8866A55 Mercruiser GEAR HOUSING ASSEMBLY

09, 1999 WHEEL LOADERS TIB, COMPONENT CODE 1300, "ENGINE OIL CHANGE PERIODS". DESTROY THE FEBRUARY 09, 1999 TIB. IT WILL NOT APPEAR IN THE SEMI-ANNUAL INDEX.Problem:
Dealer and Caterpillar Scheduled Oil Sampling S O S) laboratories are reporting high levels of soot and iron in the 3306 Engines in some of these machines.Solution:
Most the machines that receive the high soot and iron reports are affected by one or more of the following criteria:* An application that includes very heavy digging* An application that includes operating at high altitude* Operating with lower than recommended engine oil quality* Exceeding the recommended engine oil change period of 250 hoursCaterpillar recommends that 972G Wheel Loaders with one or more of the above criteria be on an S O S program to check the engine oil. You should consider recommending an S O S program to check the engine oil in all of the above 972G Wheel Loaders. When monitoring the S O S engine oil samples from these machines, be particularly aware of the soot and iron readings. These readings may be higher than the readings normally seen on other wheel loaders powered by 3306 Engines. To maintain optimum engine life, a shorter lube oil drain interval or higher grade oil may be required. In these machines, the engine oil drain interval should be based on the S O S iron reading. Since accurate wear tables are not yet available for the 972G, an iron limit based on the 3306 Engines in other wheel loaders will be estimated. The Iron Wear Metal should be limited to 40 PPM. Soot values may exceed 100 percent of the allowable limit if high performance CG-4 and CH-4 oils are being used. As a general rule, soot levels should be kept below 150 percent of the allowable limit when using high performance CG-4 and CH-4 oils. High altitude applications can result in increased S O S soot levels. This may require a shortened engine oil change interval. Always be sure to check the air filter restriction indicator if the S O S soot reading is excessive. High soot levels can result from high air filter restriction.Caterpillar recommends following to provide the maximum engine life in 972G Wheel Loaders:* Use CH-4 lube oil when possible. CG-4 lube oil is the next best choice. These oils are preferred because of their superior soot dispersion capability.* Monitor S O S lube oil samples and limit the oil change interval based on a maximum iron reading of 40 PPM regardless of the lube oil being used.* Monitor the S O S lube oil sample soot levels. It is preferred to keep soot below 100 percent of the allowable limit. But with the use of CG-4 and CH-4 oils, the soot level may be permitted to rise to 150 percent of the allowable limit. If CF-4 oil is in use, keep soot under 120 percent of the allowable limit.* The engine oil change interval may have to be shortened if the machine is operating at high altitude and/or operating with a high load factor.COPYRIGHT 2000 CATERPILLAR ALL RIGHTS RESERVED