Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Oil Sampling Question

[stg2500]

After putting this off for awhile I bought some oil sampling kits from FleetPride to start sampling my oil. I have 60,000 miles on the truck and was taking with a friend who drives truck at work and he suggested that I start the sampling. I have run Shell Rottela and a Fleetguard LF 3894 from day 1 with changesat every 3500 miles.



Is it too late to start sampling given my mileage?



How often should the analysis be done?



Does it need to be done at every oil change?

 

[C Schomer]

Maybe try sampling at the change and see if you can safely go more than 3500. Establish a safe change interval, then you could spread out the samples. Craig

 

[PUMPERDUDE]

Its never too late to start sampling. I started sampling my oil when it already had 150k miles or so. . I bought it second hand and wanted to see what was going on in there ... ... How often is up to you. I would suggest regular intervals though. Easier to spot trends..... I run Rotella and fleetguard too. Change every 5k. test every 10 k. Easy to remember. Good results

 

[illflem]

With sampling increasing in 1k increments starting at 3500 miles I've found my Delo still good to go with 10k on it. Would have never known if I didn't sample, pays for itself real fast.

 

[stg2500]

I got the results back from my first analysis. I have a few questions regarding the results. They don't include any acceptable ranges so I don't know how the results compare.



This is what they found:



Iron - 8 ppm

Lead - 1

Silicon - 2

Sodium - 3

Potassium - 1

Boron - 1

Calcium - 3095

Phosphorous - 1003

Zinc - 1199

Fuel . 5 %

Soot - < . 1

Water - < . 1



All of the other categories were 0. The report did say that there were no abnormal findings. Any feedback would be great.



Edit - Not sure if it matters but the oil was Rottella T. It was changed out at 3290 miles.

 

[E7mack96]

looks good to me



I ran 10,000 miles on Rotella between changes and the reports were always good.



That was on a 2001 HO



I have yet to pull a sample on the 2003.



Will be due in 7,200 more miles

 

[TomGolden]

STG - here is my latest oil analysis from Blackstone Labs. This sampling was done about 2 weeks ago.



Details:



Engine: 2001 1/2 HO

Miles on engine: 66,7785

Ran Delo 400 for first 32K miles, then switched to Amsoil 15W-40

Miles on this oil sample: 9538

Miles on this Amsoil SDF80 oil filter: ~5000



Substance This sample Universal averages

Iron... ... ... ... ... . 25... ... ... ... ... ... ... . 44

Lead... ... ... ... ... 5... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3

Silicon... ... ... ... . 4... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . 9

Sodium... ... ..... 3... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . 3

Potasium... ..... 0... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . 1

Boron... ... ... ... . 0... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... . 78

Calcium... ... ... . 3985... ... ... ... ... ..... 2535

Phosphorous. 1040... ... ... ... ... ..... 1088

Zinc... ... ... ... ... . 1181... ... ... ... ... ..... 1279

Fuel... ... ... ... ... . <. 5... ... ... ... ... ... ..... <2. 0

Soot... ... ... ... ... not on my sample

Water... ... ... ... . 0. 0... ... ... ... ... ... ..... <0. 05



Basically, your values look pretty good.



Tom

 

[JR2]

I sample mine every oil change and use blackstone labs. I have never had any abnormal readings and they keep suggesting that I go longer on the intervals. I am up to 5K and all is good. I figure that if I ever sell the truck the oil samples will be a good selling point, along with all the records for maintaince etc.



Keep up the sampling.





John

 

[radar doctor]

MORE DATA

BRO TOM I have a 99 with 65K on it. Had it checked this week by CAT FLUIDS ANALYSIS TECHNOLOGY... . I use Rotella 15W40 and the oil had 10,000 miles on it when sampled. (THEY ADVISED ALL WEAR METALS ARE ACCEPTABLE) Below are some of the figures and i checked mine against yours. A. . CU COPPER 1, B. . FE IRON 8, C. . CR CROME 2, D. . PB LEAD 0, E. AL ALUMINUM 3, F. . SI SILICON 3, G. MO MOLYBDENUM 0 , H. . NA SODIUM 0, I. MG MAGNESIUM 26, I. SN TIN 0, J. ZN. ZINK 1483, K. NI NICKEL 0, L. CA CALCIUM 3778, Thats pretty much it... ...

 

[stg2500]

Thanks for the replies.



Based on the above info it looks like my results are comparable to to the other results that have been posted so far.

 

[R-N-R]

What is the $$ range of an analysis?



How do you use the results to determine lengthening the change interval?

 

[TomGolden]

R-N-R:



There are several places to send oil samples. As I said, I use BlackStone Labs There is also Oil Analyziers, Inc. which I believe is through Amsoil and several others.



Right now, Blackstone is charging either $17 or $18 per sample. I think Oil Analyzers is close to the same.



Blackstone sends you the results of your current sample, averages for your type of engine that they have analyzed in the past, and the 4 or 5 most recent samples from your engine so you can look for any trends in each wear metal/particle. Oil Analyzers also send you what is called a TBN (Total Base Number) in their report. Blackstone will also, but they charge an extra $10 for that. The TBN number, as several oil gurus here have said before, is supposedly the most important number on an analysis report for telling you how much useful life a given oil sample has left in it. Meaning, how much longer can you use that oil before it must be changed.



When you send in your sample, you fill out a small form that tells the company several things: what type engine, type and weight of oil, miles on the engine, miles on that oil sample, etc. . That way they can make informed recommendations as to the ability of that oil to go for longer change intervals the next time.



It usually takes about 2 weeks for Blackstone to send me my results. Although they recently began offering the report in email as well as printed copy, and I get the email usually in about a week.



If anyone is interested, I would be more than happy to email you my latest Blackstone report, which I got last week. It is a PDF format, so you would need Adobe Acrobat reader to view it. Send me a PM or direct email - see my signature for email link.



Tom

 

[R-N-R]

Excellent information Tom! Thank You

 

[TomGolden]

No problem. That's what we're all here for

 

[PUMPERDUDE]

I've used Blackstone for awhile now but find them getting a little pricy. Maybe we should ask about a discount for TDR members?Wouldnt hurt to ask. If they can't help us ,Ill be sending them somewhere else.