Being a casual mechanical hobbyist, I never really thought about the parallel oil provides to an engine's health as blood does to a person's health. Great video, as always, sir.
I've been using Blackstone for a few years to keep tabs on my vehicles. I can concur with the more personal analysis they include in each report, with an atta boy or two thrown in for a good report. Lol. It's a nice touch with what would usually be a dry read.
@@jons4686 $30 definitely worth doing once a year on a vehicle that you plan to keep long term. I did that for my Jeep Liberty CRD for 10 years and already started with the first oil change on my 2020 Tacoma.
Hi Jason, retired mechanical engineer here, you should teach to local universities - you are presenting the common applications of engineering science (most important for consumers' knowledge). Back in the 70's it took me a one year internship at Ford to learn about "practical" applications of some (if not all) of the theoretical knowledge I had learned at my University. You make it interesting and your enthusiasm explaining engineering principles is contagious. Thank you for these great presentations, Ciao L
Blackstone is great! I love how personal the descriptions of the results are. They liked my name for my Kioti tractor, which I mainly use to mow fields: Mow-Bi Wan Kioti. Unfortunately, that old, formerly abused machine more or less makes Blackstone's people say "yikes!".
I have used Blackstone on all of my cars for several years now. The information they provide is invaluable. It’s reassuring to KNOW what my engines and oil are doing versus just changing oil blindly.
After several years of being a mechanic, I am still shocked and amazed when a vehicle comes in with "most" of its oil. Almost all are waaay overdue, low or almost none. Trying to explain to someone about oil consumption "but it doesn't smoke and I was told to change my oil when the "light" comes on"......
@@mikeschultz6383 of the hundreds of vehicles I see a year most of them are owned by men. Age is 35+ for more than 80% of my customers. Almost zero percent are owned by young women or single women.
@@MrAPCProductions very interesting so i guess don’t go off the assumption that women don’t know anything about cars and there maintenance nice too know. Also good too hear
@@mikeschultz6383 I think the reason is that the vast majority of car owners are not interested in cars as anything but transportation devices or to a degree as a status symbol. The inner workings are not what interests these people. It also says a lot about how reliable cars has become. It used to be that you more or less had to know a bit about how the car worked as they tended to break down now and then. Just look at something as simple as oil leaks. If you look back forty or fifty years there would be an oil slick under a lot of cars. It was just the way things were. Today it's really uncommon to see this and when you discover one under your car you will react by wondering what has gone wrong. I've also thought of the number of cars I see having broken down on the highway and standing on the shoulder waiting for assistance. When I was a kid you saw this every time you drove for any distance on the highway. Today it's really uncommon to see anything worse than some one who ran out of gas, and even that is uncommon and fuel gages are usually a lot more reliable today than they used to be. Remember when cold starting a car could be an adventure? Remember using the manual choke, pumping the gas pedal, or perhaps having to use starter fluid if it was freezing? I have almost forgot all of that. My twenty year old Toyota has never had a problem starting even when it was really cold. Cars has become so easy to use that people are forgetting how they work. And when something goes wrong most people just leave it to a mechanic to fix. The only time they care about what makes their car run is when they pay the mechanic for taking care of their car. Heck I have friends who never open the hood unless they are forced to do so. They have a mechanic service it once a year, and just assume that they will take care of things like oil changes, air filters, thread depth, coolant levels and so on. I can safely say they have no idea about oil change intervals or anything else. All they do is fill it up with gas and drive.
I'm a former chopper pilot from the French Navy. I remember we did *a lot* of oil analysis for gas turbines. They were pretty helpful to know if the engines were fine of if they were gonna eat their internals. =)
An excellent presentation as always. I drove an F250 7.3 for 16 years and had oil analysis at every oil change after the second one. Nothing showed up and I felt very comfortable.
Very interesting video! I recently learned about oil analysis at my new job, we operate a big turbine compressor that compresses chlorine and I take samples of the oil every month to get it checked for wear and possible chlorine leaks. These measurements realy can tell you a lot.
The oil analysis shows what many Subaru Turbo owners have been saying for years. Mobil 1 thins out way to fast. At 12:35 in the video, the answer to why the viscosity dropped was you used Mobil 1. :)
Great video👍really interesting, I used to work in an open cast mine as a welder. They took oil samples from all the machines every couple of weeks (engines, gearboxes and final drives). I always wondered how they analysed it. Thanks👍
I've ordered and recieved a Blackstone analysis kit and plan on a 3k change on my 2.4 DIT. About 600 miles to go. I feel this is a very important subject and have since the 70s and 80s while working as a heavy equipment operator and saw oil samples taken every oil change. Thank you for posting. 👍
I think this way of oil analysis response is to make it more accessible and understanding to the avarage driver. I think that is actually pretty good. Also shows that there is most likely a human actually writing that.
I think it's great that you did a video about this. Yes oil analysis' are often not cheap, but they can well be worth the money. My last oil analysis predicted a head gasket failure well ahead of the gasket failing catastrophically. Could have been a lot more expensive hadn't I done the analysis and not knowm about it.
I'm doing an oil analysis on my own vehicle later this week when I change the oil. The video was really informative on the metrics to watch out for for my engine health. Thanks Jason.
As far as mobil 1 I am quite impressed with their new GF6 oils, i’ve been running full synthetic in my 3.6 R legacy from day one, i’m currently almost at 120,000 miles and the engine barely burns any oil I just recently was able to get my hands on this new classification of oil and the oxidation rate is impressive compared to its old blend! Jason!
