How to Tell If Your Truck Engine Needs a Rebuild
If you own a fleet of long-distance trucks, then you know only too well how important it is to keep up with maintenance. These are expensive assets, and you've got to get a good return on your investment, so they will need to be on the road as much as possible. You may have a proactive maintenance schedule in place already and try to replace any parts before they actually fail. Yet, this is easier to achieve for some components in relation to others, and it can often be difficult to know whether the engine, in particular, is in need of a major overhaul. Perhaps you should consider an oil analysis on a relatively frequent basis, especially if the vehicle in question is older. What does this involve?
Maintenance
Eventually, your engine will need to be rebuilt, and this is just a fact of life. If you do so many miles each year then components will begin to wear out, but the trick is knowing when to schedule the rebuild as you try and avoid failure. These days you can get an oil analysis done at a relatively low cost in comparison to the value of the engine itself.
Contamination
Once you send a sample of oil off to a laboratory, they will be able to tell you how pure it is and whether it contains high levels of metal and other deposits. They may also be able to tell you if there is a high concentration of fuel or even antifreeze, and this could indicate significant wear and tear within the engine block.
Safe Levels
A certain amount of contamination is to be expected and the lab will know what to look for. So long as those levels are within reason, then you may not need to worry, but if there is a spike in certain contaminants, then you should think about taking further action.
Other Adjustments
You may not necessarily have to schedule a full engine rebuild, as other issues could be contributing to the problem. You may have an issue with your fuel injection system or might need to replace your air cleaner assembly. Once you've done this you can retest the oil and see if it returns to normal levels.
Rebuild Time
After a process of analysis and recommendation from the lab, you may conclude that it's time for a rebuild. Always make sure that you work with an experienced engineer, so that you can get back to normal and continue to get full value from your investment.