The Dirt from Cashman

Contamination Control: Clean Fluids

Previously, we talked about the four parts of a good contamination control program – clean fluids, clean components, clean facilities, and clean shop repair processes. Today, we want to share some best practices for clean fluids.

Clean Fluids
- Keep oil barrels indoors where they won’t get rusty or dirty and protect them with a cover so rain and dust cannot enter the drum when the cap is removed.
- Always wipe off fluid container lids (jugs, cans, etc.) with a clean shop towel before opening.

- Filter all fluids before they go into your machines, as the oils may have picked up contaminants during transport.

- Never pre-fill lube oil or fuel system filters, which can introduce potentially dirty fluid directly into the system because it misses the final filtering process.

Contamination Control

Keeping machine fluids free from outside contaminants saves money, reduces downtime, and helps maintain productivity.

What Can You Do?

Make sure you use Cat’s four-part contamination control program. It includes:

1. Clean Fluids – Proper fluids handling and clean, tightly sealed containers help prevent potential contamination.
2. Clean Components – Carefully clean out hoses, protecting them with end plugs and caps.
3. Clean Facilities – Shops with high-pressure wash bays, closed bay doors, and non-dirt drives help minimize contaminants.
4. Clean Shop Repair Processes – Our technicians take extra care during service to eliminate contaminants.

Following these steps will help you be prepared to control contamination and keep your Cat equipment performing at its best. For more information, contact our Fluids Analysis Lab or your Product Support Rep!

Contamination Control
Keeping machine fluids free from outside contaminants saves money, reduces downtime, and helps maintain productivity.

What Can You Do?
Make sure you use Caterpillar’s four-part contamination control program. It includes:

1. Clean Fluids – Proper fluids handling and clean, tightly sealed containers help prevent potential contamination.
2. Clean Components – Carefully clean out hoses, protecting them with end plugs and caps.
3. Clean Facilities – Shops with high-pressure wash bays, closed bay doors, and non-dirt drives help minimize contaminants.
4. Clean Shop Repair Processes – Our technicians take extra care during service to eliminate contaminants.

Following these steps will help you be prepared to control contamination and keep your Cat equipment performing at its best. Contact Cashman’s Product Support Sales Reps for more info.

Good maintenance is critical to increasing machine availability and decreasing overall operating costs. Whether you operate one machine or a fleet, comprehensive lube services are an integral part of a cost-saving preventive maintenance plan.
First, incorporate thorough lube services on a regularly scheduled basis. Look for a shop that:
1. Guarantees scheduled and unscheduled services will be completed within a 2- to 24-hour time-frame.
2. Has technicians who follow the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) guidelines, using high-quality parts and lubricants.
3. Oil samples every designated compartment so you can be alerted to potential problems with the engine, drivetrain, or hydraulic systems.

Some shops, like Cashman’s, have factory-trained Mobile Lube Technicians who can provide the same level of skilled service at your convenience, right on the job site. Finding the right lube service shop means one with dedicated support staff who will provide behind-the-scenes assistance by scheduling needed repairs, dispatching the mobile lube service, sending maintenance status updates, and providing written follow-up reports.

These things will help maximize your productivity through proper maintenance. To accurately monitor equipment operation, regular analysis of oils, coolants, and filters provides excellent indicators of potential issues. Normal component wear is expected and predictable; abnormal wear may be the result of improper maintenance or operating techniques, and it can adversely affect your productivity and your owning/operating costs. However, good lube service technicians (like the ones at Cashman) are prepared to help you execute an effective preventive maintenance plan. Three of the biggest savings areas are listed below.

1. OILS
Engine oil performs three main functions: cleaning, cooling, and lubricating engine parts. High-quality oils provide maximum protection in a number of ways:

• Engine oil cleans parts by carrying away damaging metal particles and deposits.
• Engine oil cools parts by absorbing and carrying away heat.
• Engine oil lubricates parts by forming a thin film to support and separate them.

To ensure your engine oil correctly performs these functions, it is important to change the oil regularly, in the proper manner, using high-quality Cat oil.

Engine wear and failure causes
Problems in the engine lubrication system can cause accelerated abrasive wear or catastrophic failure of core components. A few of the common causes of engine wear and failure are:

• Excessive soot in the oil.
• Poor quality/low performance engine oil.
• Extended oil change intervals.
• Poor maintenance practices.
• Fuel dilution.

2. COOLANT
The cooling system of your machine maintains correct engine temperatures by taking away unwanted heat generated by combustion and friction. To help keep this system functioning properly you should:

• Maintain the cooling system properly, paying attention to high or low temperature gauge readings.
• Follow proper start-up procedures, including cleaning debris from the radiator and fan, checking the radiator cap seal, and watching for dripping coolant or oil.
• Use Cat Extended Life Coolant (ELC) to extend coolant life from 6,000 hours to 12,000.
• Over 40% of engine failures are caused or aggravated by cooling system problems, so be sure to maintain your coolant system for maximum productivity.

Cooling system wear and failure causes
Problems in the cooling system can cause accelerated erosion or catastrophic damage to the core engine components. The single most common problem is poor coolant quality, which causes accelerated cavitation, erosion of cylinder liners, corrosion, and failure of waste pump seals. Poor coolant quality is due to:

• Not maintaining adequate levels of coolant additives.
• Using coolant that does not meet manufacturer’s minimum recommendations.
• Not keeping the cooling system topped off.
• Using coolant past its useful life.

3. FILTERS
Air, oil, and fuel filters are designed to control contamination inside your engine. Effective filter changes and accurate filter selection will help maintain engine cleanliness and reduce component wear.