I was lucky enough to hear about blackstone before I bought my first new car 15 years ago. Since I do all my work myself, its good to be able to catch something early enough to do something about it. Blackstone is great!
I'd like to see an oil analysis on a CNG (natural gas), or propane fueled engine. I have no personal experience, but anecdotal have these engines running very clean with very little sludge and soot. Edit: I wonder if this is how oil manufacturers come up with such long change intervals?
I worked at a gas station that had a huge propane tank with a pump next to the interstate in the 90s. We would get people that needed to fill their vans (mostly vans for some reason) with propane. Often they would check their oil and I would check it out with them. The oil always looked brand new. As a side note my car is E85 and being in Ohio its readily available. If I run mainly E85 my oil seems to stay much cleaner than when using gasoline.
You know I always wondered the same thing because I have a propane (dual fuel) powered generator and I wondered if the propane was easier on the oil than gasoline. Ohio player1177 thanks for the info also I appreciate it
Decades ago when my brother was a diesel truck mechanic, he told me about oil analysis as a way to determine an engine's health. When it comes to hidden engine damage, I wonder how the VW air-cooled flat-four in the 1960s would rate? Having operating such vehicles, it's remarkable the amount of maintenance neglect that engine could be subjected to, and still keep running.
I have a 16 F150 with the 2.7L Ecoboost engine. At about 75k I had a Blackstone oil analysis done. I only use Mobil 1 full synthetic 5-30 and I change it at 3-4k mile intervals. That analysis was at 3k and the only warning I got was about the viscosity as well. They informed me it may be from fuel dilution but after checking my fuel trims and injector leak down I saw nothing unusual. It's nice to see you had a similar experience and they give follow-up information on how it could just be you're changing it sooner than you need to. I was thinking since my engine is direct injected and turbocharged it may just have more blow-by than a standard vehicle engine and that could be the reason for the fuel dilution/drop in viscosity. Thanks for this video Jason, very informative.
Jed Brown: Better to change it a little too often than to have a HUGE engine rebuild bill, or decide you need a new car. From someone who likes driving reliable older cars with no car payments who considers oil changes MONEY WELL SPENT.
@@jamesplotkin4674 sorry I was a little wrong. Running rich when starting from cold was done to help start the engine, somewhat like what the choke does on carburettors. After the engine gets slightly warm, it then slowly goes to a closed loop to meet emissions standards. I don't think most engine likes running lean tho.
I didn't realize that such a service was available to end-users smaller than fleet operators. Interesting! Seems like a very useful service indeed, depending on the cost.
Nice job! We are big believers in used oil analysis. Higher levels of blow-by will increase oxidation, soot and fuel dilution, so used oil analysis is a great tool for checking and monitoring piston ring seal.
Interesting addition re sand... I used to work with dual fuel diesel engines that would run on mixture of diesel and CNG or LNG. The attraction for many was to use Biogas/Biomethane for the CO2 benefits. We found that this kind of gas had siloxanes in it. Overtime it would basically be sandblasting the insides of the gas injectors and getting into the engine oil etc. Not good! They tend to leave a white powdery residue on the hot stuff.
My report from Blackstone 2010 rx450h 77830 miles Amsoil 25000 mile Guarantee 20,078 mile oil change PAUL: For oil run more than 20,000 miles, these results are impressive. That's a lot longer than the ~7,900 miles our universal averages for these engines are based on. Iron is a bit above average, but iron naturally accumulates with miles on the oil, so it's better than average on a per-mile basis. The viscosity did thicken up some compared to your virgin sample, but that didn't hurt anything that we can see. The trace of fuel is also harmless. Silicon was high. It looks harmless, but it never hurts to inspect air filtration to rule out dirt as a possibility. Good report.
Paul, the oil filter that fits your vehicle is small and is not designed to reach 20k or 25k miles. The Amsoil Oil Filter (EA15k02) that fits your vehicle (which also works in my Toyota Camry Hybrid) is only designed to hold contaminates for 15k miles. Amsoil says if you use another filter, you shouldn’t go over 12k miles with that filter. In the event that you didn’t change your oil filter before reacting the 20,078 mile mark (when you had the oil tested), possibly that was the cause of the high level of silicon, which Blackstone didn't feel was harmful? Otherwise, like the comments on Blackstone’s report, impressive results! By the way, that is a very good testament in apparently using 0W-20 motor oil in the heat of Florida. Do you mostly drive on the highway or city driving or a combination? Thanks!
This is my thought. When your engine was idling for 15 minutes, did it get hot enough for the computer to go into closed-loop? If not, that would explain the richness in your oil on the idle cycle.
Modern vehicles don't need to warm up before going into closed loop (though some may have a low minimum temperature threshold for cold conditions). As soon as the O2 sensor starts responding it will switch. Usually under a minute.
It doesn't matter as the oil has to reach operating temperature for any water, fuel etc to evaporate properly, that usually takes between 20-30 minutes of driving. Idling will never get the oil hot enough. :)
@@PSA78 All true, but I think he lives in Idaho now. Colder, thinner air could prolong closed loop activation. The longer your in it, the longer it would take excess fuel to burn out of the oil.
