Hello Folks, Feel free to share your opinion about this Delo sample from a Mitzu 2006 S4L2, with 4700 hours. 183iron / 24aluminium. Peterson doesn't really like it, talks of main and con-rod bearing wear. Engine seems pretty strong, doesn't spew much smoke of any flavor but it does vibrate too much at idle. I thought I'd look at the valve lash, but if there's little improvement after an adjustment there, I might start to worry. Oil was pretty ugly, guys claim there's some 600 hours on the oil change. I guess I'll change it again and re-sample after 50 hours or so, but what do you think ? TIA - gibbs
Extended running hours will always give high readings. I'd change the oil and filters, and pull another sample at 100 hours max. Capture the sample while the oil is warm but not hot to burn your hands. You are looking for trending with oil samples and a single sample doesn't really yield tangible results for comparison to anything.
I always got a kick when company put a machine on Iron Planet and they came out and ran a machine for a few minutes more or less at idle and took an oil sample! What's to stop someone from dropping the oil and refill with the cheapest bargain store oil the day before Iron Planet is to show up? Like 1693TA says trends are what counts!
I take a lot of oil samples as part of my service. You can pretty much tell when that has been done just looking at the oil. In my experience it is seldom done and if it was done it was usually some curbstone dealer trying to sell a high hour beater. You would be surprised at how many machines I gone to and found little to no oil in them at all.
I am a believer in routine oil sampling myself as did it on drive systems for many years.
This right here. The only thing I would add is maybe sample at 50 hrs and then 100 hrs. Not going to give a solid trend but will start to show more about the machine. I think we're paying $30 a sample so it's cheap insurance IMO.
I take your points all, thank you. I'll report back in 100 hours, $18.75 x2 (Cat Lab Eugene's sample fee) and some days at the lab.
600 hours on the oil? I feel bad changing at 200.
We do the larger machines at 250 and the smaller CTL's and mini around 100-125 hours. Works well for us.
I know, I know right... ...one hears the expression: "Hard to get good help these days." seemingly more often, maybe it's just same as it ever was. I went over to change the oil after telling the guys I wanted to drop the pan and take a looksie, and of course they had changed it without doing that for me. So after a mixing for 90m or so, I took another sample for a reference point... ...stay tuned, if you have nothing better to tune to.