WE DID IT!! …. OVER 1,000,000 MILES
1990 Peterbilt Rolls Over 1,000,000 Miles With Only 1 Unnecessary Oil Change
This is the landmark report of Gulf Coast Filters, Inc.’s first truck engine outfitted with a GCF OTR package to exceed the million-mile mark. The basic message is unchanged. Since that magical moment in 1999, Gulf Coast Filters has had numerous truck engines that have exceeded one million miles and one that has exceeded two million miles without draining the oil in the traditional manner. Draining the oil is so “old school!”
Over a nine-year period, Gulf Coast Filters, Inc. proved that “routine” oil drains can SAFELY be eliminated. Using a GCF Model O-2 By-Pass Oil Filter over 1,000,000 miles were exceeded on the Detroit Diesel engine in the above 1990 Peterbilt truck with only one unnecessary* oil drain. (This was achieved using conventional petroleum oil.)
At 505,000 and 761,000 miles, Howard Hill of Shell Oil Co., and Ricky Cook of Covington Diesel, inspected the engine for contamination and wear. Their findings were, “Exceptionally clean engine and NO measurable wear”. Both times, the engine was inspected and reassembled with no parts replaced.
On June 21, 1999, at 1,012,825 miles, the Peterbilt rolled into Covington Detroit Diesel for the 3rd time in 9 years for an internal engine inspection. At this 1,000,000-mile inspection, Hill and Cook, experts in engine inspection and wear analysis, found basically the same engine that they saw at the 505,000-mile inspection and at the 761,000-mile inspection. The engine was once again spotlessly clean and the only marginal wear that could be found was within the rings. After the work was complete, once again, the old oil was poured back in. Because of the Gulf Coast Bypass oil filter, the truck was able to go back to work with the original bearings, pistons, liners, cam, etc.**
The owner simply changed the GCF elements every 10,000 miles and the factory full flow filters every 30,000 miles. Regular oil sampling was done to confirm the condition of the engine and the oil. By following the Gulf Coast Filters preventative maintenance program, the oil stayed clean 100% of the time and traditional wear rates were drastically reduced.
Notably, alongside the Peterbilt with the GCF equipped engine was an identical engine that Covington Diesel was overhauling. It had 933,000 miles. This engine showed normal wear for a Detroit with that many miles and needed to be overhauled. When compared, the experts could plainly see that the GCF engine was much cleaner and had far less wear. (The non-GCF engine had routine oil drains every 12,000 miles, approximately 77 oil drains).
*Unnecessary. It is important to note that at the 505,000-mile inspection the mechanic mistakenly discarded the used oil instead of putting it back in upon completion. The lab reports indicated the oil was good and did not need to be changed.
** After determining the engine could be reassembled with only the rings being replaced, Mr. Cook was asked to replace any two cylinder kits, any two rod and any two main bearings. This would allow GCF to show parts that had run a million miles using the GCF preventive maintenance program.