M35X UOA at 152,000 Miles

[ae7456t]

As I previously mentioned, I had a lot of pent up car energy, recently, so I sent my first oil sample in for analysis. Hindsight is always 20/20, but I really wish I had started this earlier, so I would have a bit of a trend to look at, but, better late than never...



Overall, pretty happy with it, with the exception of the higher than expected iron levels and the lower than expected viscosity at the end of the run.

One other quick note...The 0.75 qts that I topped up with was Mobil 1 5W-30 (what I had in the garage when I got the car back from transmission work), so I am sure that will skew the typical results of the Valvoline Max Life 5W-30.

Hope this helps others to compare and contrast...and any other thoughts and observations are always welcome.

I will definitely do another in 5,000 miles, or so, and will share those results, too.

[airmanhoward]

Noob here. What was the purpose for this report? What made you send in a sample? From the results what have you diagnosed from the test?

[Ilya]

I really need to do this too.

[ae7456t]

Good questions, airmanhoward...I will give you the "party line" from Blackstone, first...

"Oil analysis is a quick, nondestructive way to gauge the health of an engine by looking at what's in the oil. People use oil analysis for different reasons: to see if there are any problems developing, to see if their oil is working well in the engine, and to see if they can run longer oil changes."

For me, personally, I am trying to figure out how much longer I will keep the car, and wanted some objective data on the overall health of the engine...While these results don't guarantee anything, I was concerned that after 11 years/152K miles there may be coolant getting in the oil (gasket leak), fuel in the oil (causing less protection/faster wear), or just excessive "grinding" of engine parts. Also, I kind of like the science behind it, so why not.

In terms of what I will do with the results, candidly, probably not much...I am sure I will obsess over the higher iron for a while (like WebMD...Google the symptoms, and be convinced you have some rare strain of bird flu, when it is just a cold), but do nothing more.

The key, for me, will be getting a trend, so probably nothing conclusive until I get another data point.

[WillV]

Good questions, airmanhoward...I will give you the "party line" from Blackstone, first...

"Oil analysis is a quick, nondestructive way to gauge the health of an engine by looking at what's in the oil. People use oil analysis for different reasons: to see if there are any problems developing, to see if their oil is working well in the engine, and to see if they can run longer oil changes."

For me, personally, I am trying to figure out how much longer I will keep the car, and wanted some objective data on the overall health of the engine...While these results don't guarantee anything, I was concerned that after 11 years/152K miles there may be coolant getting in the oil (gasket leak), fuel in the oil (causing less protection/faster wear), or just excessive "grinding" of engine parts. Also, I kind of like the science behind it, so why not.

In terms of what I will do with the results, candidly, probably not much...I am sure I will obsess over the higher iron for a while (like WebMD...Google the symptoms, and be convinced you have some rare strain of bird flu, when it is just a cold), but do nothing more.

The key, for me, will be getting a trend, so probably nothing conclusive until I get another data point.

I'm not criticizing because I also know nothing about this, but asking a serious question. Will you need more than one more data point to do an effective analysis? Basically I guess what I'm asking is: will there be normal fluctuations in these values or will they continue to decrease/increase as indicated in your next test? I might look into this too. Thanks.

[ae7456t]

Fair question, WillV...To your point, I guess I feel pretty good about the absolute value of the results on the first sample. If I had seen something that was truly out of the norm, I would likely be more aggressive in trying to do something about it now, so that is a good result, by itself.

From what I have read, several data points will give you a better sense for more subtle changes in the engine's health...Since each engine/environment/driving profile is different, the universal averages are helpful to see if there is anything dramatically out of the ordinary, right now. Getting a couple of data points from my engine (I hope) will be able to provide early warning of something that may be on the way out, even if it is within the accepted standards, at present.

Although...I may just be a sucker for data...