Actually Chelly if I remember my documentation correctly the recommendation for gasoline engines is 2000 - 7500 miles for oil analysis intervals. With a 35k mile drain interval, 17.5k oil analysis interval my be pushing it if you want a true representation of whats going on, especially since you have probably done a filter change by now.
Though at roughly $20 - 25 per analysis that can get pricey. If you wanted to stretch it out, I would do it around filter changes, though its a tough call to do it before or after a filter change. If you do it before, your contaminants are going to be high on the report because the filter is near the end of its service life. If you do it afterwards its going to be a little skewed due to the new filter cleaning everything up.
My goal was to do the analysis with the by-pass system installed at 5000 mile intervals. that way I could get about middle way between filter changes and would hopefully give me the more accurate report. But I just got the pump I needed to pull the sample and Im now nearing 10,000 miles on the oil. But Im going to pull a sample this weekend and see how things are and try to get back to a 3-5k oil analysis interval purely for the trending of the effect of the bypass system.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
Daniel - Exactly the reason I've not done an analysis yet is because of the cost. If my business was doing better (and I had more time to dedicate to it) I'm sure the cost wouldn't be so much of a factor.
I've not yet changed my oil filter, but it is due the end of this month, so I think I may do the analys prior to the filter change and then my next full change I'll begin the recommended testing intervals.
I'm just very interested in the whole thing. Dan has joined another forum for trucks and the actual fights about oils etc. it amazing!
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Yeah, the cost is definately a factor. I mean, one of the advantages of Amsoil is the fact it saves you money on maintenance. So doing oil analysis will cut into that. But here is what I suggest to people. Use Amsoil for a while and just do the regular scheduled oil and filter changes and document any cooler operating temps, fuel mileage increases. Then when you have that information, on the next oil change, start the oil analysis program. Do it at 3 - 5000 mile intervals until they say its time to change the oil. Expensive intially, yes, but if you learn that based on your rate of wear and such you can go say 45k, 50k, miles before the useful life of the oil is gone for your particular application, then you have saved yourself money in the long run.
If you are running Series 2000 0W-30 or the Series 3000 5W-30 Diesel oil (which you can run in a gasoline motor and has a higher TBN) and oil analysis says the oil is good up to around 45k miles instead of 35k, then you got near six more months (on average) of use out of the oil and in the long run and that cuts cost. After you have established 45k is good to go, then just do an oil analysis once about half way through just to keep an eye on the oil and any internal happenings with the motor. So now you have reduced costs by establishing that you use the oil longer and then do one oil analysis during the life of the oil to continue to monitor for any changes just in case.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
im tired and have tried to read this more than once... When is the best time to do an analysis and how do I go about doing it ? my filter was just changed out about two weeks ago or so... should i do it soon if im going to do it or would it be best for me to wait??
____________________
It's not about what you have under the hood, it's about who you have behind the wheel...
RPIJG wrote: Good stuff SS, but what does it all mean? (said in my best austin powers voice.)
Okay, let me give you the break down. I will assume that no explination is neccessary for the 'N' (Normal) 'A' (Abnormal) and 'E' (Excessive) columns.
There are three groups or categories for substances in your oil. 1. Wear metals. 2. Additives. 3. Contaminants. Sometimes a particular substance found in an oil can belong to all three categories, so if by oil analysis you find a particular substance in the oil you have to determine if it is a substance you 'should' find in the oil or if it is a substance that if found is an indication of a problem.
Iron- Iron is a wear metal. Iron cylinders, piston rings, camshafts, crankshafts, gears, rocker arms, valve bridges, cam follower rollers, etc. Abnormal numbers here could be the result of break in or something is pending failure, as well as an excessive reading.
Chromium- Chromium is a wear metal as well as a contaminant. Piston ring faces (chrome type), shafts, rings, etc. It can also come from chromate which is a cooling system additive. Obviously if you have a cooling system additive in your oil, there is a leak somewhere.
Lead- This can be all three, a wear metal, additive and contaminant. It can come from Babbit overlay and alloy matrix of connecting rod and crankshaft main bearings. It is/was also found in leaded gasolines.
Copper- Copper is a wear metal and an additive. Found in Slipper (wrist pin) bushings, connecting rod and crankshaft bearings, cam follower roller bushings, rocker arm clevis bushings, thrust washers or can be a lechate from gaskets/sealant, oil coolers and radiators. It is also an oil anti-oxidant additive and is often found alloyed with lead, tin and/or aluminum.
Tin- A wear metal. Piston plate coatings, babbit overlay of connecting rod and crankshaft main bearings.
Aluminum- Wear metal. Bushings, housings, some plain bearings, pistons, turbo charger compressor wheels, blower, camshaft intermediate bearings and crankshaft thrust bearings and commonly alloyed with copper, tin and or lead.
Nickel- Wear metal. Valve stems, valve guides, ring inserts on pistons, cylinder coatings.
Silver- Wear metal. Bearing cages such as anti-friction roller bearings, silver solder, turbo charger bearings and wrist pin bushings. Most commonly found in EMD diesel engines.
