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Ask the Expert ...about Oils

Selectaquestionfromoneofthethreecategoriesbelow(engineoils,hydraulicoils&transmission/finaldriveoils)toviewtheexpert'sanswer.

EngineOilsCanIusethenewCI4ratedoilsinmydieselengine?WhatdoestheAPIdesignationonmyengineoilmean?WhataretheAPIOilCategories?WhatisthedifferencebetweenthecurrentCH4oilandpreviousoils?Isoilcontainingrerefinedbasestocksacceptable?CanImixoilsfromdifferentmanufacturers?CanImixoilsofdifferentviscosity?Aresomeoilsbetterthanothers?CanIuseengineoilinthetransmissionorfinaldrivesofmyCatmachine?WhataretheEngineManufacturersAssociationoilratings?CanIuseengineoilinmyhydraulicsystem?CanIusedieselengineoilinmygasolineengines?

HydraulicOilsCanImixengineoil(orengineoilthatisrebrandedashydraulicoil)andISOtypeindustrialhydraulicoil?HowdoIknowifthehydraulicoilisarebrandedengineoil?HowdoIrecognizeanISOindustrialhydraulicoil?WhydoesCaterpillarrecommendtheuseofengineoil(orengineoilrebrands)ashydraulicoil?CanIuseindustrialtypeoilsinmyhydraulicsystem?Whatistherecommendedcleanlinesslevelforhydraulicoil?

Transmission/FinalDriveOilsWhatoilcanIuseintheHydrostatictransmissioninmyBobcat?WhyareTO4oilsrecommendedformytransmissionandfinaldrivesonmostCatmachines?WhatoilshouldIuseifIoperateinverycoldconditions?HowcleanshouldIkeepmytransmissionfluids?Whatisthecleanlinesslevelformyfinaldrivefluid?

CAN I USE THE NEW CI-4 RATED OILS IN MY DIESEL ENGINE?

Ifyourenginecallsforanoilthatendswith"4"suchasCG4youcanusetheCI4oilwithoutconcernoveranegativeimpactonyourdieselengine.ThethreemaintestsfortheCI4oilaremoreseverethanforthepreviousoilsbuttheoilisbackwardscompatiblewithearlier4oils.

WHAT DOES THE API DESIGNATION ON MY ENGINE OIL MEAN?

TheAPI(AmericanPetroleumInstitute)servicesymbolandcertificationmarkidentifiesqualityengineoilsforgasolineanddieselpoweredvehicles.OilsdisplayingtheAPImarksmeetperformancerequirementssetbyU.S.andinternationalvehicleandenginemanufacturesandthelubricantsindustry.

DIESELENGINEOILCATEGORIESOilsdesignedfordieselenginesfallunderAPI's"C"category.LookforperformancelevelssuchasCH4,CG4,andCF2.

GASOLINEENGINECATEGORIESOilsdesignedforgasolineengineservicefallunderAPI's"C"category.LookforperformancelevelssuchasSJorSH.

WHAT ARE THE API OIL CATEGORIES?

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DieselEngines

CH4 CurrentIntroducedDecember1998.ForhighspeedFourstrokeenginesdesignedtomeet1998Exhaustemissionstandards.ForusewithfuelsWithsulfurcontentupto0.5%weight.CanbeusedinplaceofCD,CE,CF4,andCG4oils.

CG4 CurrentIntroducedin1995.ForseveredutyhighSpeed4strokeenginesusingfuellessthan0.5%sulfurweight.Forenginesmeeting1994emissionstandards.CanbeusedinplaceofCD,CE,andCF4oils.

CF4 Current Introducedin1990.For4strokenaturallyaspiratedandturbochargedengines.CanBeusedinplaceofCDandCDoils.

CF2 Current Introducedin1994.ForseveredutytwoStrokeengines.CanbeusedinplaceofCD2oils.

CF Current Introducedin1994.ForoffroadenginesIncludingthoseusingfuelwithover0.5%.Sulfur.CanbeusedinplaceofCDoils.

