Blackstone Engine Oil Analysis

[NotThatGuy]

MODS: Please feel free to move if I posted in the wrong forum

If you never used a Lab Analysis to monitor engine wear you should start.

Blackstone Labs provide free Oil Sampling Kits and only charge $35 per sample.

They'll provide an printed lab report, where you can pinpoint/track wear in different engine components, by the amount of residual components in the oil sample.

Here's the link;
https://www.blackstone-labs.com/products/free-test-kits/

 

[Mogman]

I use Blackstone, sometimes you do not get the report you want but it is best to know, a small coolant leak can be detected before it becomes a big issue.
I bought a 08 Dmax 1 ton and the first report shows iron and lead, NOT good news, I think the iron is from the regen system not working properly, that has been taken care of, I will do another sample as suggested in 2K miles, of course I have no real idea how many miles were on the original sample but will retest and see what happens.
The results from my Dmax HMMWV have been outstanding.

 

[87cr250r]

We should all understand the shortcomings of oil analysis before putting much faith in it.

It's great for defecting fuel in oil. You can test for this without a lab (inclined plate test).

You can detect water in oil with a spoon and a lighter.

Wear particles means the failure has already happened.

If you can see the glitter in the oil your sample will come back clean. All samples are filtered to 10 micron (30 micron is the smallest you can see by naked eye).

You can test the condition of you oil's anti-wear additives (infrared Fourier spectrum analysis) but that costs way more than an oil change.

Change your oil regularly and send out coolant samples if you love your engine.

 

[Mogman]

We should all understand the shortcomings of oil analysis before putting much faith in it.

It's great for defecting fuel in oil. You can test for this without a lab (inclined plate test).

You can detect water in oil with a spoon and a lighter.

Wear particles means the failure has already happened.

If you can see the glitter in the oil your sample will come back clean. All samples are filtered to 10 micron (30 micron is the smallest you can see by naked eye).

You can test the condition of you oil's anti-wear additives (infrared Fourier spectrum analysis) but that costs way more than an oil change.

Change your oil regularly and send out coolant samples if you love your engine.

The additive analysis is only $10 more IIRC.
If you see "glitter" there is no need for an analysis.
Are you saying the high iron and lead have no meaning? or that warning would be detected in a coolant sample?

 

[87cr250r]

The IRFT test typically requires two samples (new and old) to be run and costs around $400 for each test. You can test for zinc and phosphate individually but you can't determine if the are still in the ZDDP molecule or have been sheared out without doing IRFT

If you see high iron and lead that means damage has been done. Time for a teardown. If you've been doing your oil changes regularly and you see iron and lead what are you going to do differently to stop the damage from occuring?

Coolant tests are important, especially if you're running conventional coolants as they deplete over time and can be diluted or contaminated. If high iron is found in coolant the damage can be stopped by flushing and refilling with the correct coolant.

If your engine is under warranty oil analysis is wise as it can detect a problem while it's still someone else's problem.

 

[Mogman]

The iron and lead were the first oil sample with unknown oil/mileage after I bought the truck
The LMM was the first Dmax to use a particulate filter requiring a regen cycle, the brainiacs at GM used the #7 injector to introduce raw fuel into the exhaust, They injected that during the exhaust stroke but it still would wash the cylinder causing wear, (this truck was in perpetual regen or so it seemed) I fixed that issue so if the iron disappears then I will be satisfied, the fix cannot be discussed here, all later engines have an injector in the exhaust pipe.
As for the lead it is something I have no idea about so I will be watching that, since I have no history on the engine it is possible that a repair was made and the lead is simply wear in which I am told is common with new engines at the first oil change.
I would have known none of this without having an oil analysis.
If the iron/lead continue I will source another engine and rebuild this one for a HMMWV conversion, IMHO it is better to have some idea what is going on rather than finding myself 1000mi from home with a failure.
The lab has the specs on all the common oils so only one sample is required to get a general idea how much additives are left in the sample.

 

[87cr250r]

The atomic components of the additives don't go away. If you have 3000 ppm zinc from ZDDP you will still have 3000 ppm zinc as the ZDDP molecules break down. The only way these numbers change is by dilution, usually from mixing brands with different packages. For example, Chevron' Delo SDE uses calcium and boron and has very little zinc compared to other brands.