The Importance of Lube Filtration

Lubricating Oil is the ‘life blood’ of an engine, without which it would rapidly stop working. Lube Filters remove impurities and the wear-causing contaminants from the engine’s oil, rather like kidneys purify the blood. If the Lube Filters are not doing an effective job, engine life can be radically shortened. Lube Oil not only allows the internal components of an engine to move by keeping the various parts separate from each other, it also carries out a number of other very important tasks:

■ Removing Heat

■ Forming a seal between the cylinder wall and the piston rings

■ Cleaning internal surfaces

■ Transporting debris to the Filter

Contamination through Combustion

It may appear that this is a ‘closed loop’ system, where a fixed quantity of Oil is pumped around the same circuit and should be relatively easy to keep clean. However the combustion process, where the fuel and air mixture is burned to generate power, creates a break in this loop. Combustion inevitably generates a number of contaminants which pollute the Oil.

The Fleetguard Product Solution

High pressure fuel injection systems in modern diesel engines result in much lower exhaust emissions than before. However, they can retain more soot in the Lubricating Oil. This will tend to create what we call sludge, a black, almost gelatinous, sticky material which can be abrasive, resulting in increased wear rates that can quickly block a filter. In this case, the bypass valve will open, sending abrasive, unfiltered oil to the moving parts of the engine.