We’ve got an MTU 396 in for a complete overhaul at the moment.
It’s come to us as a result of the rubber mount in a hydraulic pump failing, causing the ball bearing to break up and releasing the roller balls into the gear chain and beyond – quite the chain reaction, and quite the mess too!
However, I’m not writing about the failed bearing or the resulting damage.
Instead, I just wanted to highlight how work can sometimes not be as straightforward as the operator may want it to be.
Generally speaking, an operator will always rather the work is carried out in-situ, and that’s for pretty obvious reasons – removing an engine for overhaul or maintenance work can be a major inconvenience.
But unfortunately, sometimes it’s impossible to avoid removing the engine.
Here’s just one example of why:
This isn’t a new fad of synchronised engine work, but instead, the process for correctly tightening the bearing caps, which you can see is by no means straightforward.
The studs are first fixed with Loctite at a height within a 0.7mm tolerance. The inner nuts are then torqued down simultaneously to a set reading, then an additional 270°+20°.
Finally, the outer nuts are torqued down by the same process, all utilising the specialist MTU tooling to hold the studs whilst the nuts are tightened.
Would you be able to carry this out on site?
