oughly removed, which was a concern at
the time. All tests indicated that everything
was good to go.
The new fluid was expected to darken
slightly once it began circulating, but this
occurred much quicker than anticipated.
Since ester has incredible cleaning proper-
ties, the assumption was that it was
removing residual buildup that remained
after the flush. When the fluid continued to
get darker and darker, the fluid manufac
-
turer was contacted to see what other tests
could be performed to verify the additional
cleaning of the system.
The old fluid contained trixylyl phos-
phate (TXP) and aryl phosphate, which the
new fluid did not. The manufacturer
suggested a gas chromatography test to see
if TXP was present in the new fluid. If so, it
could be presumed that the old material was
being removed from the system internals.
0% TXP
3 months, 1.9%
TXP
24 hours, 1.2%
TXP
6 months, 2.11%
TXP
264 hours 984 hours
Blotter spot testing to determine organic and solid insolubles
COVER STORY
10
|
January - February 2017
|
www.machinerylubrication.com
The 30 years without
an oil change did
not come without
consequences, as
was discovered after
the system flush and
chemical cleaning
were completed.
