As I write, our engineer, Fraser, is out on a customer’s site carrying out a repair on a Waukesha engine.
But it could have been so much worse than just a repair.
Thanks to the crew’s diligence with the pre-start checks, they were able to spot the signs of an internal failure before major engine damage and flag the issues to us before the engine was run into the ground.
With 99% of pre-start checks not showing any signs of problems, it is easy for complacency to kick in and these vital steps being overlooked.
But by having the right procedures in place and carrying them out properly, there are so many costly problems that can be prevented.
In this case, by checking the coolant and oil levels before start-up, the crew could see that coolant was getting into the oil, so we attended the engine and found this with the borescope.
You can see the results of a cracked liner.
So, the purpose of Fraser’s visit is to change the one liner and flush the oil ways, rather than having to carry out a major overhaul, which could have been required if the engine was run before further investigation.
If you’ve not come across the effects of water in oil, you can see what it looks like here.
