Mecha Oil Analysis Thread
02-13-2015, 06:44 PM
#21
Raptor Minion
02-13-2015, 07:10 PM
#22
Senior Member
If you read the comments section of the reports, you will notice a layman's explanation. You are looking for trends and stuff that's not supposed to be mixed in with your oil that can indicate a problem. This is not a necessary thing to do. I do it for peace of mind, just another way for me to monitor the health and wear of my engine. I intend to drive my truck into the ground. If there's a problem I'd rather catch it early, and these reports can help as you see trends over time.
02-13-2015, 07:19 PM
#23
Raptor Minion
It depends on what is causing the problem. It can be as simple as a flush or as extreme as getting rid of the car, and anything in between. I'd rather know ahead of time so I can plan and act accordingly than just wait for it to happen and react. But that's me. YMMV.
02-14-2015, 07:18 AM
#24
Senior Member
Modern oil-wetted components don't generally fail catastrophically without first wearing abnormally. Many military aviation components went from 'time change' (replaced after a set number of operating hours) to 'on condition' (operating until prior to failure) based on the ability to see impending failures in the oil. Once a history is established, I've seen analysis pinpoint the failure of a specific bearing in a complex part. Very comforting when you're flying and have no place to pull over. And as has been said, "It's just a truck" and at worst, if the engine explodes you pull over and call the tow service. But if you can know something's coming, why wouldn't you want to know? You'd think people slamming oil analysis wouldn't have any need for the gauges in the dash... who needs to know the oil pressure or coolant temp? They only tell you that things are doing well.... or not.
These are the types of comments I look out for. In this instance an input shaft bearing, not a very expensive part, was failing allowing abnormal gear wear. If allowed to continue that particular bearing would allow the shaft to contact the transmission case, then requiring case replacement, a very expensive part. During initial visual inspection on teardown (by an expert, not me), everything looked normal. Only on disassembly of the fault bearing was it observed the bearing was failing. Blackstone analysis comment of my BMW R1100RT transmission:
"Iron, from steel parts (mainly gears) was way too high for comfort and it shows excessive wear. The high chrome is likely from some type of bearing part that uses chrome while copper is probably from bushings. The lead is most likely leftover gear-marking compound used at the factory. Silicon was also higher than normal and could be from silicone lubes or sealers. You didn't mention any repairs or overhaul for this unit so we suggest keeping a close watch on it because something isn't right. Try a ~3K-mile oil run. It can control buildup of excess metals. Caution!"
These are the types of comments I look out for. In this instance an input shaft bearing, not a very expensive part, was failing allowing abnormal gear wear. If allowed to continue that particular bearing would allow the shaft to contact the transmission case, then requiring case replacement, a very expensive part. During initial visual inspection on teardown (by an expert, not me), everything looked normal. Only on disassembly of the fault bearing was it observed the bearing was failing. Blackstone analysis comment of my BMW R1100RT transmission:
"Iron, from steel parts (mainly gears) was way too high for comfort and it shows excessive wear. The high chrome is likely from some type of bearing part that uses chrome while copper is probably from bushings. The lead is most likely leftover gear-marking compound used at the factory. Silicon was also higher than normal and could be from silicone lubes or sealers. You didn't mention any repairs or overhaul for this unit so we suggest keeping a close watch on it because something isn't right. Try a ~3K-mile oil run. It can control buildup of excess metals. Caution!"
it's proven technology used by tens's of thousands of various businesses including the military. My thought is if someone wants to use it for some peace of mind and perhaps head off potential problems why not? We used it extensively in my over the road trucking business and it saved a lot of money and prevented some breakdowns on the road. Well worth the cost imo. Someone wants to avail themselves of it I don't see it as a waste of time nor money!
02-14-2015, 09:04 AM
#25
On my previous diesel truck I was up to 13k mile change intervals on conventional oil. Without UOA I would have still been changing regularly at 6k to 8k miles guessing if the oil was good or not. No harm in changing out oil early. Just time and money.
Ironic is that my old diesel at 127k miles would test better than any gas engined vehicle I've ever owned.
02-14-2015, 03:18 PM
#27
Raptor Minion
02-15-2015, 06:24 PM
#30
I got this done at 100k miles just to see what I was working with in regard to wear. I did a 6000mi OCI and sent it in. Blackstone said levels are all within normal ranges, and the oil had barely broken down. They said I could push to 9500 and still be fine based on my oil break down.
Have always used Motorcraft 5/20 semi syn and stuck to 9500mi OCI
Im currently at 126k and I'll probably send in another sample at 130 for updates. If anything its peace of mind. Ive had friends who've sent in oil samples and one got a report warning them something bad was happening. Dont recall what it was exactly ( I think either the cam was beginning to groove or the rod journals were beginning to etch) but it saved the motor.
Have always used Motorcraft 5/20 semi syn and stuck to 9500mi OCI
Im currently at 126k and I'll probably send in another sample at 130 for updates. If anything its peace of mind. Ive had friends who've sent in oil samples and one got a report warning them something bad was happening. Dont recall what it was exactly ( I think either the cam was beginning to groove or the rod journals were beginning to etch) but it saved the motor.