Diesel Engines Maintenance Advice

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Table of Contents

Petrodiesel
Biodiesel
Noise and vibration
Maintaining diesel in cold weather
Changing filters and oil
Cooling system
The common maintenance operations
The cost of maintenance
Reference

The XIXth century saw the breakthrough in science and industrial technologies with the invention of diesel engine. Nowadays the machines operating on this type of fuel are so numerous that no one can imagine the world without them. Diesel engines are use in the car engines, motorcycle mechanisms, and on larger machinery. There exist many different types of diesel that are used for their specific purposes.

In this paper I’m going to provide the overview of types of different diesel engines, focus on their maintenance, examine the advantages and disadvantages of it and offer the alternatives to it the scientists put forward in their miscellaneous reports on diesel.

To proceed with types of diesel engines it is necessary to provide the definition of diesel fuel that is exactly what engines burn to produce energy. “Diesel fuel in general is any liquid fuel used in diesel engines” (Wharton, 1991, p. 76). Rudolf Diesel, the inventor of a diesel engine, initially used coal to start the engine; nowadays the fuel market relegated this kind of fuel and provides up-to-date technology and fuel (Nitske, Wilson, 1965, p. 42).

The most common is “a petroleum fuel oil, but alternatives that are not derived from petroleum, such as biodiesel, biomass to liquid (BTL) or gas to liquid (GTL) diesel, are increasingly being developed and adopted” (Wharton, 1991, p. 76).

Now let’s dwell upon two main types of diesel fuel.

Petrodiesel

Petroleum diesel is produced out of oil. It’s used as vehicle, car and ships fuel. It’s more productive that gasoline. When used as vehicle fuel it is characterized by high compression ratios and generally better performance than petroleum gas fuel. This is accounted for the fact that diesel engines running on petroleum fuel compress the air inside with high pressures and temperatures where the fuel reacts with the air as opposed to other fuels that use sparks to ignite first (Adams, 1948, p. 75).

Petroleum diesel has proved to be very efficient and less problematic than other fuels. Its advantages embrace fewer costs in comparison with petroleum, less consumption and it is less belligerent to environment. However, it has its disadvantages. Firstly, the demand on petroleum diesel fuel rises in the cold seasons as it is used as heating oil, which certainly leads to the increasing cost of fuel. Secondly, it is difficult to start the engine in very cold weather as petroleum diesel’s properties decreases and it takes more time to bring it in working condition. Some additives are used for this purpose however not always efficiently.

Biodiesel

Another type of diesel, biodiesel, was invented as a solution of poignant problem of environmental pollution and high price of petrodiesel. These factors sound very cogent in favour of the use of biodiesel. Biodiesel is produced out of vegetable oil or animal fats. It’s more environmentally-friendly alternative to petroleum diesel though it also produces emissions. The way it is burned in the engines is similar to petroleum diesel. Biodiesel is of higher quality than petrodiesel and sometimes is used as additive to it (Holt, 2004, p. 207).

Engines running on diesel require little water supply, productive and very convenient. Diesel engine presents a type of internal-combustion engine. As it has been already mentioned it doesn’t use spark for ignition that’s why it is called internal-compression engine. Following the axiom that any machinery requires good maintenance let’s pass on to the points that must be followed to keep it in good condition. Contrary to gasoline engines diesel engines don’t require very complicated maintenance. The most essential points that the owner of a diesel engine should follow are presented in the manual that comes with engine. However, it’s necessary to cover all the difficulties or problems that may occur when using diesel engines.

Noise and vibration

Diesel engines are not characterized by lull performance and despite all the efforts of producers they still produce mach noise and vibration. Despite this fact the brash vibration and noise may indicate some problems in the work of the engine. It may result in engine’s breakdown through damaging some of its parts or leaking pipes (Lilly, 1999, p. 65). It’s lucid that these problems should be diagnosed and solved immediately. To prevent damaging the engine the maintenance should be kept on a day-to-date basis, otherwise your engine may turn facetious when you least expect it.

Maintaining diesel in cold weather

The posit that diesel fuel is very inefficient in the cold weather appears to have verisimilitude. Many owners of cars running on diesel fuel testify to the difficulties to start the engine when the temperature is below zero. The reason for it is that the air in the engine gets cold and the fuel injected into the cylinder of the engine can’t react with cold air. To prevent this to happen it’s wise to supply your engine with diesel fuel that has additives that fasten the process of compression and keep the fuel in liquid state and facilitates the maintenance (Judge, 1967, p. 129).

