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The Fleet Lead

How coolant sampling protects fleet margins and powertrain uptime

Beyond oil drains, coolant condition dictates heavy-duty engine life. Chevron’s Max Cundiff joins The Fleet Lead to break down how routine coolant analysis flags early system failures before they trigger catastrophic downtime.
Oct. 2, 2026
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Key takeaways

  • Beyond the refractometer: Why freeze-point checks alone leave fleets vulnerable to acidic corrosion and additive fallout.
  • Root-cause forensics: How laboratory coolant analysis pinpoints head gasket leaks, EGR cooler issues, and stray electrical currents early.
  • Modern engine vulnerabilities: The impact of higher combustion temperatures and emissions hardware on coolant degradation.
  • Preventing unscheduled downtime: Best practices for establishing sampling cadences that align with existing PM cycles.
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When fleet managers evaluate fluid analysis programs, motor oil typically takes center stage. Yet cooling system problems account for a substantial percentage of major diesel engine failures across Class 7 and 8 operations—often masked until temperature gauges spike on the highway.

In this episode of The Fleet Lead podcast, Max Cundiff, technical expert at Chevron, details why proactive coolant testing is essential to total cost of ownership (TCO) and fleet reliability. From identifying early chemical depletion to catching cylinder liner cavitation and oil-coolant cross-contamination before catastrophic damage, sampling gives fleet executives and equipment managers actionable diagnostic data.

Never miss an episode of The Fleet Lead. Use the embedded player at the top of this page or find our Endeavor B2B Commercial Vehicle Group podcast on your favorite platform:

Want these heavy-duty equipment breakdowns, regulatory insights, and fleet management tactics delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the FleetOwner Newsletter here to catch every episode alongside our daily industry reporting.

About the Author

John Hitch
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John Hitch

Editor

John Hitch is the editor-in-chief of Fleet Maintenance, providing maintenance management and technicians with the the latest information on the tools and strategies to keep their fleets' commercial vehicles moving. He is based out of Cleveland, Ohio, and was previously senior editor for FleetOwner. He previously wrote about manufacturing and advanced technology for IndustryWeek and New Equipment Digest.

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