Where applicable, consider these ways to stop lubricant leaks:

• Reduce lubricant temperature
• Use grease instead of oil
• Tighten fittings
• Use mechanical seals or replace worn seals

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From the book "How to Select a Motor Oil for Your Car or Truck":

Sooner or later, wear from abrasive particles and deposits from carbon and oxide insolubles will interfere with efficient combustion in an engine. Valve train wear (cams, valve guides, etc.) can impact timing and valve movement. Wear of rings, pistons and cylinder walls influences volumetric compression efficiency and combustion blow-by resulting in power loss. Particle-induced wear is greatest when the particle sizes are in the same range as the oil film thickness.

For diesel and gasoline engines, there is a surprising number of laboratory and field studies that report the need to control particles below 10 microns. One such study by General Motors concluded that, "controlling particles in the 3 micron to 10 micron range had the greatest impact on wear rates and that engine wear rates correlated directly to the dust concentration levels in the sump."

More information about "How to Select a Motor Oil for Your Car or Truck"

Knowing when a piece of equipment is going to fail (predictive maintenance) is much more difficult than making it last long (proactive maintenance). Even more complex is root cause analysis (RCA) which is performed postmortem, like an autopsy. Still, reliability professionals are increasingly stressing the importance of performing RCAs following all failures of critical machinery.

As odd as it sounds, it is more productive to study failures than successes. After all, an apparent success may actually be a failure in disguise; more like a problem waiting to happen. Studying failures teaches us insightful lessons in developing predictive and proactive maintenance strategies.

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"How can I keep the pressure from my grease gun low to avoid damaging components?"

The key principle to remember for a fixed output grease gun (which covers nearly all grease guns) is this: grease volume and pressure vary with the speed lever stroke.

If the grease gun lever is worked quickly, the momentary surge of grease flow through a fixed chamber increases the discharge pressure, and will localize the pressure toward the path of least resistance. In a motor bearing cavity, this could cause the grease to surge through clearance gaps toward the winding, or perhaps press the cage into the roller.

In a pillow block bearing, the directional pressure of the grease flow could cause the grease to rupture the shield clearance or escape through a lip or labyrinth seal, preventing the uniform replenishment of grease through the bearing.

A slow, uniform press of the level can help minimize this risk, regardless of the rated output of the grease gun. If the lever is worked slowly, pressure is uniformly distributed throughout the chamber.

If the bearing cavity is full and grease is applied under pressure, the grease will pressurize until either the grease passes through a weak point in the bearing or until the grease gun reaches maximum pressure and the lever cannot be moved any further.

Because an off-the-shelf, general-purpose grease gun can generate pressures in the order of 7,000 PSI, it stands to reason that the grease will either find a weak point to pass, or will rupture a clearance, seal or passageway and create a new weak point.

To avoid this likelihood, the lube technician may need to install and use a pressure gauge on the output side of the grease gun, or 'sense' the change in pressure based on resistance at the handle. Once resistance is reached, the lube technician will choose to disconnect the gun and "waste" the remaining stroke.

Zerk fittings with pressure shut-off valves can be most helpful at reducing overpressurization of cavities. A 500 PSI limit is desirable for the majority of applications.

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APRIL 2007

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