OK, so my curiosity got the best of me and I spent some money getting an Oil Analysis done at Blackstone labs that so many of you speak so highly of.

I've always run Delo or Rotella 15w-40 in the motor, but recently tried some Valvoline 15w-40 (private labeled with the Carquest name) since they made me a heck of a deal on it. I bought the truck new, and changed it every 3k miles until I hit 15k. Then I switched to 5,000 mile intervals so it's easy to keep track of on the odometer. Sometimes I'm a couple of hundred over or under, but just go by the "5" or "0" on the odometer to know I need a change.

I really have no clue what any of these numbers mean, but comparing my numbers to the universal averages I appear to be in good shape? The part that concerns me is Blackstone's comment about me possibly running an oil bypass system (which I don't). Shouldn't a lab be able to tell if I've got an oil bypass system, or do the bypass things not work as well as I thought they did?

Comments please.

 

I explained some of this on the top end oil change thread. Every thing is looking good. Keep on truckin.

 

Any idea why my Magnesium is so high? Or why there is even Magnesium in the oil to begin with? What about the oil bypass comments? Was this just a sales ploy to get me to feel good about spending the money on the OA?

 

Well, I can't tell you specifically what each item is that is mentioned in the analysis, but the guys at Blackstone would tell you if something is abnormal. As for the question about the possibility of running a by-pass filter, apparently you are using a really good oil filter. Whatever it is, don't change from it. You mention that you have used 3 different oils. I would try to stick to one type of oil. (brand name), and I will tell you why. All oil companies have standards they have to meet in producing their oil for the public. The problem is that company A, will use certain additives to meet the standards for a given oil they manufacture. Company B will use different additives, and company C could use different ones still. While staying with the same brand and using different viscosity oil in the summer and winter, there won't be any problems. The potential problem is that the different additive packages the companies use may not be combatable with each other. Even the residue of oil left in the engine could cause a reaction with the new oil you put in the engine.

This is something my father-in-law told me, and I asked a sales rep for castrol oil and he basically agreed with this assessment.

 

No I do not think it was a ploy. I believe they were just commenting how clean the oil was. Magnesium is a detergent additive that is built into the oil. It also is there to neutralize any acids that my build up. This may be the reason for such a clean UOA.

 

Looks like your engine is in great shape, My insolubles come back in the same range at 10,000 miles with just a fl-1995 as well. It's mostly an indication that there isn't much soot in your oil, which comes from working them really hard or running a hot chip/injectors that overfuel.

 

Magnesium level was jacked up in most oils with the new formulations for the USLD engines. The old formuations contained under a hundred parts per million, while the new ones are in at least 3-400 range. Most of the universal average (the average of all samples for our engine type) is based on the old formulations, which is why it is so low.

 

[quote=CampSpringsJohn;6464296] As for the question about the possibility of running a by-pass filter, apparently you are using a really goof oil filter. Whatever it is, don't change from it.

What filter are you using?

 

[quote=Dmax Stroked 00;6464333]Don't tell John, but not only do I switch oils around, but I've been known to do the same thing with filters. Most of the time, I use the FL 1995 motorcraft filter, but I've also been known to throw a Wix filter in there more than once. This analysis came from a Wix filter with the Carquest name stamped on it.

 

I see you only have 260,000 miles on your truck. I know what my father-in-law said, and perhaps it used to be true. That was 20 or so years ago. After seeing your miles,,,,, forget anything previously stated.

 

I've heard some of the same things. I've only stuck with the more major type brands on both filters & oil. Of course the other side of the coin is 5,000 miles usually is about every 6 weeks or so.

 

I know I used to hype about not getting a OA, but I think I am going to start now. After my little incident, i might have had a little tip this was coming and did a little better planning for it. If after the first ones its good, ill just check every 10K though, not looking for knowing when to change the oil. That happens at 5K miles, regardless.

 

John, I don't understand these OA's enough. What kind of signs do you think you would have seen saying you were about to lose your skirt? Some kind of increased metal count signifying a crack before it went? If so, how much warning do you think it would give you?

 

First of all, great oil analysis CHris.

Your wear metals look great, Iron, Copper, Chromium, Aluminum, Lead. All in the single digits. Shows at 260K the engine is doing great.

Silicon is very low at 3 so you air filtration system is doing great. Anything under 20 is normal, 20-50 abnormal, 50-100 severe and over 100 extreme.

I would say 6K is about max for this oil on your application. The viscosity is at 13.1 CST @ 100 deg Cel which makes it at the low end of the scale for a 40 weight oil. Should bust down into the 30 weight level approximately 6-7K range. But that's kinda par for the HEUI injection system - it's tough on oil.

I can't comment on the additives because I do not have a copy of a virgin sample of Valvoline (15W-40) in front of me.

 

Comparing the pan OA to your HPOP OA, although not identical, they are so close to the same it seems to be apparent that the oil in the HPOP reservoir and heads is getting exchanged pretty thoroughly with the oil in the pan. This tells me that if routine oil changes are done I should not have to worry about the HPOP reservoir oil.

It also appears that you will be one of those 7.3 owners who will still have a great engine at 500,000+ miles. I hope I didn't just hex you.

Thanks for sharing these two OAs for comparison.