Silicon- Additive substance and can be a contaminant. Leachate from silicone gaskets and sealants. Is also an anti-foam addidive, and can be in the form of silica from airborn dust and sand. You have to be careful with Silicon since it is often an oil additive. If you know it to be an oil additive you need to know what the baseline number is for the oil to determine if is a contaminant. In other words, if your oil has a Silicon content of say 25 parts per million (ppm) and your oil analysis says your oil contains 30 ppm, then you know you getting silicon in your oil from another source other than what is in the oil itself as an additive part.
Sodium- Both and additive and a contaminant. It is a coolant additive and a lube oil additive. This is often an indication of a contamination by either a coolant leak or environmental source such as road salt or ocean spray.
Hope this helps.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
03ChromeChica wrote: im tired and have tried to read this more than once... When is the best time to do an analysis and how do I go about doing it ? my filter was just changed out about two weeks ago or so... should i do it soon if im going to do it or would it be best for me to wait??
Well let me answer this this way. If you are using ASL, the 25,000 mile 5W30 oil from Amsoil and you intend on sticking with the regular scheduled maintenance (oil filter every 6 mos or 12,500 miles and oil every 25,000 miles or one year) then I would do an oil analysis say once maybe twice a year. Here's why I say that. Oil analysis is done for just a few reasons.
1. You want to make sure that the equipment the oil or lubricant is in (you can have oil, drivetrain fluids, hydraulic fluids, etc. all analyzied) is still in good shape. Oil analysis will give you a picture of what the condition of the equipment, in this case your focus, is in. So if you just 'want' to know your engine is in good shape then have an analysis maybe once or twice a year.
2. You want to allow for the scheduling of maintenance. Since you are probably going to change the filter and oil at the Amsoil recommended intervals, this is not an issue. Its more useful to fleet owners who want to minimize equipment down time for maintenance. Through oil analysis they bring in a vehicle to change the oil only when the analysis shows its time to do so instead of on a mileage based interval. This drastically cuts down on the equipment down time.
3. You want to verify maintenance proceedures. This again would apply more to fleet owners. But some are a little leary of an oil being able to make it 25,000 miles. Oil analysis would prove the durability of the oil and that Amsoil can go the distance. However, if you trust Amsoil as I do, then this is no an issue and you would not need to do an oil analysis to show this.
4. You want to assist in maximizing fluid life. As I mentioned earlier, though Amsoil is guaranteed to go 7500 miles for XL-7500 oils, 25,000 miles for the classic oils, and 35,000 miles for the Series 2000 oil, but that does not mean that in your particular application that you have to change it then. It can go a lot longer with proper air and oil filtration. You would use oil analysis to establish what the useful life of the oil would be for your application. In this case I would recommend doing oil analysis around 7500 mile intervals until its recommended that it be changed from the oil analysis report.
5. You want peace of mind. If you want to just be sure the oil is good, there is no internal engine troubles and so on. In this case, you will have to do an oil analysis when you feel it needs to be done. If you get concerned you've had the oil in there over a year and want to be sure the oil is still good, do an analysis. If you think there is an internal trouble with the motor, you can do an analysis and you can see for sure whether or not there is an internal trouble.
Keep in mind, oil analysis is NOT required. Amsoil is MORE than capable of going as far as stated. I have personally proved that with over 10 years of use. If you just want to contine to change your oil every 25,000 miles or one year and your oil filters every 12,000 miles or six months then you probably dont need to do oil analysis because Amsoil guarantees that the products will last that long.
If you want to know that everything is okay with the motor, transmision or such, then get an analysis done and do it about every six months or so. That is what I would recommend to a customer of mine. Im getting my oil analyzed simply because I want to do some trend analysis of the Dual Remote By-Pass system. Otherwise I would leave it along and change the filters at the regular intervals and just do an analysis once or twice a year just to make sure all was well with the motor.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
ChromeChica, didnt you just have you motor replaced? I think it was you anyway. If so, it wouldnt hurt for you to do an analysis whenever you are ready just to get a report on how the motor is doing on the break in and such.
How you go about doing it is another matter. You can see if your dealer (Chelly?) has a oil hand pump and can pull a sample for you. The only other way if you dont have a by-pass system installed with a sampling valve is to get a sample from the oil drain plug area, and this can be tricky and wasteful. To do it from the oil drain plug, you have to get the car up to operating temperature, then shut it down, remove the drain plug and let the oil run out for a second or so then use the oil sampling bottle and put it in the oil stream until the oil sample bottle is full, then put back in and tighten the oil drain plug.
Obviously you are going to loose most of your oil this way, not to mention trying to get a sample of very hot oil is hard and painful to do.
So the best way is to get an oil sample bottle from your dealer. If they have a oil hand pump and will let you use it, you can get an oil sample through the dipstick tube, and save A LOT of hassle and mess and expense.
If you have any other questions Im sure either myself or Chelly or Rick can help you out.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
No I didnt just get a new engine.. I think TXFO just got a new one thouhgt, and Pokes blew hers up not too long ago.. and hers was replaced. Thanks for your help though!!
____________________
It's not about what you have under the hood, it's about who you have behind the wheel...