Hey... That's a great video quite informative... The reason why the results showed high level of fuel in the 15min idling is for a reason explained below. Piston rings and compression rings have a small gap which expands once the engine is warm enough.. till is was warm enough your vehicle had a the addition of fuel to the oil... I hope this information helps you and others reading this... Thanks
I love things like this. Rather than just "part breaks, replace it" instead use a service point to analyse potential issues and address weak points before they leave you standing at the side of the road with the hazards on. Both options keep the mechanic in a job, but only one causes, at minimum, huge inconvenience.
I’ve honestly been waiting for this video forever haha. I saved a couple oil samples from my first car, 98 dodge stratus, and really wanted to send it in, but had to move. My prelude will certainly have some interesting results.
Just wondering how you avoid contamination from the pump kit itself. Or is that insignificant? Are you using a new pump kit or hose every time? You are not cleaning the pipe out with gas are you, and then get gas contamination results. Please tell us about the procedure.
Blackstone is great, I've been sending them locomotive oil samples for years. Thanks for explaining what everything on these reports means, I was a bit lost on a couple items before. Fun fact, locomotive engine oil cannot contain zinc because it's not good for the silver bearings present in certain engines.
Can you please do video about Vehicles that run on CNG(Natural Gas)? How efficient it is compared to regular fuel, CNG conversion of a fuel engine, etc...
Regarding extended performance oils it’s hard to beat Mobil 1 EP. The other which has many certs is Castrol extended performance(gold bottle). Both some truly amazing lubricants! Great job!
Fuel dilution into the oil is caused when the engine is cold, common with direct injection, when the engine is hot the fuel evaporates, likely you took the sample after a short run.
I got a new car this year, and was a bit surprised when I looked into the owner's manual that it recommended the first oil change at 12 months or 6,000 miles. I did a double-take. IIRC, coolant flush was either 100 or 120k miles. It's amazing what these engineers have done.
A 30-40 dollar analysis will give you what you need to know. Basically, the price if not less of an oil change. Even just doing it once will provide you with great information.
The military has been using oil analysis for decades (since the 80's) particularly for their tanks. It works but in general its only worth it for fleet vehicles that have constant heavy use. In passenger cars its overkill.
Nice video. It's very instructive. But there's one topic I would like to hear about, and it's why some fluids cannot be mixed? I'm thinking especially of coolant fluid or hydraulic fluid, like transmission oil. There's different kind of these fluid and they can cause damage if they're mixed together. Could you make something about this?
Can you make a detailed video on specifically why alternators go bad (failure mode analysis) as well as the symptoms that said failures produce? Practical information such as the “why” behind the “what” is typically very interesting to most people.
Who knows, could be a massive lie! Extremely doubtful, though. Love Blackstone. Feels like we are talking to real people… because we are. Have had more than one prolonged experience where the regular monitoring of my used oil was exactly in line with my direct personal experience/assumptions & other evidence, and helped me figure things out at present & in the long run, in order to care for engines - in one case, provided knowledge to help save it entirely, with early warnings via analysis. Totally worth it. Highly recommend doing it at least just once a year!
I have been told fuel in the oil id common with long idling, which explains your results. This happens to me in MN over the winter with letting the vehicle warm up, then driving only short distances to work. Longer trips will burn off the fuel in the oil, as long as there isn't so much that it mixes in and thins the oil to the point that both fuel and oil blow by into the combustion chamber.
Ignore fuel dilution. If you put in new, cool oil, and idled for ~15 minutes, it's possible for hydrocarbons from an idling engine to condense into the oil, until the oil has a chance to heat up. Once the car is driven for 20 minutes or so, the oil will come up to temperature long enough for condensed hydrocarbons to evaporate through your positive crank case ventilation system. (a loaded engine burns cleaner) Water tends to emulsify oil, by using detergent to bind the water and oil together. That creates a thick substance similar to mayonnaise. That definitely increases viscosity, and sometimes, will even clog oil pump pickup screens, and oil filters. Condensation from chronic cold driving, or water and coolant from a bad head gasket can definitely cause that as well.
My first bike was a 100cc motorcycle which I am using from 2013. During pandemic situation I don't use it for 2 months bike milege at the time was 65k Kms. After 3 months of total rest in garage bike don't get started kicker starter was simply moving downwards without compression. I call the mechanic he took it to the shop. After that I came to know that valve got some issue so engine did not get compression. Some valve related engine parts were taken to another workshop for machining purpose. Then some leaky gaskets replaced sparkplugs replaced, carbs cleaned and retuned. Now the bike almost covered 75k Kms 2 oil changes with 20-40 semi synthetic oil. After that engine overhaul, I observed my oil get blackening that in previous conditions. I have a sight glass on the crankcase for oil level observation. Through which I can see the oil colour too. But I did not observe any fuel efficiency issues or performance issues but little starting trouble in the morning especially starting bsfter 1 week of rest or more. Is my engine safe or not any idea? I am getting 80km/ltre of gasolin milege. The company claims 87km/ltre. Only issue is blackening the oil quicker than earlier and starting trouble while it is cold. Should I retune the carb in an expert shop?
Jason can you tell us about how much the oil analysis services costed? And if this is something that regular people should do at some point during your car’s lifespan?
Hi Engineering Explained, I wanted to know if you plan on posting the second part (off-road) review of the new Ford Bronco? Would love to hear your input on that, as it's the main attraction for me if I were to purchase that type of vehicle! Thank you so much for your hard work, long time subscriber, long live the white board!
The sample straight out the bottle already has alarming fuel dilution, with more than one percent. Think they're not good at assessing fuel dilution, or?
