Oil analysis

[Joshontech]

I have just started using mobile 1 EP in my 2000 Toyota camry. The car has 157k miles on it and is in good running order. My question is should I take a sample to send into Blackstone at 5k miles or 7.5k miles? I just want to make sure this oil is doing its job up to 15k miles and if not change it whenever it gets dangerous. I am using the new 20k mile oil filter they just came out with because that's the one it came with on the deal. My parents have used this oil in there 2005 camry since new so I have faith in it but I don't have faith in worn out parts and oil contamination. I hope someone can give me a little insight on this. Thanks.

 

[demarpaint]

How long was your typical OCI? I would take a sample then to see how well the EP is doing for your normal OCI. Get the TBN done so you can approximate how long the oil can go from there.

 

[Spector]

UOA is really trend analysis and one sample does not tell you much. With a TBN it will give you an indication of whether the oil can go further but one use of Mobil 1 Ep could result in a lot of changes, cleaning up some varnish etc and result in poor numbers. With that said, I vote to save your money and start by taking a sample at 7,500 and once more when you change the oil. Further sampling IMO is a waste of money, easier to just change the oil than send in a sample plus at 157,000 miles not much you can do or would do if a problem were detected. Much depends on what your OCI was and what oil you used to get to 157,000 miles

 

[JLTD]

Originally Posted By: Spector
UOA is really trend analysis and one sample does not tell you much. With a TBN it will give you an indication of whether the oil can go further but one use of Mobil 1 Ep could result in a lot of changes, cleaning up some varnish etc and result in poor numbers. With that said, I vote to save your money and start by taking a sample at 7,500 and once more when you change the oil. Further sampling IMO is a waste of money, easier to just change the oil than send in a sample plus at 157,000 miles not much you can do or would do if a problem were detected. Much depends on what your OCI was and what oil you used to get to 157,000 miles


Agree! If you're planning 15k, test for 15k. The oil should be good for that long; get your UOA at 7500 then again at 15k, and if the oil's still good, go with it.

 

[tig1]

I have used regular M1 for decades at 10K OCIs with great success, and I don't do UOAs. The primary reason to due UOAs is to check the condition of the oil like dirt, coolant, or fuel contamination.

 

[Joshontech]

My usual oci in the manual is 7.5k miles. I in the past have used whatever was on sale mostly valvoline and Mobil 1 sometimes super tech if no other was on sale. I always use synthetic from day one. I got the car at 125k miles it was owned by my cousin and before that an older lady. I know my cousins dad took good care of the car and the old lady according to my cousin did 3k miles oil changes. I think when I got the car it was in good shape but recently I have had less time to do things so I wanted to switch from 5k mile changes to 15k so I only had to change the oil once or twice a year. I know above I said the oci was 7.5k but I just changed it at 5k because I wanted to be sure and that way no matter what oil I was using it would be changed at a decent time.

 

[UberArchetype]

Originally Posted By: tig1
The primary reason to due UOAs is to check the condition of the oil like dirt, coolant, or fuel contamination.

What used to be considered "extended OCI's" not many years ago is now the new norm. "Trends," in terms of engine wear are pretty easy to predict: It's going to wear out at some point. If UOA is showing excessive wear of some type it's already too late. I'm only really interested in oil analysis for the purpose of spotting anomalies, as tig1 states.