Shell Lubricants is rolling out its new service offering called Shell LubeExpress - an automated oil change system designed to make oil changes cleaner and faster, plus help to address common environmental and operator safety concerns surrounding oil changes in maintenance facilities.
The easy-to-use system has been proved through years of use in Australia, with some 60 units in use there at multiple fleet operations.
To use LubeExpress, two special fittings are attached to the truck - one using the existing drain plug opening and one using a port on the engine typically located near the oil filter. These quick disconnect fittings remain there for as long as the system will be used in the workshop.
When it is time for an oil change, the technician simply connects the system’s hoses to the two quick disconnect fittings - which are each sized differently to ensure the right hose is connected to the right fitting, and follows simply on-screen instructions to program the machine to conduct the oil change, explained Shell Lubricants officials. The system then handles the oil draining and refilling automatically, freeing the technician to handle other tasks.
In this process, the system uses air to purge the engine’s oil, pushing the used oil out of the filter and engine into the oil pan where the oil is removed via the used oil hose, they said. The used oil is transported directly into the waste oil tank without ever coming into contact with technicians or the environment.
The system also allows for a representative oil sample to be taken during the oil drain process.
When the evacuation process is complete, the system will sound an alert to let the technician know that the used filter can now be removed and a new filter added.
Once the technician has completed this, the LubeExpress system will be restarted to automatically pump a pre-determined amount of fresh oil into the engine, said Shell Lubricants officials. The system issues an alert when this process is complete, and the technician disconnects the hoses.
When the engine is started, the oil filter and engine oil passages have already been filled with fresh oil so there is near instant oil pressure, the officials pointed out. This helps protect the engine at start up as there is no bearing burn or friction on other critical engine parts, reducing engine wear and helping to prolong the life of the engine.
In addition, since the oil is purged from the system, users will have removed more used oil from the system than conventional oil drains resulting in a more complete oil change with the total time for an oil change is typically reduced to less than 10 minutes, they said.
The Shell LubeExpress is a closed-loop, self-contained system. Consequently, technician contact with used engine oil is minimized and risk of spills is greatly reduced.