My Audi dealership, which has perhaps the best customer service on the planet, does oil analysis every time you get your fluids changed. Hilariously (and mostly due to Covid) I purchased a new Q5 SUV in July 2019, and I was alerted to a service (for the first time in my life) based in TIME. As in, instead of the dashboard saying “100 miles to next service” when you startup, it said “12 DAYS to next service.” Due to the lockdown and my extreme extra caution because I’m immunocompromised, after one year I had driven a grand total of 2,236 miles. Oil and other fluids really should be changed after a year no matter what, and luckily my results came back no concerns. I just thought it was cool that this dealership goes to these lengths to show how your engine is holding up. Hopefully in the next year I will have the opportunity to drive more. I like driving. And my sweet Irish Wolfhound LOVES going on drives, rides, trips, around the block, whatever. We need to do more of that.
Stephen Miles: Having sensors might be better. My friend, who drives a 25_ year old Mercedes changes the oil promptly when the car tells him to, roughly every 10K miles. It does it based on sensors detecting how much dirt the oil has in it. Many auto dealers, OTOH, want to charge you for service every chance they get, and also sell you things you don't need, so there's that.
@@rogergeyer9851 I agree with all of that. However, fluids really should be changed at least once a year, especially if one lives in a hot climate like I do. And all of my services up to 120,000 miles were included with the price of the car, which, because of my wife’s job, was a non-negotiable fixed price.
I remember talking to an Amsoil rep about their 25k mile change interval recommendation and I was asking about how they validated it and if they would assume any responsibility for damages caused by ignoring manufacturer specifications, and they basically told me they tested some old corollas (which have insanely reliable and simple engines) and either I can buy it or not they don't care but if it causes problems in my car that's my problem not theirs. So rather than pay 5x the price for a quart of 5w20 from them, I just do 5 5k changes with normal full synthetic (I use Pennzoil but that's irrelevant) for the same price and maintain my OEM maintenance. In this case with them saying they support 20k miles with that oil, make sure you have a car with as little systems dependent on oil and oil pressure as possible. I'd NEVER trust those claims in my 5.7 hemi due to the MDS system, and same goes for AFM/DFM in GM trucks.
Good info. My takeaway from the video confirmed my actions of just sticking with reliable Hondas with some tolerance in the engine if miss the strict 9k mile interval
9k on Honda, after servicing more than few Honda cars I feel safe with something like 5-6k using Honda OEM oil. 9k is really pushing it to the limits in regular city driving (it will last past the warranty). I have seen some of the engine with 20-25k OCI using Amsoil. Personally I don't trust such claims and not all engines are designed the same way - some require more frequent oil changes than others.
I was heart broken when I was told not to use Mobil one in my turboru. Three past Subarus went 300k on Mobil one, vdc and two outback sports. Now I use Motul X clean 530 on my 13 WRX every 3-4k. I wanted to keep it 530 and Motul has that good shearing rate. Those oem Subaru air filters really are the best, I have a new itb grimmspeed intake collecting dust after seeing how much oem collect after 3k.
Everytime I've used Blackstone Ive been asked what oil and what weights. I did find it interesting there were sizeable differences in the results, I assume that is because the way the tests are preformed between the two compainies?
I love Blackstone labs with their oil reports I've been able to specifically try different oils in my vehicles and see what oil produces the least wear metals mobil 1 does phenomenal its a great oil and I was always a lifelong mobil one guy but Amsoil edges them out just a bit in wear metels TBN and oil life!!!!! Either way great oils mobil 1 and amsoil is the only oils i trust in my vehicles power equipment motorcycles ect....thank you Blackstone!! Great video brother
With experimental aircraft the first oil change is after 5 or 10 hours of use. And it critical to use a specific oil to do the break in(one without a lot of detergents I think). I wish I knew more but after learning this I wondered why the same strategies weren’t practiced for cars.
When I sent my oil into Blackstone, they asked for the specific oil used. You stated they didn't know. Second, turn the bottle on side or even with the opening to the top, it pours a lot better.
Jason, you left out the how, where and cost to get this done! (Kit in the background?) Also if there is an advantage to having this one before buying a pre-owned vehicle? I hate to say "used car/truck" now that all vehicles are so $$$$$!!!. Certainly not like the old days!! Thanks much, you rock!! 8) --gary
How as there any fuel measured in the brand new oil... 7% by volume on say 4 qts of oil would be like a 1 cup of gas which would seem significant if I am reading that right and agree there would be a data error.
I think it would be interesting to see how age effect's oil, usually it's recommended every x miles or x months and while the miles makes sense I'm wondering if 1 year old oil that's lightly used vs oil that's at it's mile limit would compare.
Usually it's not the age itself that's the issue, but the time interval is to handle vehicles that are driven on a lot of short trips and which may build up more contamination.
1:23
i cannot un-imagine Jason just basically whipping out his whiteboard then lecturing the bear on engineering.
I bet it was about BEARings he he he he
Being a casual mechanical hobbyist, I never really thought about the parallel oil provides to an engine's health as blood does to a person's health. Great video, as always, sir.
I've been using Blackstone for a few years to keep tabs on my vehicles. I can concur with the more personal analysis they include in each report, with an atta boy or two thrown in for a good report. Lol. It's a nice touch with what would usually be a dry read.
I totally agree. I've been using them for a number of years and find their service to be very informative and valuable.
