As the cold and wet weather continues, this is the best time to ensure that your equipment is working 100% of the time at 100% efficiency!
Here are a few things to consider to maintain and protect your engines through the colder months:
Air filters
Maintaining and replacing air filters is likely to be a standard practice throughout the year. If not, it should be through winter. Operating machinery in summer and autumn can create a large amount of dust and fine particles which clogs up air filters. So, this is a good time of year to replace them, and they should last for a good few months.
Also check for air leaks which may be letting polluted air into the engine as this is a prime cause of engine failure.
Coolants
Coolant is commonly used to prevent engines from overheating in warmer summer weather, but it also protects against freezing, scale, corrosion and pitting on liners in diesel engines.
Throughout the summer months, the cooling systems on your JCB machinery may have been topped off by different operators, making it difficult to identify the specific gravity of the fluids. It is also possible that the wrong coolant could have been used!
Do you know which coolant you should be using? Check to see if you need conventional coolant or OAT (organic acid technology) coolant. The two mustn’t be mixed!
If the engine does have a coolant filter, be careful to ensure that it is replaced according to the OEM schedule. Also check the radiator, coolant lines and hoses for cracks or leaks and make sure that the radiator cap fits well and holds pressure.
We stock a variety of coolant products at HTS.
