HOUSTON – Shell Lubricants has introduced the new Shell VideoCheck, a technological digital inspection service, as an integral component of its services for 2006. The Shell VideoCheck service will be offered to small- and medium-sized diesel truck fleet customers throughout the country as a cost-effective alternative way of inspecting diesel engine components. While the Shell VideoCheck service originally was used in stationary gas engines and commercial aircraft turbines, Shell has adapted this technology for diesel engines as a high-tech, low-cost means of inspecting combustion chambers. Rather than dismantling an engine to identify problems related to the combustion chamber and/or lubrication, the Shell VideoCheck service uses a digital inspection that is conducted by using a videoscope that incorporates use of a miniature digital camera. The camera is fed into the diesel engine through the cylinder fuel injector port by means of a fiber optic cable, illuminating the engine’s insides and transmitting images to a high-resolution monitor. The Shell VideoCheck operator can inspect the piston crown, combustion chamber, cylinder wall, valve seats, and head. The video images are recorded and interpreted by the Shell VideoCheck operator, who then prepares a report for the customer, which includes all findings, diagnoses of possible problems, and any necessary repair recommendations.