I came to the comments to say Blackstone. Totally agree
what does such an oil analysis cost?
@@HazewinDog 30 dollars a Blackstone. They'll ship you the sample kits for free. It's amazing what you can learn about your engine and oil
@@jons4686 $30 definitely worth doing once a year on a vehicle that you plan to keep long term. I did that for my Jeep Liberty CRD for 10 years and already started with the first oil change on my 2020 Tacoma.
Hi Jason, retired mechanical engineer here, you should teach to local universities - you are presenting the common applications of engineering science (most important for consumers' knowledge). Back in the 70's it took me a one year internship at Ford to learn about "practical" applications of some (if not all) of the theoretical knowledge I had learned at my University. You make it interesting and your enthusiasm explaining engineering principles is contagious. Thank you for these great presentations, Ciao L
man these videos are truly the best on youtube, I don't think enough people appreciate the work that goes into these
It was a lot of work to put together, and fascinating information - thanks for watching!
Its all personal opinion tbh, In my opinion GreenHamGaming has the best content on youtube.
Great video! Didn't think oil analysis would be that interesting. Seriously what a good dude for putting this info out there for all of us.
Blackstone is great! I love how personal the descriptions of the results are. They liked my name for my Kioti tractor, which I mainly use to mow fields: Mow-Bi Wan Kioti. Unfortunately, that old, formerly abused machine more or less makes Blackstone's people say "yikes!".
true im also using them for my e85 engines tests on my channel . they show great care always
I have used Blackstone on all of my cars for several years now. The information they provide is invaluable. It’s reassuring to KNOW what my engines and oil are doing versus just changing oil blindly.
After several years of being a mechanic, I am still shocked and amazed when a vehicle comes in with "most" of its oil. Almost all are waaay overdue, low or almost none. Trying to explain to someone about oil consumption "but it doesn't smoke and I was told to change my oil when the "light" comes on"......
That's scary. Used car buyer beware.
Sounds like most are women who are single and no one is telling em too change there oil lol.
@@mikeschultz6383 of the hundreds of vehicles I see a year most of them are owned by men. Age is 35+ for more than 80% of my customers. Almost zero percent are owned by young women or single women.
@@MrAPCProductions very interesting so i guess don’t go off the assumption that women don’t know anything about cars and there maintenance nice too know. Also good too hear
@@mikeschultz6383 I think the reason is that the vast majority of car owners are not interested in cars as anything but transportation devices or to a degree as a status symbol. The inner workings are not what interests these people. It also says a lot about how reliable cars has become. It used to be that you more or less had to know a bit about how the car worked as they tended to break down now and then. Just look at something as simple as oil leaks. If you look back forty or fifty years there would be an oil slick under a lot of cars. It was just the way things were. Today it's really uncommon to see this and when you discover one under your car you will react by wondering what has gone wrong. I've also thought of the number of cars I see having broken down on the highway and standing on the shoulder waiting for assistance. When I was a kid you saw this every time you drove for any distance on the highway. Today it's really uncommon to see anything worse than some one who ran out of gas, and even that is uncommon and fuel gages are usually a lot more reliable today than they used to be. Remember when cold starting a car could be an adventure? Remember using the manual choke, pumping the gas pedal, or perhaps having to use starter fluid if it was freezing? I have almost forgot all of that. My twenty year old Toyota has never had a problem starting even when it was really cold.
Cars has become so easy to use that people are forgetting how they work. And when something goes wrong most people just leave it to a mechanic to fix. The only time they care about what makes their car run is when they pay the mechanic for taking care of their car. Heck I have friends who never open the hood unless they are forced to do so. They have a mechanic service it once a year, and just assume that they will take care of things like oil changes, air filters, thread depth, coolant levels and so on. I can safely say they have no idea about oil change intervals or anything else. All they do is fill it up with gas and drive.
I'm a former chopper pilot from the French Navy. I remember we did *a lot* of oil analysis for gas turbines. They were pretty helpful to know if the engines were fine of if they were gonna eat their internals. =)
Didn't know this was a thing. Just ordered two kits to get my rigs checked out. Thank you!
An excellent presentation as always. I drove an F250 7.3 for 16 years and had oil analysis at every oil change after the second one. Nothing showed up and I felt very comfortable.
I’ve been monitoring my engine oil with Blackstone since 0 miles. Good way to know what’s going on with your engine.
Very interesting video! I recently learned about oil analysis at my new job, we operate a big turbine compressor that compresses chlorine and I take samples of the oil every month to get it checked for wear and possible chlorine leaks. These measurements realy can tell you a lot.
The oil analysis shows what many Subaru Turbo owners have been saying for years. Mobil 1 thins out way to fast. At 12:35 in the video, the answer to why the viscosity dropped was you used Mobil 1. :)
Great video👍really interesting, I used to work in an open cast mine as a welder. They took oil samples from all the machines every couple of weeks (engines, gearboxes and final drives). I always wondered how they analysed it. Thanks👍
I've ordered and recieved a Blackstone analysis kit and plan on a 3k change on my 2.4 DIT. About 600 miles to go.
I feel this is a very important subject and have since the 70s and 80s while working as a heavy equipment operator and saw oil samples taken every oil change.
Thank you for posting. 👍
I think this way of oil analysis response is to make it more accessible and understanding to the avarage driver. I think that is actually pretty good. Also shows that there is most likely a human actually writing that.
