Causes and Solutions for Foaming in

Oil
Foaming is a common problem with oil-lubricated components. It can be difficult to
troubleshoot, and for this reason, accurate testing to determine the root cause of the
foaming is essential.
Symptoms 
Foam is a collection of small bubbles of air that accumulate on or near the surface of
the fluid. In severe cases, the foam can leak out of the machine through breathers,
sight glasses and dipsticks. Foam is an efficient thermal insulator, so the
temperature of the oil can become difficult to control. The presence of air bubbles in
the fluid can lead to excessive oxidation, cavitation, the reduction of lubricating
properties of the oil and hydraulic system failure.
Causes 
The causes of foaming are many. The most common include:
 Water contamination
 Solids contamination
 Depleted defoamant (possibly due to the use of excessively fine filtration and
electrostatic separation technologies)
 Mechanical issues (causing excessive aeration of the fluid)
 Overfilling of the sump with splash- and bath-lubricated compartments
 Cross contamination of the fluid with the wrong lubricant
 Contamination of the fluid with grease
 Too much defoamant additive, either by incorrect formulation or by incorrect
reconstruction (sweetening) of the additive package
Possible Solutions 
Hopefully your testing will have alerted you to some possible reasons for the
excessive foaming of the oil.
 In almost all cases, an oil change, or at least a partial drain and refill, will be
required. If some type of contamination was the root cause, a flush will be
required, too. This can become expensive for large-volume systems; so in
certain cases, reconditioning of the lubricant may be considered. Be aware
that this does not always work, and is likely to be a stay of execution rather
than a pardon.
 Make sure you address the root of the problem before conducting the drain
and flush. For particle and water contamination, concentrate on managing
contaminant ingress as far as possible before resorting to filtration. This is
particularly important with gear oils where fine filtration can strip the additive
from the fluid.
 If cross contamination with another oil is the issue, address the solution with
fluid identification (color-coding) and training. If grease contamination led to
the foam formation, make sure the correct relube quantities and frequencies
have been calculated and are being adhered to. Mechanical issues might be
due to tank design, oil return-path geometry or suction-side piping air leaks.
 Troubleshooting foaming can be a challenging process, but by a process of
elimination, you should be able to identify and correct the root cause.