Sending Oil Samples For Analysis

[crazyal]

For a couple of years I worked for a company that did non destructive testing. The owner was ex-air force and was trained to inspect jet engines. When he got out of the service he started his own business using those skills. A small part of it was oil analysis. I didn't do it that often but on occasion I would test samples if we didn't have a lot of other work. It's interesting at first but does get boring. My personal opinion is to only do it if you have a question. If your engine is making an unusual noise or if you aren't sure that the schedule you are following is right for the equipment. I would also caution about generalizing. For example just because you got 30k miles out of one oil change that doesn't mean you can do that for the rest of the life of the engine.

He never really pushed the oil testing and I don't think he even does it now. I always felt like with a little hard work it could have been made into a viable business for someone who didn't have a college degree. He had the testing equipment set up in his basement and a huge mailbox. The furthest one would need to travel was the mailbox (unless someone paid for rush service). You could set your own hours. Back when I did it (20 years ago) the internet wasn't optimized like it is now. Back then setting up a system where customers data would be posted on-line seamed like a great way to migrate to. One thing that seamed useful to me would be trends. If you got the oil sampled on a regular basis you could compare it over the years to see how it's wearing.

 

[5030]

If the engine is making unusual noises, it's most likely too late for an oil analysis anyway. Time to tear it down and determine what the noise is.... I do oil analysis because I depend on my tractors to make a living (farm) so I need to know about impending failures and address them before it gets overly expensive.

 

[cetrac29]

There is a channel on YouTube called Redneck Ed and he has two videos on this topic. The first is titled "Tractor Hydraulic Fluid Lab Test Comparisons" which is all about virgin samples for a baseline. The next is titled "Change hydraulic fluid annually or ever 250 hours?" which is after a small amount of run time on Permatran 821XL. He used Blackstone labs in his testing.

 

[5030]

Been using the Fort Wayne Blackstone Labs for years now.

 

[stompybritches]

Been using the Fort Wayne Blackstone Labs for years now.

I know this is an old thread but how 'general' are the Blackstone reports? I'm thinking to send my oil in on my work truck for particulate count etc, high miler and at over 200k it's probably a little late to switch horses but figure there could be some useful info to make adjustments before it craps out on me.

 

[mrmikey]

I was at a oil testing course put on by CAT years ago when I was working. Their main thought was testing it from day one so you'd have a baseline and notice any changes to different wear metal counts, aluminum, steel etc. Also to pickup any microscopic counts of contaminants such as silicon from a leaking intake system or water/antifreeze or similar.
I have mine tested every oil change from day one when I bought my 2019 Ram with no problems.....knock on wood .

 

[John0829]

I can say I am happy with Blackstone, I have had all of mine (old and new) tested. Takes a couple of samples to establish a particular machines baseline but Blackstone also has industry standards and customer records from other owners to compare against so even with an old machine they can give you a good idea on how the internals are doing. I do recommend them.

 

[5030]

I know this is an old thread but how 'general' are the Blackstone reports? I'm thinking to send my oil in on my work truck for particulate count etc, high miler and at over 200k it's probably a little late to switch horses but figure there could be some useful info to make adjustments before it craps out on me.

You can custom tailor their report to fit your criteria, all you have to do is ask them.

 

[gsganzer]

That's some good information. I'm thinking of doing it to my daughters truck, a 2017 Ram diesel with 158K miles, before I decide on fixing a front crank seal. I hate to keep throwing money at that truck, without some idea if the next major problem is just around the corner.

Without historical oil analysis data on that engine, I was under the impression I would do a test early in the oil life and then at the end of the oil life for comparison.

But it makes sense that Blackstone would have a database of engine types and could compare a single sample to industry norms to see if your engine is an outlier.

 

[Paystar]

I am thinking about sending motor oil and hydraulic fluid to a lab next time I service the tractor. I am interested to know if there are wear metals in the samples. The trouble is, what is normal? Would anybresults be able to tell me if components are wearing, or if the metals are from a pump? I send samples from the airplane but the lab knows what is indicated by certain metals. Does anybody do this, and do you have a lab recommendation?

I see you are in the U.S., but a good lab should be able to help you. I use Toromont Cat to do mine, and they gave me a book that deciphers everything for you so you can learn what you are looking at. They will also alert you when they see a problem and explain to you what it is.