I think it's great that you did a video about this. Yes oil analysis' are often not cheap, but they can well be worth the money. My last oil analysis predicted a head gasket failure well ahead of the gasket failing catastrophically. Could have been a lot more expensive hadn't I done the analysis and not knowm about it.
I'm doing an oil analysis on my own vehicle later this week when I change the oil. The video was really informative on the metrics to watch out for for my engine health. Thanks Jason.
As far as mobil 1 I am quite impressed with their new GF6 oils, i’ve been running full synthetic in my 3.6 R legacy from day one, i’m currently almost at 120,000 miles and the engine barely burns any oil I just recently was able to get my hands on this new classification of oil and the oxidation rate is impressive compared to its old blend! Jason!
Did you just include your vacation expenses as a tax write off?
You're a genious, Jason.
Great video BTW.
11:46 - Hmm, not sure I trust the third party if they said no oil showed up in your oil samples. 🤪
(just joking, it was supposed to say water)
Wow, great catch, yes, it's supposed to say water! 🤦♂️😂
Please repeat at 6k, 9k, etc: as much as you will alow on the mighty croastreck. Thank you.
I was lucky enough to hear about blackstone before I bought my first new car 15 years ago. Since I do all my work myself, its good to be able to catch something early enough to do something about it. Blackstone is great!
I'd like to see an oil analysis on a CNG (natural gas), or propane fueled engine. I have no personal experience, but anecdotal have these engines running very clean with very little sludge and soot. Edit: I wonder if this is how oil manufacturers come up with such long change intervals?
I worked at a gas station that had a huge propane tank with a pump next to the interstate in the 90s. We would get people that needed to fill their vans (mostly vans for some reason) with propane. Often they would check their oil and I would check it out with them. The oil always looked brand new. As a side note my car is E85 and being in Ohio its readily available. If I run mainly E85 my oil seems to stay much cleaner than when using gasoline.
You know I always wondered the same thing because I have a propane (dual fuel) powered generator and I wondered if the propane was easier on the oil than gasoline. Ohio player1177 thanks for the info also I appreciate it
You did an excellent job presenting this information! Well Done.
Thanks!
I’ve been testing oil for 30 years. Running oil analysis for my trucking fleet. No one absolutely no one beats amsoil.
Decades ago when my brother was a diesel truck mechanic, he told me about oil analysis as a way to determine an engine's health.
When it comes to hidden engine damage, I wonder how the VW air-cooled flat-four in the 1960s would rate? Having operating such vehicles, it's remarkable the amount of maintenance neglect that engine could be subjected to, and still keep running.
How did you collect the oil? Should it be on the bottom where all the contaminates are located?
I have a 16 F150 with the 2.7L Ecoboost engine. At about 75k I had a Blackstone oil analysis done. I only use Mobil 1 full synthetic 5-30 and I change it at 3-4k mile intervals. That analysis was at 3k and the only warning I got was about the viscosity as well. They informed me it may be from fuel dilution but after checking my fuel trims and injector leak down I saw nothing unusual. It's nice to see you had a similar experience and they give follow-up information on how it could just be you're changing it sooner than you need to. I was thinking since my engine is direct injected and turbocharged it may just have more blow-by than a standard vehicle engine and that could be the reason for the fuel dilution/drop in viscosity. Thanks for this video Jason, very informative.
Jed Brown: Better to change it a little too often than to have a HUGE engine rebuild bill, or decide you need a new car. From someone who likes driving reliable older cars with no car payments who considers oil changes MONEY WELL SPENT.
Probably the fuel present in the engine oil for the 2nd sample is due to engine idling rich to get the cat up to temperature faster.
Actually, it's a lean mixture at startup and barely noticeable misfiring which contribute to getting a cat hot.
@@jamesplotkin4674 sorry I was a little wrong. Running rich when starting from cold was done to help start the engine, somewhat like what the choke does on carburettors. After the engine gets slightly warm, it then slowly goes to a closed loop to meet emissions standards. I don't think most engine likes running lean tho.
I use BSL yes I always enjoy the commentary.
I didn't realize that such a service was available to end-users smaller than fleet operators. Interesting! Seems like a very useful service indeed, depending on the cost.
It's like $30 with Blackstone
Blackstone will also send you bottles for free. with free shipping back to them.
Yes, I use Blackstone (have for many years) and they are both competent and lightheartedly friendly.
Nice job! We are big believers in used oil analysis. Higher levels of blow-by will increase oxidation, soot and fuel dilution, so used oil analysis is a great tool for checking and monitoring piston ring seal.
Good info!
So when do you do your first oil change on a new car? I do mine at 1000, to me that's when an engine is broken in and ready to go!
A fascinating idea for diagnostics.
I am reminded of all the CR-V 1.5 turbo engine videos claiming fuel-oil dilution. I got rid of my 2017 though.
Interesting addition re sand... I used to work with dual fuel diesel engines that would run on mixture of diesel and CNG or LNG. The attraction for many was to use Biogas/Biomethane for the CO2 benefits. We found that this kind of gas had siloxanes in it. Overtime it would basically be sandblasting the insides of the gas injectors and getting into the engine oil etc. Not good! They tend to leave a white powdery residue on the hot stuff.
