Blackstone report

[Sgtmeatsauce1]

On another note, because I can't afford the Ford $750 dollar price tag [300 in bs parts alone] for an upgraded valve cover oil separator unit no longer covered under my useless COPO warranty....which caused a 2.5 qt loss off oil during a oil change interval of 6000 miles. I put a RXP oil separator system on it and changed to recommended Castrol GTX Magnatec 5w-30 with MC FL500S filter. With this set up I used 1/3 of a qt in 3000 HARD miles and 1/2 a qt over then 3000 miles when I changed it. I no longer have oil dripping out of every intake joint or at the black rubber jiggle joint before the maf (?) and dripping down on valve cover. I emptied the oil separator and had minimal oil residue but lots of oily smelly watery gas, about 4 oz in the 6000 miles. I think this oil does not burn off as fast. Very happy with this oil. Car seemed to really quiet down now that I use it.

 

[rubydist]

Yeah that looks very good. There is absolutely no reason not to go 13k with that oil in that vehicle the way you are using it.

 

[SHOdded]

great to hear, sgt, I am running magnatec 5w20 in my edge right now. not that I am trying to address any issues, the problem I have had is with filters. MC remains the best filter for my purposes.

 

[6500rpm]

I just sent my sample off last week and after viewing the samples posted, what items are indications of wear causing friction material (carbon, etc). Do these fall in the insoluble category? I've always changed my oils around 5-6k miles simply to keep abrasives out of my engine. Just trying to brush up on what I can learn from the report before it comes back.

 

[JasonoftheRugar]

I just sent my sample off last week and after viewing the samples posted, what items are indications of wear causing friction material (carbon, etc). Do these fall in the insoluble category? I've always changed my oils around 5-6k miles simply to keep abrasives out of my engine. Just trying to brush up on what I can learn from the report before it comes back.

It's hard for me to digest that people change their oil based on mileage. Mileage doesn't measure the dirt introduced into the oil. Maybe I'm uneducated here. I live off what my dad taught me. If it's dirty or black-change it! 5-10-25k on an oil change-no f???in way. My car has 14k on it. Iv'e changed the oil 6 times already. About to do #7 just because it's been sitting the winter. It may be a waste, it may not. Boils down to peace of mind. You wanna run 15k on an oil change because the MFG says so-knock yourself out.

 

[SHOdded]

Time is really what I go by, never over 6 months, whether the vehicle is sitting or driven daily. Engine hours is the other measure. Many people put on a LOT of idle time these days, especially in the winter, what with remote start conveniences and all. That will **** engine oil faster than probably WOT driving LOL. Fuel dilution anyone?

As far as wear indicators - best not to get too technical but Blackstone reports are pretty good for layman purposes. Track iron, copper, aluminum wear. Iron wear greatly increases with thinning oil, so fuel dilution is an important consideration from what I have seen. Track silicone for coolant leaks and for air/dirt intrustion.

TBN and TBN are addons to Blackstone reports, TAN being > TBN informationwise. You want to know if acid is building up in the oil, TBN will not exactly tell you that. The ideal point to change oil is the crossover of the TAN/TBN graph.
http://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/2170/oil-drain-interval-tan-tbn

 

[Lostneye]

It's hard for me to digest that people change their oil based on mileage. Mileage doesn't measure the dirt introduced into the oil. Maybe I'm uneducated here. I live off what my dad taught me. If it's dirty or black-change it! 5-10-25k on an oil change-no f???in way. My car has 14k on it. Iv'e changed the oil 6 times already. About to do #7 just because it's been sitting the winter. It may be a waste, it may not. Boils down to peace of mind. You wanna run 15k on an oil change because the MFG says so-knock yourself out.

There have been a lot of advances from what your dad was used to in both the oil itself and the additive packages used. I have no data to back up but I do not believe the oil looking darker is any real indication of when it should be changed, there are a lot of factors involved and mileage is only one of them. I'm not suggesting you extend you oil change interval from what works for you but having the oil analyzed can help people in keeping that interval in a safe range.

 

[Jeff2017]

I change mine every 6000 miles or once a year. I don't have a very long commute. I use Mobil1 5w-30 full synthetic.

 

[JimC]

Hmm, trust the manufacturers and their engineers? You know, the one who has to replace the engine if it fails.

Or...., take the word of the place that is in the business of selling me oil when it comes to determining whether to change the oil.

Tough call.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[6500rpm]

Great link SHOdded, here's another one from Blackstone (I should have spent more time poking around their site). There are several subject links as well as all kinds of other good information that can be found associated with the link below.

https://www.blackstone-labs.com/what-are-insolubles.php

It's been a week since I sent my sample in (average turn around times stated 2-4 weeks) but now I'm really curious to see the results. Even better would to have anyone with our platform post their results so we can compare information to see how different oils and filters hold up in our EB engines. My car came off a 3yr lease and was maintained with Motorcraft products by the dealer, I've since changed it three times with royal Purple and a Mobil 1 oil filter. The insoluble that I was curious about seems to be a good indicator for how well your oil filter does it's job.

 

[SHOdded]

has the usps delivered to blackstone? sometimes it takes them forever just to do that.

 

[Johnbigdog]

I'm under the impression that if your oil is dirty, you have a huge problem. Because, you know, there is an oil filter to filter most contaminants. If you'e seeing particles on the dipstick, something is failing. If it's a dark brown/red thats normal. If its black it better be a diesel.

The color change of oil, from my understanding, is this not due to burning (temp not consumption) the oil? Like you put butter in to hot of a frying pan. It turns from yellow to brown if its too hot.

You can go stupid long on an oil change, but you are using up the additive package in the oil to do it's complete job properly. If you crack a valve cover and there is just a smidge of varnish, your doing a good job. You're not burnng past it' capability to propery clean, cool and lubricate.