Select the right filters

• Air filters – Inadequate filtration can reduce horsepower, rob performance, and ultimately damage your engine. Most Caterpillar air filters feature a radial seal design preventing dirt, soot, sand, and other contaminants from entering your engine. Plus, the quick change characteristic enables you to change your filter and get your machine back to work fast. Cat Ultra High Efficiency Filters are designed for environments containing fine dust, soot, or both and can last two to four times longer than standard filters in these conditions.
• Oil filters – Quality oil filters work in unison with fluids to provide the highest levels of filtration cleanliness, performance, and protection. Cat oil filters are manufactured to meet the most demanding specifications, providing increased performance and lower costs.
• Fuel filters – Fuel filters prevent fuel system wear caused by dirt. Cat High Efficiency Fuel Filters feature special media that trap particles as small as two microns (the average period at the end of a sentence is 400 microns.) High-quality filters are essential to maximizing fuel injector and fuel pump life and prevent hard starting caused by premature injector wear

An effective and efficient preventive maintenance plan, with proper oil, coolant, and filter services, will keep your equipment and your business running at optimal performance. If you haven’t found the right partner to help you do this, contact Cashman Equipment at 1.800.937.2326 or at Cashman@cashmanequipment.com.

Why should you invest in condition monitoring practices like regular fluids analysis and remote machine monitoring? Put simply – it helps your machines live longer! Well, actually, it lets you effectively monitor the condition of your equipment so that you can schedule maintenance as well as prevent costly catastrophic failures.

How does it do that? Fluids analysis tells you what is going on inside your machine before it causes a breakdown on the job. It:

• Enables you to better manage budgets by predicting repairs, downtime, and equipment life.
• Monitors positives as well as negatives, so you won’t have to pay for repair of components that are not worn out.
• Verifies that routine practices like oil changes are being completed.
• Provides accurate equipment history for evaluating performance, planning replacement purchases, and often brings a higher trade-in price.

Another important tool for condition monitoring is Product Link, a remote monitoring solution that enables efficient and effective fleet management. Through the simple VisionLink interface, you can:

• Optimize your fuel usage.
• Track equipment locations.
• View a variety of customized health and utilization reports.

Plus, the information can be transmitted by cell and satellite… which means you are always in touch. Whether you have five machines or 50, Product Link can monitor the condition of both Cat and non-Cat equipment.

For more information on condition monitoring options like fluids analysis and Product Link, please contact your Cashman Equipment Product Support representative!

If you’re performing your own lube services, are you really learning all you can from your machine? Cutting open your used filters can alert you to possible issues with your machines. Watch the service video, Cutting & Inspecting Oil Filters Indicates Machine Health for more details.

- Use a filter cutter to remove the top of the filter.
- Take out the cartridge.
- Use a knife to cut out a section of the filter.
- Squeeze it in a vise & run a magnet over it to find metal particles.
- Open the filter up & see what else is in there.

If you find material in the filter, there is probably something going on. When you receive your fluids analysis report from our Fluids Analysis Lab, you’ll have a better idea of what exactly the problem is. However, cutting and inspecting your own filters is an early warning system for you and your machine.

Well, technically, it’s not a “wear table” though that’s what Cashman’s Element Source Table is often called. It’s actually an easy-to-read document that can help breakdown Fluids Analysis or oil sampling (SOS) results. For example, if nickel (Ni) is in the transmission oil, it indicates potential excessive wear of your roller bearings and shaft. This table provides practical application knowledge for the scientific results of our Fluids Analysis Lab, so that can understand what’s going on inside your machine.

Have more questions about your Fluids Analysis Lab results? Contact Robin DeVisser, our Lab Manager, at 800.937.2326.

Cashman’s Fluids Analysis Lab knows that the more information we can provide to you, the better you can care for the health of your machines. That’s why we are always on the lookout for additional methods of testing that will provide the indicators you need to take proper preventive maintenance action.

The Lab’s new pqL Ferrous Debris Monitor provides the most accurate means of detecting and measuring ferrous (iron) wear debris in lubricating oils, hydraulic oils and greases? This rugged, compact, and stable Instrument delivers retrievable data quickly and simply, ensuring fast, accurate and consistent management of oil samples.

Have more questions about fluids analysis and how it helps keep your fleet up and running? Contact Cashman’s Fluids Analysis Lab.

Your doctor may recommend eight glasses of water a day for you, but even .05% of water inside your machine can cause significant problems. Water in equipment components causes a chain reaction of problems that typically lead to repairs and downtime if not caught.

Water in your machine first causes premature oxidation, which creates a thicker viscosity. The thicker viscosity means restricted oil flow to bearings, pistons, and the valve deck. Water can also strengthen acids found in engine oil, which leads to a corrosive attack on various surfaces. Water is also a cause of additive depletion in your oil.

Fortunately, a reputable fluids analysis lab can test for water before it becomes an issue. Cashman’s Lab has three (3) different tests to detect water (the Karl Fisher Water, Water by Crackle, and FTIR Spectroscopy) so you can take the proper steps to prevent downtime.

Did you know that Cashman Equipment’s Fluids Analysis Lab employs certified laboratory technicians who utilize a variety of different tests to ensure that your oils and coolants are thoroughly tested? The combination of experienced employees and reliable tests means you can be confident that your lab results are of the highest quality.

Our Fluids Analysis (SOS) Lab Manager,  Robin DeVisser, helps make sure of that. Prior to joining Cashman in 2010 as Senior Interpreter and Quality Control Manager, Robin worked in the fluids lab at another Caterpillar dealership for 14 years. In addition to her 15 years of experience in the tribology field, Robin also holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Zoology from Weaver State (Ogden, Utah). Her knowledge, experience and management skills will provide you with the best possible services. Please contact her at 800.937.2326 ext. 2474 with any questions!