My report from Blackstone
2010 rx450h 77830 miles
Amsoil 25000 mile Guarantee
20,078 mile oil change
PAUL: For oil run more than 20,000 miles, these results are impressive. That's a lot longer than the ~7,900
miles our universal averages for these engines are based on. Iron is a bit above average, but iron naturally
accumulates with miles on the oil, so it's better than average on a per-mile basis. The viscosity did thicken
up some compared to your virgin sample, but that didn't hurt anything that we can see. The trace of fuel is
also harmless. Silicon was high. It looks harmless, but it never hurts to inspect air filtration to rule out dirt as
a possibility. Good report.
Paul, the oil filter that fits your vehicle is small and is not designed to reach 20k or 25k miles. The Amsoil Oil Filter (EA15k02) that fits your vehicle (which also works in my Toyota Camry Hybrid) is only designed to hold contaminates for 15k miles. Amsoil says if you use another filter, you shouldn’t go over 12k miles with that filter. In the event that you didn’t change your oil filter before reacting the 20,078 mile mark (when you had the oil tested), possibly that was the cause of the high level of silicon, which Blackstone didn't feel was harmful? Otherwise, like the comments on Blackstone’s report, impressive results!
By the way, that is a very good testament in apparently using 0W-20 motor oil in the heat of Florida. Do you mostly drive on the highway or city driving or a combination? Thanks!
This is my thought. When your engine was idling for 15 minutes, did it get hot enough for the computer to go into closed-loop? If not, that would explain the richness in your oil on the idle cycle.
It should switch withing a minute or two, Cats and Lambda sensors should not take that long to heat up (to function)
Modern vehicles don't need to warm up before going into closed loop (though some may have a low minimum temperature threshold for cold conditions). As soon as the O2 sensor starts responding it will switch. Usually under a minute.
@@RobertHancock1 which can be usually noticed by the engine reducing idle from almost 1k to 650ish rpm.
It doesn't matter as the oil has to reach operating temperature for any water, fuel etc to evaporate properly, that usually takes between 20-30 minutes of driving. Idling will never get the oil hot enough. :)
@@PSA78 All true, but I think he lives in Idaho now. Colder, thinner air could prolong closed loop activation. The longer your in it, the longer it would take excess fuel to burn out of the oil.
I remember arguing about an early oil change with the service lady at Ford. She was convinced it was pointless.
Same at my Honda dealership. I change my oil every 5,000 full synthetic and the service manager said “that’s pointless it can go 10,000 miles”.
Those ford ecoboost engines need early oil changes as the deposits build up quickly. Ford Boss Me channel did several vids on this.
@@JohnS-il1dr now that is interesting.
Hey...
That's a great video quite informative...
The reason why the results showed high level of fuel in the 15min idling is for a reason explained below.
Piston rings and compression rings have a small gap which expands once the engine is warm enough.. till is was warm enough your vehicle had a the addition of fuel to the oil...
I hope this information helps you and others reading this...
Thanks
I love things like this. Rather than just "part breaks, replace it" instead use a service point to analyse potential issues and address weak points before they leave you standing at the side of the road with the hazards on.
Both options keep the mechanic in a job, but only one causes, at minimum, huge inconvenience.
This is probably one of the most informative videos on engine oil I've ever seen. Well done, m8
This is highly informative and very educatiomal, thanks a lot Jason!
No, it is not educatiomal at all.
well, I might change oil this year. After some years (more than I'd want to admit), my engine deserves it.
This analysis is invaluable.
Its useless if you get an electric car
@@UnipornFrumm It is not significant if you travel by foot also.
@@miltiadiskoutsokeras9189 yeah but you wont do that to go to another city for example
@@UnipornFrumm completely pointless if i take Greyhound.
@@UnipornFrumm and your electric car is useless after 125,000 when the battery dies
Had a bad analysis on an old boat engine. Still ran and performed like a champ.
As always, pleasure to watch things that my professors at the university tried to explain to us, but unsuccessfully.
I’ve honestly been waiting for this video forever haha. I saved a couple oil samples from my first car, 98 dodge stratus, and really wanted to send it in, but had to move.
My prelude will certainly have some interesting results.
would be cool to know
@@nicolaasvandenberg4023 - I certainly intend to use their services, I'll do the lubricant analysis as soon as I can 👍🏼
Just wondering how you avoid contamination from the pump kit itself. Or is that insignificant? Are you using a new pump kit or hose every time? You are not cleaning the pipe out with gas are you, and then get gas contamination results. Please tell us about the procedure.
Blackstone is great, I've been sending them locomotive oil samples for years. Thanks for explaining what everything on these reports means, I was a bit lost on a couple items before. Fun fact, locomotive engine oil cannot contain zinc because it's not good for the silver bearings present in certain engines.
Can you please do video about Vehicles that run on CNG(Natural Gas)? How efficient it is compared to regular fuel, CNG conversion of a fuel engine, etc...
wouldnt DI engines show more oil dilution? Ive always heard about that. The oil in my wrx and my dads f150 both smell like gas.
When the engine warms up the fuel in the oil evaporates and passes through the pcv system
this was really cool to learn that you could gain so much insight just from analyzing the oil
Regarding extended performance oils it’s hard to beat Mobil 1 EP. The other which has many certs is Castrol extended performance(gold bottle). Both some truly amazing lubricants! Great job!
I use blackstone for oil analysis with my vehicles, I love the comments I get back from them!
Fuel dilution into the oil is caused when the engine is cold, common with direct injection, when the engine is hot the fuel evaporates, likely you took the sample after a short run.
