Engine Oil
Oil analysis is a quick way to gauge the health of an engine by looking at what’s in the oil. Our standard analysis includes:
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Spectral Exam: Establishes the levels of wear metals, silicon, and additives present in the oil. Also checks for coolant. To see where the elements are coming from, see the Report Explanation page.
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Viscosity: Determines the grade of oil.
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Insolubles: Quantifies the percentage of solids present in the oil.
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Flashpoint: The flashpoint is the temperature at which the vapors from the oil ignite. When the flash is lower than it should be, it shows a contaminant (usually fuel) is present. This test also looks for moisture contamination.
Transmission Fluid
Automatic transmissions ask a lot of the oil. Not only does the oil lubricate and clean internal parts, but it also functions as a hydraulic oil to operate various components.
Transmission oil can be contaminated with metals, solids, and moisture, and those contaminants need to be removed before they cause problems. Conversely, a test of your transmission fluid may reveal that it’s still in great condition, and you don’t need to change it as often as you thought.
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There’s no easier way of knowing what’s going on in the system than oil analysis. We can tell you if the oil needs to be changed, if it’s contaminated, or if there are any problems at hand. Request your free kit today and make sure your drive train is wearing as it should!
Coolant
Monitoring the coolant’s additive health is very important and ensures correct cooling system operation. The coolant can often be exposed to contamination, coolant dilution, mixing, and oxidation due to extreme temperatures. Similar to lubricant analysis, the aim in coolant analysis is to monitor the health of the coolant as well as the health of the overall cooling system.
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Coolant tests are performed by Intertek using a wide range of test methods and protocols and the service includes the sample kit, analysis, trending and online access:
Fuel
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Moisture contamination can cause bacterial growth in diesel samples, and the resulting sludge can plug a fuel filter.
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Suspect diesel in your gas tank, or gas in your diesel tank? The specific gravity test helps determine if fuels have been mixed.
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The spectral exam looks at any elements that might be present. Typically everything should be zero, except for boron in gas samples.
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The insolubles test checks for solids. No solids should be present in either gas or diesel samples.
Gear Oil
Unexpected downtime and gearbox replacement can be both costly and affect the operation of the facility. As a countermeasure, knowing and understanding used oil analysis for condition monitoring can be cost-effective, as this practice can help extend the useful life of both lubricant and gearbox through predictive maintenance. Note that the value of used oil analysis comes from taking action. It is important to take action every time an issue is identified during used oil analysis, whether that action involves changing the oil or overhauling a gearbox.
Hydraulic Fluid
Monitoring hydraulics with oil analysis is the only way to establish if the hydraulic fluid is impacting the anticipated performance. Contamination is the main cause of failure, typically water contamination or dirt ingression. All hydraulic systems have filters and systematic monitoring is carried out not only to detect initial signs of contamination and resulting wear, but also to establish how successful the filtration is.
Insight
The prime objective of an oil analysis program is the early detection of oil degradation, contamination and wear problems that lead to equipment failure. From this early detection it must be possible to predict the rate at which deterioration is occurring in order to pull the unit from service before catastrophic failure happens. This can only be achieved by looking at trends and not by limits alone, and doing this manually can be very labor intensive and time consuming. Expert systems provide an ideal environment to capture and validate human knowledge and they also provide an excellent means to utilize knowledge for automatic problem solving. It is important to remember that expert systems have better memories and are more consistent than human evaluators.​
The most effective predictive maintenance programs trend the data looking for signs of early failure, allowing the equipment to be repaired at minimal cost and down time. In order to best utilize trend analysis, data must be available on a regular basis. Obviously the more frequently the sampling is performed the more accurate the analysis becomes. However, weekly sampling has been found to be the most cost effective. Diagnostic reports from the expert system on the condition of the machinery assist maintenance personnel in making critical decisions regarding equipment health conditions.