CE Obsolete Introducedin1987.ForfourstrokehighspeedEngines.CanbeusedinplaceofCCandCDoils.CD2 Obsolete Introducedin1987.Fortwostrokeengines.CD Obsolete Introducedin1955.ForcertainnaturallyaspiratedAndturbochargedengines.CC Obsolete Forenginesintroducedin1961.CB Obsolete Formoderatedutyengines1949to1960.CA Obsolete Forlightdutyengines1940'sand1950's.

GasolineEngines

SJ Current Forallautomotiveenginespresentlyinuse.IntroducedintheAPIservicesymbolin1996.SH Obsolete Formodelyear1996andolderengines.SG Obsolete Formodelyear1993andolderengines.SF Obsolete Formodelyear1988andolderengines.SE Obsolete Formodelyear1979andolderengines.SD Obsolete Formodelyear1971andolderengines.SC Obsolete Formodelyear1967andolderengines.SB Obsolete Forolderengines.Useonlywhenspecifiedbythemanufacturer.SA Obsolete Forolderengines.Noperformancerequirements.WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CURRENT CH-4 OIL AND PREVIOUS OILS?

TheAPICH4oilsweredevelopedtomeettheneedsofthenewhighperformancedieselenginesincludingthelowemissionengines.TheseoilswillexceedtheperformanceofthepreviousCG4oilsintheareasofdepositsonpistons,controlofoilconsumption,wearonpistonrings,valvetrainwear,viscositycontrol,andcorrosion.

ThreenewenginetestsweredevelopedfortheCH4oil.Thefirsttestspecificallyevaluatesdepositsonpistonsforengineswiththetwopiecesteelpiston.Thispistondeposittestalsoevaluatesthecontrolofoilconsumption.Asecondtestmeasuresthewearonpistonrings,wearoncylinderliners,andresistancetocorrosion.Athirdnewtestmeasuresthewearonthevalvetrain,theresistanceoftheoiltoplugthefilter,andthecontrolofsludgeallunderhighsootconditions.

InadditiontheseCH4oilshavetougherlimitsforviscositycontrolinapplicationsthatgeneratehighsootandhaveimprovedoxidationresistance.CH4oilsmustpassanadditionaltestforpistondepositcontrolinenginesthatusesinglepiecealuminumpistons.Oilperformanceisalsoestablishedforenginesthatoperateinareaswithhighsulfurdieselfuel.

AsaresultCH4oilsarerecommendedforuseinextendeddrainintervalsthatdemandtheuseofpremiumoil.

IS OIL CONTAINING RE-REFINED BASE STOCKS ACCEPTABLE?

OilscontainingrerefinedbasestocksareacceptableforuseinCaterpillarenginesiftheymeetthespecifiedperformancerequirements.Thererefinedbasestockoilscanbeusedexclusivelyinfinishedoilofincombinationwithnewbasestockoil.Theprocessthatisusedtoproducethererefinedbasestockoilgenerallyinvolvesvacuumdistillationandhydrotreatingoftheusedoil.

Filteringisinadequatefortheproductionofhighqualitybasestocks.

CAN I MIX OILS FROM DIFFERENT MANUFACTURERS?

Oilsfromdifferentsupplierscanbemixedaslongastheyarethesametypes.DonotmixengineoilsofdifferenttypessuchasISOhydraulicoilsorgearoils.OnepointtorememberisthatyourIRresultsonyouroilanalysisisbasedonreferencingspecificnewoilsandwillbeinaccurateifoiltypesorbrandsaremixed.

CAN I MIX OILS OF DIFFERENT VISCOSITY?

Yesyoucan.Asanexamplea10W30canbemixedwitha15W40.Theresultingviscositywillbesomewhereinbetweenthetwoproductsbeingmixed.Nevertheless,mixingoilsofdifferentviscositiesisnotarecommendedpracticeasyouwillhavenopointofreferenceforlabtesting.

ARE SOME OILS BETTER THAN OTHERS?

Asanoilanalysisfacilitywemakeoilrecommendationsbyspecification,APIperformancerating,andviscositygradewithoutrecommendingonebrandoveranother.Weareinnopositiontotestthe"quality"ofanygivenoilonlyitsbasischaracteristicssuchasviscosity,TBNorTAN.

