Testing engine oil for contaminants??

[Big 86]

How do I have my engine oil tested for contaminants? I have heard people talk about sampling the oil and having it tested, but how and where do I have this done? Can I do this myself or do I need to have a shop do this? Any idea on cost? Any help will be appreciated!

 

[Tinytractor]

The answer to your question is NO, you cannot test the oil correctly by yourself. You may have a parts supplier in your area that has a oil testing program. like Carquest, Caterpillar John Deere etc. when the test is run they will break the oil down and report to you anything that is in the oil, like carbon,antifreeze, different kinds of metal, acid and all contaminents. the Kits cost you and you must fill in the make,model type of engine, hours on machine and so on. These tests are accurate enough they can pinpoint wear in your engine and what parts are wearing at the time of the sample. As you keep testing the picture becomes more clear each time to spot major problems coming that can be very expensive. They will test any kind of oil also, like hydraulic, trans, final drives etc. Hope this helps you.

 

[showcrop]

Go to your local tractor or heavy truck dealer and they will give you the kit to take it with.

 

[flying belgian]

I bought the test bottles from shaeffer oil dealer. In paying for the test bottles that covered the test. You sent the pre addressed postage paid bottles in and a week later they sent the results. That being said, I found no value in doing it. Just because the test came back showing to many ppm of certain elements.....so what? I'm not going to over haul the engine if it is running and pulling good anyway so what's the point of the test?

 

[ldj]

snake oil---like previous poster said, if it is running good, and I say, oil pressure is good and you have been changing oil and filter regularly, what can you do different if the test does say too many ppm? Sure not gona pull down a good running with good oil pressure. On the other hand, if oil pressure goes to pot I am going to do something regardless what oil test says.

 

[JDseller]

Most of the equipment dealers around here have them. The ones I use are called Oil Scan. You get a small box with a bottle and little hose. There is a paper that you need to fill out with hours of use,type and brand of oil,weight of oil. Then you fill the bottle with your sample. Put it in the box and mail it in. The first time will just give you a base line unless you have big trouble. The next time you can compare it to the last test and see what is showing up more.

 

[Cenexguy]

There is much knowledge to be learned from an oil sample test. If it comes back with everything in the normal range, great. You may think that you have wasted your money/time. However, if you have an elevated copper level, it may be time to look at repacing the mains and rods. Cheaper and simpler than an overhaul. If you find high traces of antifreeze, time to check the water cooler. If you find high traces of fuel. time to get your injectors cheched. I can"t see how any of this info would not be worth the money. Just because the engine is running well, and has plenty of power, doesn"t mean that problems aren"t lurking. Contact your lube supplier, or local cooperative if you have one near you. They should have the kits available for you. If you can"t find one. e-mail me I"ll send you one to use.

 

[Heat Houser]

Doing oil samples regularly (and knowing what the results mean) can help a bunch.

Example, high iron? Is silicon high? Silicon is dirt and to confirm, look at aluminum. Silicon (Si) and aluminum (Al) have a 3 or 4 to one ratio in the environment. If the engine is eating dirt, Si and Al will be high and in a 4-1 ratio.

Anti freeze....by the time the labratory flags glycol, the damage is done. Look instead for sodium and potassium, both are components of anti-freeze. If they are trending up, the anti-freeze is dissolving the Copper (Cu) from your bearing inserts. You will see high Cu along with the Sodium and potassium. Extra block ventalation will be automatically provided, if ignored, as you usually throw a rod through the side.

Look at fuel dilution, is fuel getting into the crankcase? Viscosity at 100 C may also be affected.

These are just a few of the things that an oil sample can tell you but samples work best to watch for trends. In other words, compare today"s results to prior samples to see if something is really going up in ppm. If something is, assess the reasons why and if correcting action is necessary.

 

[willie in mn]

ldj
Well worth the money. Last employer did it regularly, ran a fleet of around 1000 trucks. Also coolant & gear box tests.
When I started there, they did oil changes at 12,000 miles. Samples pulled at every change, report sent to Cummins. If one came back with high contaniments, Cummins would repair in their shop under warranty, while repair was minor & before it went kabloowie.
Service times extended to 15,000, then 20,000, & when I retired 9 years later, chassis lube/inspect at 20,000, drop oil at 40,000. Cummins honored warranty up to 500,000 miles. Only heard of half a dozen over the years that needed repair. Trucks replaced at around 450,000-500,000 still under warranty.
Willie

 

[willie in mn]

ldj
Well worth the money. Last employer did it regularly, ran a fleet of around 1000 trucks. Also coolant & gear box tests.
When I started there, they did oil changes at 12,000 miles. Samples pulled at every change, report sent to Cummins. If one came back with high contaniments, Cummins would repair in their shop under warranty, while repair was minor & before it went kabloowie.
Service times extended to 15,000, then 20,000, & when I retired 9 years later, chassis lube/inspect at 20,000, drop oil at 40,000. Cummins honored warranty up to 500,000 miles. Only heard of half a dozen over the years that needed repair. Trucks replaced at around 450,000-500,000 still under warranty.
Willie

