Predictive maintenance is becoming normalized within the manufacturing industry as downtime is more expensive than ever. What does 6,000 miles look like to you? Stop and go traffic? 70 mph on open freeways? Or this is the total amount of miles you put on your rig in a year? Changing your oil on mileage alone is not the best indicator as it is only one dataset from many factors which affect your engine. We all know what downtime feels like on the side of the road, so now it is possible to perform predictive maintenance on your rig to avoid these situations in the future.
Oil which would have been recycled after an oil change can be analyzed to help predict potential problems with your engine. Blackstone Laboratories is a company that utilizes an Inductive Coupled Plasma (ICP) spectrometer to determine what trace materials are within your used oil sample.
While I cannot afford to send a sample everytime I do an oil change, I try to do every other or approximately twice per year. Here is an example of my latest report.
As a general guide, here is how I interpret this report:
Most of the materials from aluminum to titanium represent engine material components, except for molybdenum. Any change (increase) in these metals (besides molybdenum) is proof of accelerating wear within your engine. If you do an analysis on a brand new rig off the lot, expect these numbers to be higher during the initial break in.
Oils like Mobil1 and Amsoil use Molybdenum Dialkyldithiocarbamate (MoDTC) as an anti-wear additive. Generally, a higher number here is better for maintaining the life of your engine.
Potassium through sodium are typically detergent additives and inhibitors. If you did not change your oil type and manufacturer and these values did not change, then you have nothing to worry about.
Calcium through Barium are detergents and anti-wear additives. Zinc is more commonly known as zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP). Without going into a thesis, the balance of ZDDP and MoDTC is critical to reducing wear from metal-on-metal contact in your engine.
Within the properties section, fuel% above 0 indicates that your engine is running too rich and gasoline is entering the oil. There are also many other reasons for this, piston rings, etc. Coolant would indicate a leak through an antifreeze gasket or seal.
Generally a higher total basic number (TBN) indicates that there is still operating life left in the oil. In other words, on the pH scale - a higher TBN is a base not an acid. A low TBN indicates that that it is approaching acidic levels. Again, there is a lot of research in this area but as long as your TBN is marginally higher or similar, you can likely infer that you are changing your oil at an equivalent interval.
While there are a few companies out there that offer oil analysis, I have personally found that Blackstone is the best organization for quick turnaround and great customer service. To get insights like these with your next oil change, make sure you order some free sample kits today from Blackstone.