Reciprocating Compressor Overhaul Checklist: What to Measure and Record

An overhaul is only as good as the record it leaves behind. Parts get replaced either way, but a measured record of what was found and what was left turns the next inspection into a comparison instead of a guess. Use this checklist with the manufacturer's limits for your machine.

Before the shutdown

• Record running data: stage pressures and temperatures, valve cover temperatures, vibration and packing vent flows.

• Agree the scope from that data and from the last report, not from habit.

• Stage valves, rings, rider bands, packing and gaskets on site and check them against the drawings.

Frame and running gear

• Main bearing and connecting rod bearing clearances

• Crankshaft web deflection and crankshaft end float

• Crosshead-to-guide clearance, and crosshead pin and bushing clearance

• Condition of the lube oil, filters and frame oil system

Cylinders and pistons

• Cylinder bore: wear, taper and ovality

• Piston-to-bore clearance and piston end clearances, head end and crank end

• Piston ring side and end gaps, and rider band thickness

• Piston rod run-out, vertical and horizontal, and rod surface condition

• Piston nut and crosshead nut torque

Valves and packing

• Valve condition, lift and seat flatness, with a leak test before refitting

• Packing cup faces, ring condition and wiper rings

Alignment and foundation

• Coupling alignment between compressor and driver

• Anchor bolts and grout condition

• Piping strain at the cylinder and frame connections

After restart

Run the unit in gradually, then record pressures, temperatures, vibration and vent flows as the new baseline. Every value in the report should show as-found and as-left, side by side.

Short Way plans and carries out reciprocating compressor overhauls in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, with a measured report after every opening. See also planning an overhaul without losing a season, or talk to our engineers about your next shutdown.