10-4 Magazine - For Today's Trucker

Tech Tips and Tid-Bits

ARE WE THERE YET?
FILTRATION & LUBRICATION OPTIONS
BY ERIC WHEELER

Ever been on a road trip with you kids and they won’t stop asking, “Are we there yet?” Well, that’s what many truckers are wondering in regards to redesigned diesel engines and fuel – “Are we there yet?” The real question might be, “Will we EVER get there?” Ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel? Particulate traps? Catalytic what? Our industry is under more change than we have ever witnessed and it will get worse or better, right?

Let’s take a trip down memory lane back to 1968. This was the beginning of the transformation of the automobile when the first emission control device was added to a car engine – it was called the PCV (Positive Crankcase Ventilation) valve. Then, shortly after that, came the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) valve.

The next significant change, which appeared in 1973, was the removal of lead from gasoline – something about lead poisoning, brain damage, oh yeah – it was in preparation for the newest emission device called the catalytic converter (the lead in “leaded” fuel would coat or clog the thing and render it inoperable).

Notice a trend? In 2002, on select models, we saw the introduction of the EGR valve on Class-8 truck engines and in 2004 it was implemented on all models. What a treat! Here we are in 2007 and these things are still giving us trouble. Now, add ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, catalytic converters and particulate traps to the mix and you have a mixture for some real fun. Or is it?

Remember when the EGR engines came out and nobody wanted to buy them? Then, fleets and independents alike realized that they needed new trucks and lo and behold they bought them. And it wasn’t as bad as we all thought it would be. We just kept on truckin’ and it was business as usual.

This leads us up to 2007. Some fleets and independents are doing the same thing they did in 2004 – waiting to order, deciding to buy older used equipment, rebuilding their existing equipment, or ordering early enough this year to get one of last year’s models. Eventually, you will have to replace your truck, right? One thing is for certain – these new computer enhanced emission controlled beasts are here to stay – the EPA says its so.

Along with the new we will have more change. You may or may not know that lubricity is lost when the new ultra-low sulfur class of diesel fuel is hydro-treated. With this new fuel, we will see an increase in the use of fuel additives. According to a recent study, the fuel additive market (which is already a 2.8 billion dollar a year industry) will see a growth of 2% per year. I felt the following additive products were worth mentioning: Lucas, Diesel TEK, ZMax Fleet Formula and Stanadyne. All of these additives add lost lubricity back into the fuel and a host of other benefits.

As additives will play a large role in regards to the new fuel, filtration will play a large role in the new class of diesel engines – even more so now than in the past. In a study published by General Motors and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), they state that a filter that filters down to 5 microns will yield a “50% or better increase in the service life of the unit.” That is a very impressive number – 50% or better – when most of the common oil filters sold only filter particulates at 25 to 40 microns.

What the average brand name filter does is capture larger particles that get removed when an oil change is performed, leaving smaller particles behind in your engine. These smaller particles can get between polished engine parts freely and wreak havoc if left unchecked. To give you an idea, the human hair is 4 to 10 micron in size. Imagine these clumps of hair circulating through the bearings and polished surfaces of your engine, but with sharp hard edges like minerals or carbon. This is what happens every time you start and run your engine.

So what can be done? Bypass filter systems are available but can be pricey, as you will likely need to buy the bypass filters from the manufacturer at a premium price that fit your new unit. You can use an off-the-shelf engine cleaning solution to clean out some of these particles, although I wouldn’t recommend running your engine on anything but approved motor oil. Remember, if you run your engine while it is cleaning itself, all of the carbon, minerals and metallic sludge are circulating while it is cleaning.

A new, workable, solution to this is an engine-flushing device that allows this cleaning process to occur while the engine is not running. It is hooked to the engine through the oil filter port and the drain plug in the pan. The device pumps a heated lubricating oil that contains concentrated detergents (as found in a number of high-grade motor oils) through the engine block and back down into the oil pan, and then pulled through two 3 micron filters. Remember the GM/SAE study at 5 microns?

Diesel TEK, the company who is providing these Class-8 machines, have had customers tell them that the oil pressure returned to stock specs and have noticed improvements in fuel mileage, along with less smoke out of the stack. This service is recommended at every third oil change or every other change if the vehicle is used in rough service. Less soot emissions could add service life to these new traps or catalytic devices. Another side benefit could be fewer problems with the EGR system, since less particulates will be circulating in the oil. Who could complain about longer service life and better fuel mileage?

Always use high-quality motor oils and check out the new CJ-4 class of oils for the ’07 models. Information on the products mentioned in this article can be found by searching on the Internet using keywords like fuel additives, engine flush and bypass filters. We might not be there yet, but we’re getting closer!