Field Evaluation of Oil Analysis as a Maintenance Tool

The effectiveness of using oil analysis as a routine maintenance tool in a field service environment was investigated. A line-haul, inter-city and two mining fleets were studied. The fleets were split into sample and control groups to obtain a standard of comparison.

Oil analysis was found to be most effective for detecting leaks in the air intake system and coolant and fuel in the oil. Implementation problems such as irregular sampling, sample contamination, and lack of follow-up hindered its effectiveness in some of the fleets studied. A comparison of the maintenance costs of the sample and control groups in all the fleets studied showed oil analysis was not effective in significantly lowering maintenance costs.