Because lowering owning and operating costs is one of your top priorities, it’s one of ours as well. In fact, we’ve established a team whose sole purpose is making sure you get the most performance for the least cost from your Cat^® equipment. Led by Mark Carls and Steve Bickett, this Caterpillar Oil & Gas team reviews field issues and warranty claims to pinpoint improvement projects, then works with factory engineering teams to drive solutions that improve your operations. That includes everything from identifying components that could last longer to extending maintenance and overhaul intervals.

“We actively investigate opportunities to improve durability and lower customer costs,” Carls says. “If the team gets wind of anything that’s not fulfilling the Cat brand promise, we get involved and raise awareness of the issue internally to ensure it gets the attention it deserves.”

Here’s a look at a few projects the team has already completed and what’s headed your way.

Now available: Deep oil pan for 3512 well service engines

Spending less time on maintenance is a priority for well service operations. Some have extended time between engine oil changes too long as a result — leading to failures. That prompted the team to investigate ways to safely and reliably extend oil change intervals. The result? A new deep oil pan option for 3512C and 3512E engines. It holds 70 gallons of oil compared to 40 and moves the change interval out to 750 hours from 250. “You won’t have to maintain the equipment as frequently for better uptime,” Bickett says. “You should be able to go a couple of months without changing the oil.”

In the works: Synchronized intervals across the well service trailer

With some well service engine oil change intervals now at 750 hours, is there a chance to go even further? And is it possible to align intervals across the entire trailer? Carls and Bickett think the answer to both questions is yes, so there’s a project underway that could extend oil change intervals for the engine, transmission and pump — potentially a big money- and time-saver.

In the works: Overhaul extension on gas compression engines

G3516 gas compression engines typically get new heads around 25,000 hours, an in-frame overhaul around 50,000 hours and a major overhaul around 80,000 hours. Could the middle step be eliminated? “We’ve been working for three years to see if we can extend the in-frame overhaul to 80,000 hours,” Carls says. “We’ve evaluated high-hour engine components to determine what’s wearing out on what schedule.” When all the data’s in, the team may be able to update overhaul recommendations.

In the works: More real-world field follows

Carls and Bickett find that partnering with customers to test the possibility of extending component life, maintenance intervals or overhaul intervals often leads to the best solutions. Data from the field, based on multiple pieces of equipment running over an extended period of time, gives the team — and customers — the confidence to move forward with improvements. To that end, several field-follow projects are underway with different oil and gas operations to get real-world feedback on extending:

• High-pressure fuel pump maintenance intervals on 3512 engines


• Valve lash intervals on well service and gas compression products


• Oil change intervals on the TH55 transmission


• Cylinder head component life on gas compression products

Want to join the cost-reduction effort? Talk to your dealer.

If you think there’s more life left in a component than Caterpillar’s published intervals indicate, Carls and Bickett want to hear it. They’re always looking for new opportunities to test component life and interval extensions in the field. “We’re willing to admit there’s room for improvement,” Bickett says. “We’re not comfortable with the status quo.”

Get in touch with your local dealer if you’re interested in participating.