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CAN I USE ENGINE OIL IN THE TRANSMISSION OR FINAL DRIVES OF MY CAT MACHINE?

ForyearstheCaterpillarrecommendationforpowertraincomponentswasengineoil.Thischangedanumberofyearsagoasmaterialschangedandloadingincreased.

Intransmissionsthenewclutchmaterialsaresensitivetonitrogencompoundsandunfortunatelymanyengineoilshavethesechemicalsintheiradditivepackages.Inadditionthenewengineoilformulationsaredesignedtoreducefrictionasmuchaspossiblewhereastheclutchesanddiscsinthepowershifttransmissiondependsoncontrolledfrictionforarapidlockup.Theuseofengineoilcanresultinslippageduringtheengagingprocess.Thiscanresultinhighlocalizedheatingonthefaceswithshortenedclutchlifeasaresult.TherecommendedTO4oilforuseintransmissionshasnonitrogencompoundsandistotallycompatiblewithalltransmissionmaterials.Inadditionitisformulatedtoprovidecontrolledfrictionandrapidclutchlockuptoreducelocalizedheatingandtoextendclutchlife.

Theoilsnowrecommendedfortransmissionsandfinaldriveshaveanenhancedloadcarryingabilitytoprotectgearsandbearings.ThespecializedTO4oilsrecommendedfortheseapplicationscanbeformulatedtoprovidethesecharacteristics,astheydonothavetherestraintsofbeingabletofunctioninaninternalcombustionengine.

Asaresultofthesefactotheuseofengineoilsintheseapplicationsisnolongerrecommended.

WHAT ARE THE ENGINE MANUFACTURERS ASSOCIATION OIL RATINGS?

TheEngineManufacturersAssociation(EMA)hasdevelopedlubricantrecommendationsasanalternativetotheAPIoilclassificationsystem.LRG1isarecommendedguidelinethatdefinesalevelofoilperformanceforhighspeed,fourstroke,heavyandlightdutydieselengines.LRG1oilsmaybeusedinCaterpillarengineswhereAPICH4,CG4,andCF4isrecommended.

ThetestsandthetestlimitsthatareusedtodefineLRG1aresimilartothoseoftheAPICH4classification.LRG1oilsaredesignedtocontroltheharmfuleffectsofsootwithimprovedwearresistanceandimprovedresistancetooilfilterplugging.Theseoilswillalsoprovidesuperiorpistondepositcontrolforengineswitheithertwopiecesteelpistonsofaluminumpistons.

CAN I USE ENGINE OIL IN MY HYDRAULIC SYSTEM?

EngineoilmakesexcellenthydraulicoilforuseinCaterpillarmachines.InfactCaterpillarandSureCraft10Whydraulicoilsarerebrandsofengineoil.Whenselectingtheviscosityoftheengineoil,whichyouaregoingtouseasahydraulicoil,youshouldconsideryourstartuptemperatureaswellastheregulardaytimeambienttemperature.

CAN I USE DIESEL ENGINE OIL IN MY GASOLINE ENGINES?

ManydieselengineoilsalsohaveanAPIratingforgasolineengineuse.ConsultthespecsheetfromyouroilsupplierortheAPIinformationonthecontainer.(SeeAPIclassificationsinthissection)

CAN I MIX ENGINE OIL (OR ENGINE OIL THAT IS RE BRANDED AS HYDRAULIC OIL) AND ISO TYPE INDUSTRIALHYDRAULIC OIL?

Mixingoiltypessuchastheseisnotarecommendedpracticeasthechemistryoftheadditivepackagesisquitedifferent.Iftheadditivesarenotcompatibletheywillprecipitateoutandwillcoatandplugthereturnlinefilter.Thisadditiveprecipitationproblemmayormaynotoccurbutitisnotworththerisk.

HOW DO I KNOW IF THE HYDRAULIC OIL IS A RE BRANDED ENGINE OIL?

