PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-444
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 444
NOVEMBER 1989
ome mechanics claim that OE hoLds
up better than OEA, that starting isn't
too much more troubLe with OE, and
then they rattLe of
the numbeR oF
poweRpacks that the "umpty-ninth± has
to RepLace "because oF OEA.±
t:±.
To begin at the beginning, why O²A
in the Fi³st pLace? WeLL, the engineeRs
have it FiguRed that at least 90 percent
oR more oF the engine damage done by
st´Rting in extReme coLd weatheR will
happen
in
the
FIRst
10
seconds
oF
opeRation.
OEA is speciFIcaLLy designed to sleep
µheRe aLL night at 65-below ¶nd then
snap to and peRFoRM that cRiticaL Lube
choRe in those teRRible 10 seconds· (At
¸ 65°¹, OEA is FLuid. O² is solid at
º20°¹·)
No poweRpack eveR bu»ed Up oR
seized oR thRew a rod because oFOEA·
¼t may have been because oF Low O²A,
oR because oF contaminated OEA, or
because oF operationaL abuse wit
h
OEA
in iµ½but not because oF the lubRicat¾
ing poweRs oF OEA aLone·
WHy? WeLl, as the man said, it's the
situation a¿d the teRRainÀ ¹oLLow me!
12
ConTaminaTIoN-DiluTion
Áhe same weather conditions that
teLL you to go to OEA in th ÃIrst place
aLso set the stage Är some FÅntastic
handicaps FÆR
any crankcase lube-
only moRe so FÆr OEA because it's deÇ
signed to be thin and FLow undeR those
goshawÈL temperatuRes.
BuLb-bReakeR temperatures cause en¾
gine paÉts to contract and you get more
bLowÊby and ÈeL ËickLing past the pisÇ
ton. At the sÌMe time, you have to
gRind and grÍnd beFÆRe she FIRes upÎ
and
this
gives
some
hamÊhanded
yahoos an uRge µo oveRÏpriMeÐaLL oF
which gives you more Raw Èel sne¶k¾
ing down to sabotage whatever you've
got in the crankcase.
And, as iF that's not enough, exµReme
²OV
89
difeRences between cRa¿Kcase µem¾
peratuRes and coLd outSide tempeRa¾
tuRes set the stage ÄR moistuRe condenÇ
sationÐespeciaLLy at shutdown½µhat
adds to the diLution oF youR Lube and
robs its sLicking poweRs·
Believe Me, SA³!
Ñhen a poweRpack bu»s up or
seizes or throws a rod into µhe next
county, the damage is instanµaneous,
dR¶matic, and is usuaLLy bLamed on LuÇ
bRication½oR LacK oF it. Òo whateveR
was in the cRa¿Kcase geµs the bLame.
On the otheR hand, the gutÏteaRing,
RawÊRubbed damage that grates your
engineÓs enµraiLs during a coLd st¶rt
with a thicker Lube wiLL be sneaky and
qÔiet½and MÍght not show up untiL
later
when
it's
toÕ
down
aFter
a
shoÉteRÖthanÊusuaL woRk LiF×·
²OV
89
WHaT To Do
ØoLLow youR ÙO· ¼t's µhe Law, ¶nd
not onLy is that saFeR, it's a LitµLe moRe
suRe, µoo.
PLL that dipsticK½eveRy houR, oR
moRe oÚten
iF youR
expeRience with
youR goaµ µeLLs you to. Ût's easieR to
pulL a Dipsµick µha¿ iµ is to ch¶¿ge a
pacK with gLoves on ¶nd snow bLowing
in youR Üce· And caRRy enough oiL with
you so's you can do something about
iµ when she Reads Low·
5<! ±@oO²
Ýeep a shaRp snifeR out ÄR ÈeL conÇ
taminaµion in youR cRankcase by smeLL¾
ing the dipsµicK. ÞRain and RßàLL ià you
even suspect it.
Q³´µ¶
·¸;§ arR [¹Wlºg»
oO
13
áoistuRe (condensation) diLution oF
cRankcase Lube is h¶Rd to detect unLess
it's ReaLLy bad· Òuspect it aLL µhe time
in exµRa coLd weatheR. A suRe checK,
iF you have tiMe and suspecµ iµ's âad,
is to dRaw a sampLe and Leµ it stand in
a cLeaR gLass containeR½
-±
the wateR and oiL
wiLL show you
a separation·
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