Your tractor may be the
primary tool you depend on for a successful farming season.
Oil analysis is a prognostic tool that can provide peace of mind
as well as ensure maximum uptime and decreased breakdowns.
By analyzing your engine oil at every service interval, problems
such as dirt ingestion, internal coolant leakage or oil beyond its service
life may be identified before long term engine damage occurs.
Engine oil analysis is a cost effective practice
that has been used for many years to evaluate, lubricate effectiveness,
as well as provide an opportunity for corrective action
if a potential problem is identified.
Your dealer is well versed in taking oil samples.
However, this is something you can do as well.
Let's review the proper procedure to follow when taking fluid samples.
Ensure the engine and transmission have been warmed up to normal
operating temperature.
This helps provide a more accurate indication
of the suspended contaminants in the fluid.
Cold oil allows contaminants to settle at the bottom of the engine oil pan.
Make sure the area
where the sample will be taken is clean, such as this engine oil dipstick location.
We only want to analyze what is in your engine oil,
not the dirt in the air or contaminants collected around your dipstick.
Take a section of oil sample hose and place it along
the length of the dipstick and mark it to represent the length of the dipstick.
This ensures we are grabbing a good sample,
not contaminants that may have settled at the bottom of the oil pan.
It is recommended to place the sample bottle in a sealable plastic bag
to further ensure we are getting the cleanest sample possible
using a hose cutter and cut the sample hose at about a 45 degree angle.
The point at the end of the hose will easily pass through the plastic bag.
Insert the sample hose in the dipstick tube until the measured
mark you made aligns with the dipstick tube and dry your engine oil
sample filling the sample bottle to at least 80% of full.
Seal the
sample bottle, remove it from the plastic bag,
fill out the label on the sample bottle with customer name and dealer.
Fluid type Plus-50 II for example.
Sample date how many hours are on the fluid
also fill out the oil analysis sample processing form.
Place sample bottle and completed
sample information sheet in the shipping box.
Return the sample box to your dealer for shipping.
This single sample kit is available at your John Deere dealer.
John Deere also offers sample kits to analysis
all critical fluids on your equipment, such as a three sample kit.
For taking a coolant
sample, warm up the engine to normal operating temperature,
clean the radiator cap area and remove the radiator
cap when the engine has cooled to a safe temperature.
Insert the sample hose in the coolant recovery
tank just far enough to retrieve a sample.
Fill the bottle to at least 80% full.
John Deere recommends annual coolant analysis to ensure the additive package
is sufficient to help prevent corrosion and cavitation
from occurring on cylinder liners, engine blocks and water pumps.
It is
highly recommended to analyze transmission and hydraulic oil
at every service interval to ensure the oil still meet specifications.
And to identify potential problems early.
When retrieving a transmission or hydraulic oil
sample, insert the sample hose deep enough to retrieve the sample.
Do not go all the way to the bottom of the reservoir.
Return completed samples in the respective shipping boxes
along with the completed paperwork to your local John Deere dealer
for shipping to the oil analysis lab.
Your John Deere dealer will contact you with the analysis results.
Simple to understand reports such as this one will be provided to your dealer
and shared with you.
The status at the top right hand corner will indicate what needs to happen next.
Normal results are the most common, however, critical results
will provide you with recommended actions that should happen next.
This may include inspection or additional samples to verify you have a problem.
Proactive fluid analysis is another tool to maximize your equipment uptime.