TypicallyrebrandedengineoilsretaintheSAEviscositygradeaspartoftheirproductname.Typicallyyouwouldexpecttoseesuchanoilnamedxxxxxx10W.The10WrepresentstheSAEviscosity.

HOW DO I RECOGNIZE AN ISO INDUSTRIAL HYDRAULIC OIL?

ThesetypesofoilcarrytheISOviscosityratingandcanberecognizedbynumberssuchas15,22,32,46,or68aftertheproductname.Thenumberrepresentstheoilviscosityincentistokesat40degreesC.

WHY DOES CATERPILLAR RECOMMEND THE USE OF ENGINE OIL (OR ENGINE OIL RE BRANDS) AS HYDRAULICOIL?

Typicallyengineoilscontainasignificantamountofzincasanantiscuffagenttoprotecttheenginecamshafts.Thiszincadditiveactstoprotectthehydraulicpumpsinshockloadconditions.Whileindustrialtypehydraulicoilsoftencontainzinctheconcentrationisnotasgreatasisfoundinengineoils.

CAN I USE INDUSTRIAL TYPE OILS IN MY HYDRAULIC SYSTEM?

Caterpillarwillallowtheuseofindustrialtypehydraulicoilsaslongastheycontaineither900ppmofzinc(whichisunlikely)orhavepassedtheVickers35VQvanepumptest.Caterpillarwarnsthatlessthanoptimumpumplifemayresultfromtheuseoftheseoils.

WHAT IS THE RECOMMENDED CLEANLINESS LEVEL FOR HYDRAULIC OIL?

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Contaminationisthecauseofthevastmajorityofprematurehydraulicfailureandisresponsibleformostprematurewear.MostmobilemachinesrequireanISOcleanlinesslevelof18/15toassureoptimumlifeofcomponents.

WHAT OIL CAN I USE IN THE HYDROSTATIC TRANSMISSION IN MY BOBCAT?

Thisdependsontheageofthemachine.Somemachinesuseregularautomotiveautomatictransmissionfluid(RedOil).OthermachinesuseanISO32Hydraulicoil(NotRed).

WHY ARE TO-4 OILS RECOMMENDED FOR MY TRANSMISSION AND FINAL DRIVES ON MOST CAT MACHINES?

TO4oilshavemoreloadcarryingabilitythanengineoilstoprotectheavilyloadedgearsandbearingsinthesecompartments.Inadditiontheyalsoprovidecontrolledfrictiontoassurequicklockupofclutchesanddiscsinpowershifttransmissions.Thisreducesheatandwear.Finallytheycontainnonitrogenproductsandarecompletelycompatiblewithalltransmissionmaterials.

WHAT OIL SHOULD I USE IF I OPERATE IN VERY COLD CONDITIONS?

Ifmachinesaresubjecttocoldstartsintemperaturesbelowminus20a10weightTO4oilmaynotbesuitable.Inthiscasethenextbestchoicewouldbeamultigradeoilsuchasa0W20containingtheTO4additivepackage.FinningSureCraftLowTemperatureTransmissionOilwouldbeanexample.Thiswillallowcoldtemperaturestartsto40degreesC.

HOW CLEAN SHOULD I KEEP MY TRANSMISSION FLUIDS?

RegularpowershifttransmissionswithrequireanoilcleanlinesslevelofISO21/17.ThisequatestoanLPDreading(15microns)ontheSOSreportsof1300particles.

NewerelectrichydraulicpowershiftsneedevencleanerfluidandrequireanISOcleanlinesslevelof18/15.ThiswouldequalanLPDreadingof320particles.

WHAT IS THE CLEANLINESS LEVEL FOR MY FINAL DRIVE FLUID?

Excludinglargeminingequipmentthegeneralcleanlinesstargetsareasfollows:

Excavators(only300series)030,000particles normal30,00050,000particles borderline50,000plusparticles actionrequired

MostOtherMachines012,000particles normal12,00025,000particles borderline25,000plusparticles actionrequired

GraderTandemDrives030,000particles normal30,00050,000particles borderline50,000plusparticles actionrequired

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