Changing filters and oil

The good performance of your diesel engine much depends on the quality of fuel and oil you use and the frequency of filter change. Nigel Calder, author of the definitive Marine Diesel Engines says: “If you keep the fuel uncontaminated and properly filtered, and you change the oil and filter at the prescribed intervals (generally every 100 to 150 running hours), most diesels will run for years without giving trouble” (Calder, 1987, p. 143). The filters should be checked and replaced if necessary. It is more safe to entrust this procedure to professionals as even minor mistakes in installing new filters may lead to failure of the engine. In case the level of oil is higher or lower than it should be after you’ve changed the filters one should also check if the oil needs change. A low level of oil could show the leakage, if the level is high address the car service.

Other important factors that affect the performance of the engine are temperature and cleanness of the air that is supplied into the engine (Pascoe, 1999, p. 3). For this purpose the air filters are installed into the machinery that uses diesel. The filters, as it’s easy to understand, clear the air that is used for compression and prevent dirt and different contaminants to get into the engine. One more feature of these filters that they not only clear the air in the engine, they can cool it if necessary. Usually diesel engines use hot air, but some turbo charged engines need to get cool air.

Cooling system

It’s no secret that alongside producing energy out of heat the engine gets warm itself. Coolers are implemented into the engine to cool the system. “Early engines were cooled by water; modern practice is to employ closed systems with a radiator and a thermostat” (Dempsey, 2008, p. 341). All diesel engines are supplied with three coolers: “the heat exchanger, oil and fuel cooler – and most likely a transmission cooler” (Pascoe, 1999, p. 3). The coolers should be not economized on as they directly pertain to the good condition of the engine. Any owner should understand that neglecting the annual inspection of coolers can be a fatal mistake. The failure of the coolers may entail overheating of the whole system. The coolers may be expensive to be serviced; but if the coolers brake down the engine may become a write off.

The common maintenance operations

The inspection of all parts of diesel engine should be conducted every month. It is better to repair small mistakes than to deal with big ones. Following adage “never put off till tomorrow what you can do today” (Speake, Simpson, 2004, p. 385). could be a wise idea. The constant check of the system also reduces the cost of repair of big problems.

So, it is advised to conduct cooling system check and cleaning annually, change coolers and filters when it is require in the manual, inspect the engine for fractures, the pipes for leaking, change engine oil.

Besides, it is necessary to run the engine at least every five days, warming it up for some seconds and run it for some time in order to keep it constantly in good condition. If the engine is not used for a long period of time it may result in rustling of cylinder and other parts of the system. So it’s generally not accepted to race after an extended disuse. It’s suggested that engines should be run at normal speed initially and then only allowing it to speed up.

The cost of maintenance

Considering all the above mentioned it becomes clear that keeping diesel engine may be a bit expensive. Moreover, diesel engines cost more than usual petroleum engines. As compared with other types of engines, it requires more frequent change of oil, fuel, air filters and coolers, as well as water separation. It’s believed that the period of exploitation of diesel engines is less than gas engines.

To conclude I’d like to point out main advantages and disadvantages of diesel. With costs on petrol raising every day diesel engine is a good option to consider. If following all the instruction of the maintenance of a diesel engine it may be very convenient and unproblematic in exploitation. It’s necessary to mention that diesel engines produce a lot of hazardous emissions that besmirch the air with the chemical substances, such as sulphur and make the lavatory out of the planet. This poses a major threat to human health that’s why nowadays much attention is attached to alternative types of fuel, such as biodiesel or gas, which may reduce the amount of chemicals in the atmosphere.

Though the process of substitution of diesel engines on gas or biodiesel may seem lethargic and pensive it is predicted that at least half the machinery can use alternative fuel in the course of time. Gas engines run smoother, cost less and less contaminate the atmosphere. Biodiesel also pollute the air less and very similar to usual diesel in its characteristics.

So, it is clear to see that there are a lot of options to decide between diesel fuel and engines, to priorities your demands and needs and only then choose the kind of diesel that best suits you.

Reference

Adams O. L. (1948). Diesel operation and maintenance. Prentice-Hall.

Calder N. (1987). Marine Diesel Engines. International Marine Pub. Co.

Dempsey P. K. (2008). Troubleshooting and repairing diesel engines. McGraw-Hill Professional.

Holt J. D. (2004). The diesel engine. Society of Automotive Engineers.

Judge A. W. (1967). High speed diesel engine. Chapman & Hall.

Lilly L. R. (1999). Diesel Engine Reference Book. Butterworth-Heinemann.

Nitske W. R. Wilson C. M. (1965). Rudolf Diesel: pioneer of the age of power. University of Oklahoma Press.

Pascoe, D.H. (1999). Diesel maintenance or lack thereof. Web.

Speake, J. Simpson J. A. The Oxford dictionary of proverbs. Oxford University Press, 2004.

Wharton A. J. (1991). Diesel engines. Butterworth-Heinemann.

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