Each year, dairymen, farmers, truckers and equipment operators spend an ever-increasing amount of money on maintenance costs. The most expensive of all maintenance repairs are those of catastrophic failures, which occur when a part on a piece of equipment fails completely and is often damaged beyond repair. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a way to know if an engine was about to fail or a transmission on a piece of equipment was nearing its life expectancy? Because of modern chemistry, it is actually possible through a process known as oil analysis.

“There is a lot you can tell about a person just by looking at their shoes.” If this saying is really true, I believe there is a lot you can tell about mechanics by looking at their shops.

“There is a lot you can tell about a person just by looking at their shoes.” If this saying is really true, I believe there is a lot you can tell about mechanics by looking at their shops. Recently, I was buying some used equipment and ended up making a drive to Middleton, Idaho. There, I purchased a used diesel engine for a good price. I was excited about the buy, but even more excited when the seller took me into his shop to show me the engine.

It is a beautiful day and age to live in. Bill Gates once said, “Never before in history has innovation offered promise of so much to so many in so short a time.” The age of innovation is now. It does not matter if a person is making reference to computers or dairy equipment – technology is changing both of these industries at a rapid pace. Technology aids in doing more with less manpower and in less time than ever before. Industries are changing, and the technicians that accompany them must change as well.

Is diesel fuel the same as it was 50 years ago? Do you receive the same quality of diesel fuel from one fueling station to the next? Is there a difference in some diesel fuels? Historically speaking, diesel fuel was developed in the mid-1920s to meet the growing demands of the newly introduced diesel engines and vehicles. Diesel fuel was classified as medium-weight oil in comparison to gasoline being a lightweight oil. Diesel fuel was similar to kerosene in some ways but very different in others.

It is not uncommon to open the hood of a new diesel pickup and see a slew of wires and hoses and underneath it all something which resembles an engine. What happened to the good old days when we used to actually be able to see the engine and be able to work on it when we popped the hood? How did we get to this point with the light-duty diesel industry? Let’s take a step back in time when Ford and GM and Chrysler introduced their light-duty diesel engines. The year was 1983 and the engine was the 6.2-liter diesel.