What I have is an issue with some oil coming out of all 3 purge valves when I purge my air tanks monthly (normally done to see if any water is present). No water comes out, just a bit of oil as a mist and some droplets. My Beaver Contessa is 6 years old with 40,000 Miles. I have NEVER had any oil come out in the past, either with this coach or the one before it. I have discussed the issue with an over-the-road trucker and he suggested a little oil coming out could be considered normal and suggested I just ignore it. But I don't want to have a bigger repair down the road by ignoring a warning sign now. Perhaps my Air Compressor is letting way too much oil past the rings when compressing and the Air Dryer isn't catching it all and expelling it all when it "Purges". Thus it's being passed further down-stream to the air holding tanks. Then it could get into any equipment or systems using air from the tanks and cause real problems. Or maybe its just a matter of opinion on what is "too much oil getting through"
. What I am experiencing is this: when I open each purge valve, if I hold my hand in front of the discharging air ... I will get such an oily residue on my hand that I have to wash it off. Happens on all 3 valves. And there's an oily mound on the metal surface where the Dryer "unloads". And the air compressor has a slightly different sound before it "unloads" than it had when new. But, it builds pressure in the "normal" amount of time so nothing seems strange there. And it seems to "cycle" on-off just as normally as when it was new. In reading forums, some people are reporting that ANY oil (or water for that matter) getting past the Dryer to the holding tanks and coming out the purge valves means the dryer needs servicing (new cartridge if water is present) or the Compressor needs rebuilding (oil is getting past the rings). I don't know how to judge what is "acceptable". Can anyone give me advise, or do I just take it to Caterpillar and let them figure out what to do? Thanks in advance,
Jerry Jayne, 42' '09 Beaver Contessa, 425 HP CAT C-9, 40,000 Miles. Chicago, ILLINOIS, 312-576-1048