The spring tune-up is an essential step in maintaining heavy-duty equipment. By keeping up-to-date on service requirements and in top-operating condition, companies are ready for summer’s work and can eliminate downtime.
“Companies should prep in the spring for summer work through a spring tune-up. Having your exhaust, heating, and cooling systems, hoses, plugs, and coolant-levels checked is important whether you are working in oil fields, construction, marine, or power generation,” says Mike McElwain, Regional Off-Highway Service Manager, Western Branch Diesel. “Also, looking at the fuel injector and assessing its condition to make sure it is being properly maintained prevents injector failures.”
At Western Branch Diesel, fully-trained technicians will look over your equipment, as well as conduct a computer evaluation by plugging in to an engine control module (ECM). The ECM is the electrical brain behind the equipment. This provides a data report that can reveal any ongoing issues, how the engine is running, fuel use, and electrical functioning.
“It runs a health check. For heavy equipment, it provides data and can gauge engine life off of its reports and helps the owner plan for continued or upcoming maintenance,” says McElwain. “We provide this service for anyone, whether they’ve purchased the equipment from us or not. We work with a lot of large companies, such as MTU, and will service any heavy-duty diesel engine.”
Western Branch Diesel technicians can travel to the customer for field service. They have a full fleet of service vehicles and can usually send someone out within 24 hours. Technicians can be pulled from four different locations, if needed. All of the technicians are fully factory-trained.
By conducting regular maintenance and tune-ups over time, owners can help their equipment last longer and burn less fuel, lowering costs. A poorly maintained diesel engine can use up to 50% more fuel and run the risk of overheating.
“Developing a maintenance strategy is important for companies to keep critical equipment ready at all times and reduce downtime. Under the maintenance guidelines, there is service criteria developed based off of engine usage and time, dependent on the application and utilization of the engine,” says Evelyn Reyna, Senior Technical Engineer, MTU America.
Ms. Reyna added that beyond all the typical spring tune-up checks — fluids, air filter, etc., — an oil and coolant sample should be taken, and at every third oil change the valve clearance should be adjusted. If your equipment has the SCR system, the supply pump, metering valve, and supply tank hoses and filters should be checked, along with the air dryer cartridge.
Western Branch Diesel services several diesel engine brands, including MTU, Volvo Penta, and Detroit Diesel, as well as Allison Transmissions, which can be installed in rock crushers, compactors, landfill construction vehicles, oil and mining equipment, and power generators.
To schedule your spring tune-up, contact the Western Branch Diesel location nearest to you.