Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/114712
BUSINESS HOW TO Text INFO to 205-289-3555 or visit www.ovdinfo.com What types of additives are in diesel engine oil and how do they work? Additives represent 15 to 20 percent of a gallon of oil with the balance being high-quality base oil. Additive packages help keep an engine By Dan Arcy Shell Lubricants clean and protected from varnish and sludge, as well as provide protection against wear, heat and acids. Key additives perform vital functions: Antioxidants - Engine oils react with oxygen in the air forming organic acids. Oxidation causes an increase in oil viscosity, sludge and varnish formation, corrosion of metallic parts and foaming. Antioxidants inhibit the oxidation process. Anti-wear additives - Anti-wear additives prevent direct metal-tometal contact between the engine parts by adding a protective, sacrificial film. Using anti-wear additives promotes long engine life by reducing wear and scoring of the engine. Friction modifiers - Friction modifiers reduce engine friction, resulting in less fuel consumption. Dispersants - Dispersants keep foreign particles suspended from oil so they don't form deposit buildup on engine parts. Detergents - Detergents neutralize strong acids present in oil and remove them from metal surfaces. Detergents also form a film on the metal surfaces preventing sludge and varnish from forming in high temperature parts of the engine. Properly functioning diesel engine oils help enhance fuel economy, prevent deposits and maintain proper flow and viscosity under all temperatures. On-road testing is important to understand how well diesel engine oil will hold up under extreme road conditions. Shell ® ® Rotella T Triple Protection engine oil has been proven in more than 50 million miles of durability testing. This monthly column is brought to you by Shell Lubricants. Got a question? Visit ROTELLA.com, call 1- 800 - 231- 6950 or write to The AnSwER COLUmn, 1001 Fannin, Ste. 500, Houston,TX 77002. of owner-operators report having filed a claim on a broker's surety bond. Fighting back How to file a claim on a broker's surety bond. By TODD DILLS F ederal rules pertaining to broker surety filings are in flux following congressional action last year that raised the minimum bond from $10,000 to $75,000. Still, basic procedures for filing are expected to remain. The most high-profile filing incidents involve brokerages in trouble. If a broker is late on payment, odds are you're not the only party who's thinking about filing. If the broker closes and the broker's bond limit doesn't cover all debts, claims are paid on a "pro rata" basis – a percentage of what each carrier is owed. "It doesn't take long to burn up a 10K bond," noted Overdrive reader Mike Philips on our The term "Shell Lubricants" refers to the various Shell Group companies engaged in the lubricants business. How_To_0313.indd 22 Facebook page in January. In cases of broker business failure, getting your claim in early may not be particularly helpful. Federal Services Corp., which handles claims against financial institutions authorized as trust providers for brokers by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, notes it doesn't file claims on a "first come, first served" basis. Rather, "while this practice may be followed by some of our competitors," the company says, "it just encourages premature claim filings – sometimes even before loads are delivered!" FSC notes that in 95 percent of claims it receives, "the broker pays the claimant after being informed a claim has been filed sponsored by 22 | Overdrive | March 2013 2/27/13 11:01 PM