I go 5K with full synthetic just due to over maintenance and my auto. o.c.d. one thing i notice from semi synthetic Motorcraft to full synthetic Motorcraft is a lack of gasoline smell to the oil after this time. I also don't gain or consume oil with full synthetic at just a smidg over 50K with only 2 instances of running Semi synthetic.

 

[SHOdded]

Definitely should not see debris, nor smell coolant or fuel in the oil. Yes, a sniff test still works wonders lol.

As far as color, far from reliable indicator of anything unless it turns muddy brown or something. That is a BIG problem. Some oils are better engine cleaners than others and you may be seeing deposits come off the engine/dissolved into the oil. Can't judge by looks alone. Valvoline used to have a reputation for high detergency, not sure if this is still true. The Castrol Magnatec in my Edge turns a reddish yet transparent color after a few miles. Smells just like new tho.

 

[rubydist]

When discussing "safe" oil change intervals, it is vital to factor in the vehicle use. Ford says a "normal" oil change interval on the EcoBoost is 7500 miles with their semi-synthetic oil. Most of the synthetics discussed in this thread are better than the semi-synthetic Motorcraft (although that is an excellent oil). So, for "normal" use, it is not unreasonable to extend the oci to 10-15k miles with the good synthetics. If the style of use is fairly consistent, and one has done the testing as markathome has done, there is no rational reason to not run that many miles between changes, given the short time frame in which he puts on those miles.

For "hard" or "extreme" use, of course the oci needs to be shorter.

What some of us cannot get through our heads is that "conventional" oil of today is dramatically different from "conventional" oil of 30+ years ago, and the oci that was appropriate then is not needed today. You can argue that its "cheap insurance" but you can also argue that its literally "pouring money down the drain" to do it more often than you need to.

 

[SHOdded]

For extended ocis, you need extended drain oil filters as well. Since MC does not offer any, you have to go aftermarket like Purolator Boss, Mobil1 EP, Amsoil etc. plus be sure that the pcv system is up to *****, as different vehicles will vary on how much the system deposits in the piping and CAC. If you regularly see oil and crud from the pcv, a) change the valve/separator per tsb, b) find a better oil, c) clean out the cac regularly, and d) avoid extended ocis.

 

[SilverSH0]

It's hard for me to digest that people change their oil based on mileage. Mileage doesn't measure the dirt introduced into the oil. Maybe I'm uneducated here. I live off what my dad taught me. If it's dirty or black-change it! 5-10-25k on an oil change-no f???in way. My car has 14k on it. Iv'e changed the oil 6 times already. About to do #7 just because it's been sitting the winter. It may be a waste, it may not. Boils down to peace of mind. You wanna run 15k on an oil change because the MFG says so-knock yourself out.

It's the easiest way to judge an oil change. Most people drive vehicles in a pretty well defined pattern and are going to change their vehicles on a consistent mileage. For a given vehicle you'll notice it usually gets dirty after the same amount of miles each oil change. So for a rule of thumb you can change it at a set interval.

My Jeep has 250k miles and I change it every 5k miles. I can put oil in, run it for 100 miles, and if I drain the oil it's already a dark brown color and the same color it'll be at 5k miles. But in the past 20k miles I've also changed the oil pan gasket and valve cover gasket and there was no sludge buildup anywhere. If it's sludge free, you're probably good. Bottom line is that I wouldn't say color is a good indication of oil life. Change it when you think it needs it and go from there.

 

[6500rpm]

Report showed up today, from what I can see, all looks good and I'm really happy with the K&N drop in air filter and Mobil 1 oil filter performance. Viscosity was slightly low they said (Royal Purple 5w30) which showed very little fuel.

 

[JasonoftheRugar]

It's the easiest way to judge an oil change. Most people drive vehicles in a pretty well defined pattern and are going to change their vehicles on a consistent mileage. For a given vehicle you'll notice it usually gets dirty after the same amount of miles each oil change. So for a rule of thumb you can change it at a set interval.

My Jeep has 250k miles and I change it every 5k miles. I can put oil in, run it for 100 miles, and if I drain the oil it's already a dark brown color and the same color it'll be at 5k miles. But in the past 20k miles I've also changed the oil pan gasket and valve cover gasket and there was no sludge buildup anywhere. If it's sludge free, you're probably good. Bottom line is that I wouldn't say color is a good indication of oil life. Change it when you think it needs it and go from there.

All I do is check it. If it's black after a 1000 I might give it another 500. I'll keep the oil companies in business, You guys keep blackstone in business.

 

[SHOdded]

6500rpm, thanks for posting the report. I am curious to see the copper wear, the iron wear i expect with the 3.5EB (compared to 3.5NA anyway). I think though Amsoil Signature would be a better choice if you decide to extend the OCI like Blackstone recommends. Why? both viscosity measurements are below expectations. this oil is done for at 6,500 miles, IMHO.

I have attached markathome's analysis for comparison at 9K miles. How many engine hours do you have in 6.5K? Might be a lot more city mileage for your SHO than for Mark's?

 

[SilverSH0]

All I do is check it. If it's black after a 1000 I might give it another 500. I'll keep the oil companies in business, You guys keep blackstone in business.

I was simply pointing out that people base their oil changes on mileage because people are consistent in their daily routines and mileage is the easiest to track. If your oil gets dirty after 2000 miles this oil change it's going to be the same on nearly all your oil changes. I bet if you look at the mileage of your oil changes and you're changing consistently when it gets dirty, you'll notice the mileage is roughly the same between changes.

I don't keep blackstone in business as I've never sent anything to them (or any other similar company). Similar to your statement about you do what you're dad taught you to do. I change my oil based on what my experience has shown and that shows modern oils don't sludge like old oils/filters.