7700 Mile Oil Analysis Results

[Parshal]

I went 7700 miles exactly on this oil change and had the oil analyzed. This interval included about 65% interstate driving at 80 mph including 20+ hours idling through Yellowstone. There were about 20 hours of towing a 4k trailer at 80 mph. There were 150+ trips of less than 10 miles, too. The truck had 30374 miles when I changed it. I have had an aFe filter and Edge EZ since around 17k.



Here are the results, is there anything out of the ordinary?



iron 16

chromium 1

nickel 0

aluminum 5

copper 4

lead 1

tin 1

cadmium 0

silver 1

titanium 0

vanadium 0

silicon 6

soduim 2

potassium 11

molybdenum 0

antimony 0

manganese 0

lithium 0

boron 0

magnesium 0

calcium 3316

barium 0

phosphorus 1053

zinc 1213

 

[Shooter]

My concern would be the silicon. That is an indication of the amount of sand/ dust that is making it's way past your low restriction filter. Every thing else looks goood



I see that your truck has NOT had a barium enema.

 

[LightmanE300]

those results look great. Oo. A silicon reading of 6 is normal to low. Everything else looks great, the oil could have easily gone to 10k. You neglected to mention what oil was used.



YOu also did not list the soot, viscosity, or tbn of the oil... very important.

 

[amsoilman]

YOu also did not list the soot, viscosity, or tbn of the oil... very important.

Yes, as LightmanE300 said, these items are very important!



Wayne

amsoilman

 

[Parshal]

I didn't see those on the page at first. Here they are:



fuel 1. 6

soot <. 1

water <. 1



The oil was Rotella.



Thanks!

 

[Dean Upson]

Thanks for that post, Parshal. I use Rotella and will be doing the 7500 mile changes. Your post help nail my concerns.



Dean

 

[Kurt Henzler]

want company did you use , and how much does it cost.

 

[ImagesThatSing]

Sharin' data like that is so helpful to overcome the natural inclination to change at 3k miles, a life long habit.



Gosh, I love this site/ you guys.

 

[Parshal]

Originally posted by Kurt Henzler

want company did you use , and how much does it cost.

I bought a kit from Geno's that consisted of a container and a pre-paid service from Monitor. I just paid postage. The company has another service that you can buy that will test to see if the oil is still serviceable, too. Here are the four levels of service they offer.



http://www.polarislabs.com/Services.htm



I also forgot to mention in my first post that the truck burned 1 quart of oil in that 7700 miles. The oil level was exactly halfway in the safe zone on the dipstick when I changed the oil.

 

[LightmanE300]

Parshal, I'm a bit curious/concerned about the fuel dilution of 1. 6. Every analysis I've had has said nearly 0 or less than 1. I'm wondering whats causing your fuel dilution. Could it be that you let your truck idle for extended periods?



Also, what was the TBN? Guys, don't do oil analysis tests on diesels without TBN.

 

[Parshal]

I called them and asked about the fuel level. He said they don't get concerned until it's over 2. 0 and you'll typically see levels from . 5 to 2. 0. He said it doesn't start to affect the viscosity of the oil until it's over 2. 0.



He said the fuel can come from overfueling (possible with the EZ?), seepage past the rings (which, he said, is normal in small amounts) or idling. He described lots of city driving and delivery trucks as having higher fuel contents but they expect to see fuel in all diesel oil. Looking at the report, he said he would have no problems going that long between oil changes.



They have another product that tests for viscosity and additive to determine if it's time to change the oil or not. All you can find out from the test I did is whether the oil is contaminated or if the engine is wearing.



What's TBN?

 

[LightmanE300]

Find a new lab.



TBN= Total base number, one of the most important gauges of your oil's quality possible. The fact this lab did a diesel test without TBN doesn't give me much confidence in them.

 

[LightmanE300]

parshal, a full test kit including all of the additives, tbn, etc, etc, should be $12-16. www.oilguard.com www.avlube.com www.oaitesting.com and a few others are just a start. Not sure where you went.



Post your results on this forum, you'll get a lot more knowledgeable replies.

Bob is the Oil Guy

 

[Parshal]

What you're describing sounds like a test of the oil's ability to continue it's job which is part of the next higher service. I got the least expensive service which was this:



http://216.167.41.9/CoastalData/showdetl.cfm?&DID=30&Product_ID=359&CATID=1



at Geno's. Of course, I didn't know this until after I'd sent it in.

 

[LightmanE300]

Gotcha, that page doesn't even describe what the kit does. Geno's isn't in the oil analysis business, they're in the parts business. Those links above I gave you are places that do this for a living.



TBN is kind of a measure of the oil's life. Delvac 1 for instance, starts off with a TBN of 12. Through oil analysis, you know that once your TBN has dropped to half that of the original level, it's additive package is sufficiently depleted, enough to need a change. This and other parameters determine your proper interval. Likely you could have gone to 10k easily.

 

[Parshal]

You're right, I just bought the kit from Geno's but the analysis is done by Polaris Labs (http://www.polarislabs.com/Services.htm). The kit I bought was the basic service. Next time, I'll buy the next level of service which should give me the TBN. That seems to me to be the service that I would care about.



Thanks for the info!