oil analysis result is confusing....

[Chuck Wintle]

at work, on a piece of equipment we use, it was suspected this machine was developing a bearing problem. These bearings slide on a film of oil pumped into them at 2600 psi. So we thought a bearing was giving up because the filter was becoming clogged very often. The company that sold us this equipment did the analysis for us and found all particulate levels at normal levels except for silicon which was elevated. Since this is a closed system I have no idea how or when silicon got into the oil? :confused: Does anyone have experience or knowledge on the subject? thanks. :D

[Lee Schierer]

One idea where silicone came from is if the housing is a casting there could have been some left over sand core material that wasn't removed in the manufacturing process. I would advise getting and independent oil analysis done.

I went through a similar problem with some large compressors where I used to work. The main bearings failed on first one really large compressor and then the other. The manufacturer did the oil analysis and said that the oil we were using was not their recommended oil. Our purchasing records showed we purchased the oil from them and was the oil that they required. We sent samples of the used oil and new oil off to a separate lab and got some results that showed the oil they were furnishing did not meet their specifications. We were able to save a ton of money because the manufacturer had to foot the repair bill for the two huge compressors.

[Brian Elfert]

If memory serves me, high silicone in an engine is generally from dirt ingestion, but it sounds like this is not an engine.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Silicon can come from a lot of different sources, one of them can even be grease. If it was my big expensive machine, I'd ask the manufacturer for their opinion.

[Chris Parks]

I would be getting at least one more independent oil analysis and taking it from there.

[Chuck Wintle]

the recommendation is to empty and refill with 'cleaned and polished" oil. Apparently it has been microfiltered to remove micro particles. At $60/gallon it is expensive.