Our engineers are currently doing some servicing and rectification work on an MTU 396 engine, and I thought it was worth sharing some feedback from them.
Whilst carrying out the inspection of the top end of the engine, they’ve come across the common problem of excessive wearing, which is a result of ineffective lubrication.
I won’t go into detail about the important role lubricating oil plays in your engine; I’ve got no doubt you are well aware of this.
But in this case, the problems are not caused by wrong oil, water in oil, or blockages, but instead by an inherent issue which has got worse over time.
Without a pre-lube pump, our engineer counted 8 seconds until the oil pressure registered on the gauge, which is delaying the oil making its way to the top of the engine, depriving the moving parts of much-needed lubrication on start-up.
This problem is amplified further because of the running schedule of these emergency generators.
Although originally supplied without a pre-lubrication pump, these can be retrofitted easily and cheaply, with either automated or hand pumps as options.
The result will be better lubrication in critical parts of the engine, reducing wear, increasing reliability and improving the maintenance costs.
