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I'm thinking of doing my first UOA this coming oil change. What company do y'all recommend (or not) and what can I expect to pay? I've seen Blackstone mentioned and Deere. I know next to nothing about this.
I've used Polaris, Blackstone, Oil Analyzers (Amsoil) and Schaeffer's Oil Used Oil Analysis reports (UOA).
The hardest part is reading & understanding the values on your first report, especially not stressing out about a elevated but still in the normal range value. But after you get used to it and have a reference to turn to it becomes quite easy. A lot of folks focus on the engine oil when doing a UOA, but the transmission fluid is just as important.
In my opinion, I prefer a UOA Company that reports Oxidation and Nitration values, since this is a direct reflection of an oils serviceability (oil life). Especially in vehicles running an EGR - the oil has to deal with more contaminants & heat.
Here is an example of the last UOA report on my 2000 Excursion.
Silicon can indicate how much dust/dirt is getting past the air intake system. In this report silicon is elevated. I Usually see it under 20 ppm. Most of the setups running the 6637 filter, AFE, stock Ford 6.0L filter and some others will usually see under 10 ppm depending on the environment you run in. But there are other causes for elevated silicon. For example, if you had some engine work done (like an oil pan gasket and intake plenums like we did on this vehicle) and a silicon based sealant is used you can see this being reflected in the silicon readings. As long as the values continue to decrease over time - all is well. This is the key with any UOA report, do not take the results as absolute values. It is more a tool to evaluate trends.
Edit: the same goes for Iron readings, it is common to see a temporary increase in wear metals after engine work.
one example of a Transmission Fluid Analysis that caught elevated wear metal readings prior to pulling the camper on some longer trips. This report prompted us to drop the trans pan for further inspection and I'm so glad we did. We found some excess metal shavings which turned out to be a failing main support bearing that was caught in time before it did any further damage to the tranny. It would have really sucked to be on a family camping trip and have this bugger go out and leave us stranded on the side of the road......
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