april2023 - 36

GUE ST EDITORIA L
reducing costs. Collaborating with a lubricant
expert will make sure that any decisions you
make do not compromise the protection of your
engine hardware.
2. How can I optimize
oil drain intervals?
By optimizing oil drain intervals fleets can reap
a range of benefits including longer time on
the road between scheduled maintenance and
directly reduced maintenance costs. Added
to these clear maintenance benefits, extending
ODIs can also help reduce the volume of
lubricant used and waste product produced
to support your fleet's sustainability efforts.
To extend these intervals without negatively
235171794 | Kuprevich | Dreamstime
Five questions to ask your
lubricant technical expert
Optimizing oil drain intervals and reducing risk start
with asking lubrication experts the right questions.
Industry-leading technical support can
provide significant benefits for any fleet regardless
of whether they are a long-haul heavy-duty
truck or delivery van making multiple stops
around a city. Lubricant experts can help you
make decisions on your engine oil outside of
the initial lubricant selection to identify efficiencies
and contribute to a reduced total cost
of ownership.
And to make that process more efficient
and smooth, here are five questions to consider
asking your lubricant technical expert to
help optimize the assets in your fleet.
1. Should I consolidate
my lubricants?
If you're operating a large mixed fleet, it's likely
that you have a variety of lubricants in your
workshop. This means your oil storage area
will take up more space, but it also increases
the potential for human error in selecting the
By Darryl Purificati
PETRO-CANADA LUBRICANTS
Darryl Purificati has 27 years of experience working in
the oil and energy sector as a technical advisor. He joined
Petro-Canada in 1994 to support its lubricants business
and continues to provide technical expertise to the company's
Lubricants and Specialities segment. Darryl is also
involved within the industry as an active member of the
American Petroleum Institute (API), ASTM International,
and the Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE).
right lubricant for an application. If the wrong
lubricant is used for the wrong application, the
impact can be significant and result in improper
lubrication, increased wear, and in extreme
cases, engine failure.
By seeking the advice of a technical expert,
you may be able to safely consolidate your
lubricants while maintaining proper lubrication
of vital components.
Getting help is crucial, as consolidation can
be an extremely complex process where each
OEM recommendation needs to be taken into
consideration. This is particularly true for
mixed fleets where there are multiple OEM
manuals that need to be reviewed and analyzed
alongside each other to produce a lubricant
recommendation to meet all requirements.
This process can be very beneficial, too, by
simplifying your processes and, in some cases,
impacting the condition and efficiency of your
vehicles' engines, it is important to have a regular
oil analysis schedule and work alongside
a lubricant expert who can first monitor and
interpret your used oil data analysis. Once this
key stage is complete, your expert will be able
to work with you to extend out your drain intervals
while closely monitoring for early signs that
lubrication is maintained and not compromised.
Only by performing used oil analysis checks
and working together with a technical service
advisor can oil drain intervals be safely optimized
and time in the shop-and off the road-
be minimized.
3. How can I get the most out
of my used oil analysis data?
Reading used oil analysis reports can be difficult,
as various data points and influencing
factors need to be considered holistically to
provide meaningful insight into a vehicle's
condition. Lubricant experts and technical
service advisors can offer their detailed knowledge
and experience to help turn laboratory
data into actionable insight.
The first factor to consider is that not all OEM
thresholds are the same for specific properties,
so while one level could be deemed acceptable,
the same level in a different vehicle could be a
cause for concern.
Furthermore, technical experts can quickly
identify where immediate maintenance might
be required. For example, the presence of coolant
or glycol could suggest a failing EGR cooler
» Technicians
must be sure to select the right
lubricant for the job or risk engine failure.
Petro-Canada Lubricants
36 Fleet Maintenance | April 2023
april2023

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