Lube Oil

The diesel manufacturers have recommendations on lube oil change intervals which are usually based on calendar time or operating hours. However, some railroads change lube oil based strictly on condition, as indicated by periodic lube oil sampling and spectroanalysis.

at work, we change out lube oil only once the oil analysis says it's no good [condemed for copper, lead, iron, soduim, boron, zinc, silver, silicon, aluminum, fuel dilution, oxidization, TBN..] or massive water/oil imulisfied when a power assembly has let go dumping the cooling water into the sump...

changing it is pretty easy. open up strainer box and pull oil cooler and filter housing drain valves, attach drain hose to unit just below the running boards, open main drain valve. wait for it to drain, change out filters while draining... once drained, fill it back up...

we pull oil samples off every unit that is ours that comes through our service track [±27 samples, each shift of 8 hours] and most units come through every week or 2... last year when i was working on the service track, i had one SD75 that must have been running a local short run, but it was coming through every 4 days like clockwork...

THIS MAY SEEM A LITTLE SIMPLE, BUT IN MY 22 YEARS OF RUNNING, ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, THE SMALL GUYS DO NOT CHANGE THE OIL. YHEY CHANGE FILTERS, AND ADD OIL, TO REPLACE WHAT LEAKS, OR BURNS OFF. THE ONLY TIME WE CHANGED OIL (ON MORE THAN ONE SHORTLINE) WAS TO PERFORM A MAJOR MECHANICAL OPERATION, LIKE REPLACING A POWER ASSEMBLY, CRANKSHAFT, ETC. ON CONRAIL, THE SOO/CP AND ON THE UP, WE HAD OIL ANALYSIS LABS LOCATED IN MOST OF THE LARGER DIESEL SHOPS, THAT WOULD PULL "SPECIMENS" FROM ENGINES, AND WOULD CHANGE OIL, AS PER DIRECTIONS, AND CRITERIA, LISTED IN THE LAST ANSWER, TO YOUR QUESTION. FOR THE SMALLER GUYS, IT IS A MATTER OF "ECONOMICS", AS THOSE 250-400 GALLONS OF OIL CAN BE COSTLY, AS WELL AS FINDING A WAY TO DISPOSE OF IT. REGARDS, DAVE

THIS MAY SEEM A LITTLE SIMPLE, BUT IN MY 22 YEARS OF RUNNING, ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, THE SMALL GUYS DO NOT CHANGE THE OIL. THEY CHANGE FILTERS, AND ADD OIL, TO REPLACE WHAT LEAKS, OR BURNS OFF. THE ONLY TIME WE CHANGED OIL (ON MORE THAN ONE SHORTLINE) WAS TO PERFORM A MAJOR MECHANICAL OPERATION, LIKE REPLACING A POWER ASSEMBLY, CRANKSHAFT, ETC. ON CONRAIL, THE SOO/CP AND ON THE UP, WE HAD OIL ANALYSIS LABS LOCATED IN MOST OF THE LARGER DIESEL SHOPS, THAT WOULD PULL "SPECIMENS" FROM ENGINES, AND WOULD CHANGE OIL, AS PER DIRECTIONS, AND CRITERIA, LISTED IN THE LAST ANSWER, TO YOUR QUESTION. FOR THE SMALLER GUYS, IT IS A MATTER OF "ECONOMICS", AS THOSE 250-400 GALLONS OF OIL CAN BE COSTLY, AS WELL AS FINDING A WAY TO DISPOSE OF IT. REGARDS, DAVE