 

[greygoat]

I'm retired as a Locomotive machinist/mechanic
for Burlington Northern Santa Fe. All of our
locomotives had oil samples taken at every
refueling point. In a 2 day period a locomotive
could have samples taken at Chicago, Minneapolis,
Fargo,ND,, and at every refueling point between
chicago and seattle, (A 50 hour trip for a train
of containers of UPS or U.S.Mail).
Near my retirement I worked in the Minneapolis
oil sample test point, and found samples with
high coolant levels,(water in the oil)and other
problems, and sent out computer reports shutting
down locomotives to be towed back to repair
points for service. Tests were done for fuel dulution, Silver, (Main bearings were silver
plated)Iron, (metallic wear),Silicon (maybe air
cleaners needed servicing) etc.
These were on 16V645 General motors engines,
V16, 645 cubic inch per cylinder, 3000 Horsepower, 2 cycle.
With a fleet of over 3000 locomotives, this
sampling probably cost "Millions" per year, but
from my experiance saved millions, by catching
problems in time! It may not be worth it to a
2 tractor farmer, but If I was big, with many
high horsepower tractors, I'd do sampleing!

 

[guido]

Hello Big 86,
Engine samples are usually taken fron the dip stick, with a special tool that draws the oil into a sample bottle.
Look into your local phone book under oil lab analisys. My guess on price $25 to $50.

Guido

 

[KIP in MX]

Oil analysis is cheap insurance against high dollar repairs.

Below is part of an oil analysis report by a lab in New Jersey from one of our helicopter main transmissions that is sampled every 100 hrs of flight time. The four groups of numbers after each metal is ppm for the last four reports including this one for trend monitoring
Also on the report is water contamination by %wt.

Transmission is made by ZF and oil is Castrol Transmax Z. The Fe content is high in this instance and required inspection of engine input quills and main ring gear for corrosion pitting.





Spectrographic Analysis
Iron (JCM034) ppm 7.4 18.0 9.8 18.5 *
Aluminium (JCM034) ppm 2.1 3.7 1.7 2.7
Chromium (JCM034) ppm 0.4 0.8 0.4 0.8
Molybdenum (JCM034) ppm 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3
Copper (JCM034) ppm 0.6 1.0 0.6 0.9
Lead (JCM034) ppm 0.7 1.1 0.9 1.4
Tin (JCM020) ppm 0.9 <0.1 0.3 <0.1
Nickel (JCM034) ppm 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.5
Silver (JCM034) ppm 2.1 3.1 1.5 3.2
Vanadium (JCM034) ppm 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.1
Titanium (JCM034) ppm 3.3 5.7 2.4 2.6
Silicon (JCM034) ppm 17 10 4 8
Phosphorus (JCM034) ppm 228.3 230.4 250.8 270.1
Magnesium (JCM034) ppm 0.7 1.8 0.6 0.9
Tungsten (JCM034) ppm 0.4 1.1 1.2 1.9
Zinc (JCM034) ppm 22.0 57.5 66.8 102.3

 

[tomtirediron]

Hey greygoat, I was a trainman/engineman hostler at Northtown from 1997 to about 1999.Worked afternoons in Diesel shop. Always loved the power and no nonsense construction of the EMD units! Afraid GE has taken that shop over. Wondering if I knew you? E-mail open.

 

[Dean Olson]

I get motors tested several times per year, now. Early on I got it
tested every time till I had a track record to refer to. Great piece
of mind. I have a 5.9 cummins in my Dodge and a C15 Cat in
my Peterbilt. They are looking for excess fuel metals,soot
antifreeze etc. This will catch problems before they create a lot
of damage.

I also get my oil changed when it's actually time, and not at
some arbitrary mileage # recommended by the manufacturer. In
both motors I've extended the intervals greater that the
recommended and that has saved some money.

I get mine tested onsite and immediately at a local heavy truck
service center. I was having my wife's Buick serviced and the
local quick lube is now offering the service.

 

[greygoat]

Hi..tomtirediron...e-mail is open now

 

[buickanddeere]

You have to be kidding ???

 

[Anonymous-0]

Blackstone Labs in Indiana
$25 per test.

 

[WA-Hal]

You can test for water in your oil yourself. Get the engine warmed up all the way and shut it off. Put some oil off the dipstick on a hot exhaust manifold. If the oil sizzles, there is probably moisture in it. If it just smokes, there is little or no moisture.

I change oil quite often, probably more often than necessary, but I think it is cheap insurance.

Some large businesses swear by oil analysis. We never have done it, but I think it might be a good idea in a diesel, since the oil always looks dirty, even right after a change. Good luck!