Engine Health Check
What is an Engine Health Check?
An engine health check is an essential part of the continued smooth running of vehicles. Through taking and analysing a sample of engine oil, engine health checks act as a proactive measure to avoid costly vehicle breakdowns and repairs. An engine health check gives an indication of what’s going on inside your engine and has been designed to check for the build-up of particles, chemicals, contamination and metals in the oil as well as indicating the overall condition of the oil.
What are the benefits of an Engine Health Check?
What are the benefits?
Engine health checks should be an integral component of any vehicle servicing schedule as they provide a proactive method of protecting costly assets before they reach the point of expensive repairs or even full replacement. Engine health checks also:
- Proactively monitors component degradation
- Identifies potential contaminant build-up
- Monitors engine oil performance and acidity levels
- Provides an indication of vehicle serving requirements
- Highlights issues before they escalate
By conducting scheduled engine health checks, you can prevent breakdowns and costly repairs by identifying issues before they occur. It only takes a few minutes to take an oil sample and results are back within a few days.
Why do I need an Engine Health Check?
Whilst it’s important to maintain your vehicle according to the guidance provided by the manufacturer, there is still more that can be done to ensure your vehicle maintains optimal performance.
As engine oils degrade over time, they will eventually need replacing to maintain effective lubrication and reduce friction between the parts it comes in contact with. After extended use, oil becomes more acidic and will start to corrode the internal parts of your engine.
This corrosion includes wearing the coatings that are applied to parts such as bearings. Once exposed, the effect on bearings can be quite damaging and costly unless the engine oil is changed and sump cleared of any residual sludge that may have built up.
How much does an Engine Health Check cost?
The fee for the engine health check is £50 + VAT per sample analysed. This includes a pre-paid return pack, analysis report and narrative with associated recommendations.
How does an Engine Health Check work?
There are two options for conducting an engine health check:
1. We will send you a sample pack with a pre-paid envelope which you will use to enclose your oil sample and send it to the lab for analysis.
2. We will arrange to visit your site and take the oil sample for you and send it off to the lab for analysis.
Once sent for analysis, results are confirmed in a report within 2 to 4 working days.
What does the Engine Health Check look for?
Contamination levels in the oil
- Elemental analysis for contaminates that may have entered the engine oil. These can increase wear to components that contain boron, silicon and sodium.
- Reduces lubricity of the engine oil should water, or fuel be entering the engine as this affects an oils viscosity and its capability to provide key lubrication of the engine.
- Checks for existing running problems, should fuel not be burning correctly then soot deposits will start to form which can lead to poor fuel to air ratio in the combustion chamber.
Assess wear levels and identify potential component failures
- An elemental analysis of the level of metal particles that have built up in the oil.
- Ferrous wear index provides information on the number of magnetic debris particles present in the oil.
- These indicate if wear is taking place, on which component parts and the degree of the wear.
Oil chemical assessment
- Analysis to determine the additive pack level and to check if the additives have been depleted from the oil.
- Oil viscosity status to confirm if the oil is providing the lubrication and heat transfer properties required for continued lubrication and protection to components.
- Oil Oxidation level. Over its life engine oil can oxidise resulting in the viscosity to increase and its lubricity capability to decrease.
- Oil Sulfation level. Assessing the sulfation level provides insight to see if corrosive acids are forming.
- Oil Nitration level. Provides an indication of thermal breakdown of the oil.
Total Base Number (TBN)
- The TBN is a property that measures the oil’s ability to neutralize acids formed during normal operation of the vehicle.
- Oils with a higher TBN are better placed to neutralize acids and combustion by-products resulting in longer engine life and improved protection against corrosion.
Total Acid Number (TAN)
- The TAN is a measurement of acidic organic constituents that are present in the oil.
- It can increase as a result of oxidation overtime, hotspots from dirty oil ways, top-up with different engine oil or a change in fuel Sulphur content.
- The higher the Total Acid Number the more acidic the oil becomes and higher degradation inside the engine takes place.
- As the oil itself degrades overtime through use the levels of corrosive acids increase, along with the increasing risk and danger of component failure.
Total Base Number v Total Acid Number
The health check looks to confirm if the balance of the TBN is higher than the TAN as this indicates the oil is in a healthy state. At the point where the TBN and TAN cross over – i.e. they are at the same level it is recommended the oil is changed. Moving to a state where the TAN is higher that the TBN and continues to rise it indicates the oil has become acidic and will start to wear and degrade components parts within the engine leading to vehicle breakdowns and costly repairs.
FAQs
How often should I have an Engine Health Check performed?
It is recommended to have a health check performed at the point of vehicle service and halfway between the next service (determined by miles or time).
Hong long does an Engine Health Check take before I see the results?
The results are confirmed within 2 to 4 days from being received at the laboratory.
What is the cost of an Engine Health Check?
The fee for the engine health check is £50 + VAT per sample analysed. This includes a pre-paid return pack, analysis report and narrative with associated recommendations.
