Municipalities depend on diverse vehicles, from garbage trucks to fire trucks and police cruisers, to deliver vital services to their communities. The reliability and performance of these vehicles are paramount, and municipalities can enhance them by leveraging the power of oil analysis to monitor engine oil health. This article embarks on an in-depth exploration of oil analysis within municipal fleets, encompassing an overarching view of the process, key tests for used oil, prevalent challenges, quality assurance, practical case studies, and the return on investment.

The Core of Oil Analysis

Oil analysis forms the core of proactive fleet maintenance, entailing the thorough examination of a used oil sample to discern engine condition and detect potential concerns. This evaluation unfolds through a battery of crucial tests:

  • Viscosity: Evaluating the oil's thickness and lubrication effectiveness.
  • Wear Metals Analysis: Identifying the presence of wear-indicating metals.
  • Particle Count: Quantifying contaminant levels within the oil.
  • Total Acid Number (TAN): Measuring oil acidity, a marker of potential corrosive processes.
  • Total Base Number (TBN): Assessing oil's ability to neutralize acids and deter engine degradation.
  • Water Content: Detecting water presence, a factor that disrupts lubrication and promotes corrosion.

By meticulously tracking these parameters, municipalities can proactively intercept early signs of wear, contamination, and other factors that might jeopardize engine performance and dependability.

Benefits and Insights

The adoption of oil analysis confers several advantages:

  • Enhanced Reliability: Swift issue detection guarantees uninterrupted municipal vehicle operation.
  • Cost Effectiveness: Timely interventions mitigate hefty maintenance expenses.
  • Extended Vehicle Life: Proactive care elongates the operational life of municipal fleet vehicles.

 

 
  • Challenges
  • Production Quality
  • Used Lube Tests
  • Case Studies and ROI
  • Customers and Testimonial
  • Oil drains are expensive for large vehicles

By monitoring oil condition with on-site analysis the maintenance staff can determine if the oil drain interval can be extended safely. Reducing the number of oil drains required per vehicle by even just one time per year can provide significant savings across a fleet of vehicles. This also helps achieve green initiatives by reducing the oil consumption and oil disposal.

  • Repair costs can be high

Oil analysis can help identify potential problems early – before they become catastrophic and costly repairs.  On-site analysis provides the service technicians the information about the vehicle while it is still in the garage so repairs can be made immediately before it goes back out on the road.  Early identification could mean the difference between a $2,500 EGR cooler repair and a $30,000 engine rebuild.

  • Downtime of vehicles impacts service and revenue

When a vehicle is unavailable due to mechanical problems it means it is not available to provide necessary service like in the case of a city transit bus or if it is part of the public works fleet for things like snow removal.  For companies like freight haulers or mining equipment it means it will impact the revenue generating service it provides. Oil analysis can help fleet managers to ensure their vehicles will be up and running when they are needed.

  • Managing maintenance work flow can be difficult

A busy service garage, especially one that maintains a large fleet of vehicles needs to optimize the flow of their vehicles to get them in, serviced and back on the road in a timely manner. Many fleet customers of the MicroLab oil analyzer will bring a vehicle in and immediately pull an oil sample for test. While it is running they can conduct other necessary service checks. Within 15minutes, they will know whether they need to change the oil or if they can move on to other tasks. Incorporating oil analysis into the routine diagnostics checks allows fleet service providers to be more efficient with their time.

Typical Tests

 Wear

Particle count - a high particle count or a rapid increase in particles can foreshadow an imminent failure. 

Particle composition - it is often important to understand the elemental composition of particles in order to find out where they came from. Optical Emission Spectroscopy gives the user elemental information for up to 32 elements, from Li to Ce (varies with application).

 Chemistry 

Viscosity - The main function of lubrication oil is to create and maintain a lubrication film between two moving metal surfaces. Insuring the viscosity is within recommended ranges is one of the most important tests one can run on lube oil. 

Total Acid Number (TAN) - TAN is measured to determine the corrosive potential of lubrication oils. If the TAN gets too high the oil can induce corrosion of machine parts and should be changed.

Oxidation, Nitration, Sulfation - Lubricating oil at elevated temperatures can react with oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere, as well as sulfur in fuel, to form undesirable by-products that can affect the oil's viscosity and lead to corrosion or damage of equipment. 

 Contamination

Fuel Dilution - Fuel dilution in oil is a condition caused by excess, unburned fuel mixing with engine oil in an engine crankcase. Hydrocarbon-based fuel, usually with a lower vapor pressure than the lubricant, has a thinning effect, lowering the oil viscosity. Oil film strength is reduced, increasing the cylinder liner and bearing wear.

Soot - Soot is a product of combustion and has always been found in engine oils. Soot can use up an oil's additives and deposit on vital engine surfaces.

Glycol - Glycol is found in engine coolant. If glycol is found in engine oil it typically indicates there is a leak in the engine that can cause catastrophic damage to the cylinder or cylinder wall.