Engine Oil Analysis

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Glenn-BJ74

Glenn-BJ74

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
May 7, 2006
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279
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Location
Kelowna, BC
Where can I get an engine oil analysis done and what information would the analysis typically give me?
I would suspect the taxi fleets and commerical trucking companies would have this done on a routine basis.
 
Try your local Western Star. I know they do oil analysis here - perhaps they just send it out. From what I understand, oil analyis will give you a general idea on the condition of your engine (spotting suspended metal, coolant, etc). If you want to find out how long you can go before changing oil, like when using a synthetic oil, a few samplings will tell you how far it will go before being too saturated with soot. It probably would be useful to have a diesel mechanic to help interpet it.
 
Ok. So the thought is the analysis will pay itself back over the life of the engine due to extended oil change intervals? If using regular dino based oils that $20 buys about 50% of the oil used used in a regularly sched oil changed. Course the filter isn't cheap. Anybody using toilet paper bypass filters like the VW tdi guys?
 
BC40 said:
Ok. So the thought is the analysis will pay itself back over the life of the engine due to extended oil change intervals? If using regular dino based oils that $20 buys about 50% of the oil used used in a regularly sched oil changed. Course the filter isn't cheap. Anybody using toilet paper bypass filters like the VW tdi guys?
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No toilet paper by-pass filter on my rigs. Something just sounds wrong with that. However, my black Safari has a stock second by-pass filter. The new one just has two regular filters. However, the OEM recommended oil change interval is still the same for both engines. At about $40 for the OEM by-pass filter or $23 for the Fleetguard by-pass filter and an oil sump that sucks up near 12L of oil, it would be nice to extend oil changes. I may do an Amsoil by-pass filter on the newer rig if I decide to keep it.
 
Using oil analysis to evaluate the options I concluded that the best bang-for-the-buck was Purolator Pure-1 filters and CdnTire house brand 100% synthetic oil changed annually or at 6000-8000 km intervals. More expensive oils offered no advantage, and cheap filters are false economy.
 
For my direct injected engines, oil analysis showed no problem going past 10,000kms with synth, and one filter change at 5000kms. Without a bypass filter I am remiss to do this. So I change once a year or every 10,000kms. For the daily drivers it equates to two oil changes and 4 filter changes per year.

Wix or Fleetguard filters, with the odd Toyota one thrown in.

I've used Cat/Finning for the analysis.

The old 3B is once a year, or every 5000kms on dino.

hth's

gb
 
Enigma said:
Once a year? Dang that would be nice. I'll be changing the liquid gold out every 3 months.
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Yep, same here. Sometimes its once every month and a half during the busy times of the year. 5,000 kms builds up way too fast for my pocket book: 12L of oil plus $40 of filters. :meh: The main reason I don't run synthetic.
 
Dust and Delo

The reason I ask is I am concerned about the incredible clouds of dust we encounter during the summer (e.g. Whipsaw, Churn Creek, etc.) and how that may contaminate engine oil. I should have an oil analyses after one of those dusty trips to see the effect. Oil in a DD is a different situation.

Martin - The Western Star on the Island here in Saanich qoted me $65.01 for a 20 litre pail of Delo 15W40 ( $3.25 litre + tax and enviro fee). That was last spring. The Wix Gold filters I use are $5.00 at NAPA (common Ford V8 filter)
 
Glenn-BJ74 said:
Martin - The Western Star on the Island here in Saanich qoted me $65.01 for a 20 litre pail of Delo 15W40 ( $3.25 litre + tax and enviro fee). That was last spring. The Wix Gold filters I use are $5.00 at NAPA (common Ford V8 filter)
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Glenn, that price was so last spring. A bucket is now well over $75 at Western Star. Its a bit cheaper if you bring in your own buckets for refill. They also sell gear oils in bulk like that. I think the next oil change I am going back to Delo again. No scientific proof but just a gut feeling that the old 4.2 runs better on it than the Shell oil. My friend at Western Star says the prices will come down again provided crude doesn't start to shoot up. We should see a price reduction in about 6-8 weeks on motor and gear oils.

Not sure if it matters on your rig Glenn, but there are a number of filters which will fit my rig. However, they don't all have the same flow and filtering ability and some don't have the drain back valve. Have you checked that the Wix filter meets the flow and filtering requirements for your engine?

As for John Galt's Q, if you are using a K&N, dust entering your engine on dusty roads is a good possibility. I have a K&N I use for street during the wet season and snowy season. I change it out when the highways get dusty in the sping or when wheeling. I also check it fairly regularly to make sure it is well oil soaked. If and when I ever turbo my rig, it will likely go to the garbage.
 
Air Filtration

After a dusty run I find huge amounts of dust at bottom of the air cleaner and in the little dust cyclone at the bottom of the air cleaner box.

I have had K&N's before and I believe that the increased flow efficiency you get I believe comes at the expense of filtration efficiency and so running them on the street would be OK or for off-road racing performance, but I would not use them if I am primarily concerned about maximum air filtration. On another account they cost more upfront - require more maintenance (washing) and re-oiling (cost of oil) than a paper filter. I wonder how many cycles of reusing the K&N filter you need to end up equating to the cost to simply using a quality paper cartridge air filter.
 
My K&N was $50 with the discount. My Nissan or Fleetguard filter is around $42. So, there wasn't much of a savings. I am thinking about putting in a different air box from a North American diesel. Fom what I have read, the OEM filter design on my rigs deliver just enough air. Any restriction from dirt and the engine is air starved.
 
A couple of years ago I had a sample sent to Finning in Port Kells. The took a few days for them to send me the results. Sorry I can't remember the cost, but they determine if any contaminants are in the oil and give you a print out.
 
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