and nitration. That information also allows you to correct budding problems before they cause damage. An oil analysis report indicating fuel dilution can indicate a failing injector; if that goes unrepaired, it will cause excessive wear metals and bearing failure. Coolant intrusion is an- other problem that can go unnoticed but is detected easily with oil analysis. Coolant in the oil will strip out the zinc and cause high wear metals and ultimately premature engine failure. Increasing soot levels are an indication of incomplete fuel combustion, causing higher fuel consumption and loss of performance. When you see high soot levels, check the charge air cooler and for exhaust re- striction and low operating temperatures.