New engine technologies and designs-brought to market for emissions compliance, improved performance or both-often mean new sets of inspection points and service requirements. The ever-increasing complexity of the engines means following these guidelines is more important than ever to ensure long engine life. And while all engine makers set recommended maintenance intervals, customer operating requirements also play a role.
Use service interval recommendations as starting points and modify them to fit customers’ specific needs.
“People rely on their experience, and although that is important, every new product has its own nuances,” said Greg Saele, engine marketing manager, International Truck And Engine Corp. “So it is wise to start with the manufacturer’s recommendation and then turn to your experience with what has worked on similar products in the past.” Engine maintenance often can be synchronized with chassis maintenance intervals to take the customer’s vehicle out of service less frequently.
“For instance, if the chassis maintenance interval is 1,000 to 2,000 miles lower than the engine maintenance interval, you might synchronize the two so that when the customer comes in for a regular A-level maintenance you can do everything at once,” Saele said. “We do not recommend going over the stated mileage for engine maintenance.”
The vehicle’s duty cycle also plays an important role in determining proper maintenance intervals. “The more fuel an engine uses, the more difficult the duty cycle is,” says Zack Ellison, Cummins manager, customer technical support, North America. “Engines that do more work need to have their oil changed earlier.”
Added Saele, “The harder a product works, the more often it will need to be serviced. What kind of fuel is being put in, what kind of environment it operates in and the frequency that the filters need to be changed, all affect maintenance intervals.”
The recommended oil change interval is every 15,000 miles for severe-duty cycles, 25,000 miles for normal-duty cycles and as high as 35,000 miles for vehicles in light-duty applications, Ellison said.
