Determining oil change intervals via analysis

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/08/02/determining-oil-change-intervals-via-analysis/

 

Interesting how some people spend $30 for an oil analysis in order to avoid
a $20 oil change. hmmmm.

 

What a load of mumbo-jumbo for obsessed people. Hell - just change the oil
at the recommended intervals and be done with it...

 

Yes, that is the main reason I don't use it for my cars. Now for
airplanes that use 12 quarts of expensive oil and have serious
consequences of engine failure or large trucks that may use 6 gallons of
oil, it makes a lot of sense.


Matt

 

Probably the biggest benefit of UOA is that it proves to people that
oils last much longer than many of them think. With any kind of luck, it
will convince people once and for all that changing your oil any more
frequently than the car manufacturer recommends is an unnecessary waste
of a diminishing resource. Any money saved is a secondary benefit.

 

The oil analysis is to get information on engine wear, not to avoid an
oil change.
An airplane engine is more expensive than your car and if wear is
happening, it needs to be addressed promptly.

 

Oh Bunk! Take those sissy pants off Matt and act like a man. Those
barnstormers of old didn't fiddle about worrying about such things and look
how exciting they were. Besides everyone knows that if you jump up just
before the moment of impact...

 

Not really. Once the old two seater starts burning oil you simply hire it
out as a sky writer.

 

hmmmm.

Actually, it doesn't prove that at all.

 

And what will you do if the analyis indicates your engine is wearing?
Rebuild the engine?
Sue GM?
or just change the bloody oil?

 

hey guy, if analysis says your head gasket is about to go or that your
cam is about to fail, are you going to embark on that 2500 mile road
trip or are you just going to change the oil and pray? do you have aaa?

 

er, actually, yes it does.

 

If it proves it to you, that is fair enough. What is your background of
expertise in
this subject?

But it doesnt prove it to me.

 

you're not "avoiding an oil change", you're getting a checkup on the
health of the engine. chemical content tells you a lot about how the
motor is running, too hot, too cold, contamination, wear, imminent
failures, etc. if you could predict whether the motor was going to fail
in the next 6 months, and you were planning a major road trip, would you
just go anyway and get the car fixed along the way, or would you get it
done now while you have the time and resources to do the job properly?
you don't wait for a plane's engine to fail in flight [if you can avoid
it!] do you?

 

The analysis is not really going to tell you your head gasket is 'about' to
go, or that your camshaft is 'about' to fail.

And if your cheapo oil analysis gave you an indication of coolant invasion
or extra wear, do you put enough faith in it that you stop what you are
doing,
tear down the engine and rebuild?

Not likely.

I maintain my cars regularly and don't waste money on an oil analysis to
predict how long I might be able to put off an oil change. (FYI,
I am a professional chemist, and have been for over 40 years.) Chemical
analysis can be interesting, but it does not necessarily predict, or
postpone,
fate.

I have NEVER had an engine failure nor a transmission failure on the road.

Admittedly, I don't normally keep a car with much over 150,000 miles
on it.

Speaking of failures, I have only had one engine failure in my life, and in
that case a ring land broke off a piston on a new 428 Cobrajet. This
failure
was due to a metallurgical fault in the piston, and not related to
lubrication
according to the analysis Ford performed on the part, nor could it have been
predicted or prevented by your oil analysis.

The choice is yours, of course, but IMO there is no substitute for regular
and
competent maintenance of one's automobile.

 

Are you saying that aircraft turbines are serviced based on oil analysis?

 

Okay, then...
Let's say this:

I can see getting a 'wear test' on an engine at about the third oil
change.

Plus a test to see how an oil-brand is doing....

I'll just spend that last money on another case of Mobil 1, though.

 

There are a lot of "ifs" in your argument Jim. If those "ifs" were borne
out by time it might be one thing but they really are not. Regardless of
what one perceives as the value in the small incremental knowledge or
insight into the health of their engine, the overwhelming number of vehicles
on the road today that are simply driven with some sort of traditional oil
change, and none of the feared problems that you suggest is just far more
compelling than the limited information from the analysis.

Simply - that analysis does not, cannot, and does not pretend to predict or
to even offer the foundation for a prediction that an engine may or may not
fail in six months. If it were true and one could count on the analysis as
a predictor, what would you expect to see? Evidence of rings or bearings
wearing? That could be good - but, at what rate? How much wear is
tolerable before a catastrophic failure? Is the wear even an indicator of
pending catastrophic failure? Is the wear an indicator of shortened engine
life from 200,000 miles to 175,000 miles? Is that even important?

Of the more common problems which tend to incapacitate a vehicle and which
one might want to be mindful of when planning a road trip, does the analysis
predict an alternator failure? A flat tire? A broken belt? A failure in
the ECM? A failure with the fuel pump? All of these are more than
significantly more likely to happen and leave you stranded than any engine
wear that will be made evident by an oil analysis. Cam failures? Do you
expect a sudden and catastrophic cam failure with no prior warning via the
performance of the engine? Not likely. If an engine oil analysis suddenly
makes you aware of an immenent failure in any internal part of your engine,
that is only evidence that you have totally ignored every other indicator
that should have been more of an alert to you. The operative part of this
statement is "immenent"

Airplane engines do not make a very good argument in this discussion. The
rigors of an airplane engine's life are so very different from those of a
car - not to mention the ramifications of any failure, that comparison is
totally irrelevant. There are a multitude of maintenance practices that
airplane undergo that are unique to them and have no associated practice in
the automobile sector. Apples and oranges.

To each his own as it relates to engine oil analysis, and as has been said -
it's your money. It's foolish to think though that this analysis is going
to offer the protection you are suggesting here.

 

That's correct. It simply tells you what the state of the oil is--which
can indicate conditions within the engine.

 

Very well spoken, Mike.