I got a new car this year, and was a bit surprised when I looked into the owner's manual that it recommended the first oil change at 12 months or 6,000 miles. I did a double-take. IIRC, coolant flush was either 100 or 120k miles. It's amazing what these engineers have done.
For future readers, take ph balance strips to check coolant. I doubt it'll last that long.
Jason, would you mind sharing where you got your oil extractor?
Great explanation of UOA. Why I really like your channel, it's SCIENCE based. NOT as so many are, opinion based. Well done.
Curious to what my Honda Accords numbers would be . It’s a 2018 and I have 35 thousand miles. Wonder if it’s diluted with fuel.
Haha I have a '20 with about the same miles and I was wondering that also.
A 30-40 dollar analysis will give you what you need to know. Basically, the price if not less of an oil change. Even just doing it once will provide you with great information.
Always enjoy Blackstone oil reports. It's also nice that they respond to any questions or concerns that I may write in.
The military has been using oil analysis for decades (since the 80's) particularly for their tanks. It works but in general its only worth it for fleet vehicles that have constant heavy use. In passenger cars its overkill.
Kudos for taking samples for separate analysis
Nice video. It's very instructive. But there's one topic I would like to hear about, and it's why some fluids cannot be mixed? I'm thinking especially of coolant fluid or hydraulic fluid, like transmission oil. There's different kind of these fluid and they can cause damage if they're mixed together. Could you make something about this?
Can you make a detailed video on specifically why alternators go bad (failure mode analysis) as well as the symptoms that said failures produce?
Practical information such as the “why” behind the “what” is typically very interesting to most people.
I literally clicked on this because I’m leaving from LA to Yellowstone and little did I know you did the same trip.
Oil analysis was available in the late 1980's. I had a 1986.5 Toyota Supra and had it done a couple of times.
Who knows, could be a massive lie! Extremely doubtful, though. Love Blackstone. Feels like we are talking to real people… because we are. Have had more than one prolonged experience where the regular monitoring of my used oil was exactly in line with my direct personal experience/assumptions & other evidence, and helped me figure things out at present & in the long run, in order to care for engines - in one case, provided knowledge to help save it entirely, with early warnings via analysis. Totally worth it. Highly recommend doing it at least just once a year!
would you consider talking about oil burning? you've enrich our minds with lots of useful engine oil topics, thanks man.
I have been told fuel in the oil id common with long idling, which explains your results. This happens to me in MN over the winter with letting the vehicle warm up, then driving only short distances to work. Longer trips will burn off the fuel in the oil, as long as there isn't so much that it mixes in and thins the oil to the point that both fuel and oil blow by into the combustion chamber.
People like you make America great!
Great video and very informative. So what is the typical cost for the oil analysis?
30 bucks from blackstone labs
@@calfeggs wow, that is so reasonable. So glad he did a video on this, I would've never thought of a service like this.
Blackstone is around $25-$30. The TBN is additional.
Ignore fuel dilution. If you put in new, cool oil, and idled for ~15 minutes, it's possible for hydrocarbons from an idling engine to condense into the oil, until the oil has a chance to heat up. Once the car is driven for 20 minutes or so, the oil will come up to temperature long enough for condensed hydrocarbons to evaporate through your positive crank case ventilation system. (a loaded engine burns cleaner)
Water tends to emulsify oil, by using detergent to bind the water and oil together. That creates a thick substance similar to mayonnaise. That definitely increases viscosity, and sometimes, will even clog oil pump pickup screens, and oil filters. Condensation from chronic cold driving, or water and coolant from a bad head gasket can definitely cause that as well.
My first bike was a 100cc motorcycle which I am using from 2013. During pandemic situation I don't use it for 2 months bike milege at the time was 65k Kms. After 3 months of total rest in garage bike don't get started kicker starter was simply moving downwards without compression. I call the mechanic he took it to the shop. After that I came to know that valve got some issue so engine did not get compression. Some valve related engine parts were taken to another workshop for machining purpose. Then some leaky gaskets replaced sparkplugs replaced, carbs cleaned and retuned.
Now the bike almost covered 75k Kms 2 oil changes with 20-40 semi synthetic oil. After that engine overhaul, I observed my oil get blackening that in previous conditions. I have a sight glass on the crankcase for oil level observation. Through which I can see the oil colour too. But I did not observe any fuel efficiency issues or performance issues but little starting trouble in the morning especially starting bsfter 1 week of rest or more. Is my engine safe or not any idea? I am getting 80km/ltre of gasolin milege. The company claims 87km/ltre. Only issue is blackening the oil quicker than earlier and starting trouble while it is cold. Should I retune the carb in an expert shop?
Jason can you tell us about how much the oil analysis services costed? And if this is something that regular people should do at some point during your car’s lifespan?
It's about $30-$40 (depending on which you select) to do through Blackstone Labs, the third party I used in this video.
Hi Engineering Explained, I wanted to know if you plan on posting the second part (off-road) review of the new Ford Bronco? Would love to hear your input on that, as it's the main attraction for me if I were to purchase that type of vehicle! Thank you so much for your hard work, long time subscriber, long live the white board!
The sample straight out the bottle already has alarming fuel dilution, with more than one percent. Think they're not good at assessing fuel dilution, or?
This is used in hgvs, can detect early faults, preventative maintenance, and it can be pricey to change the oil with no need
Damn, I want an enthusiastic and supportive oil spec sheet. Anyway, congrats on your car's internal tolerances, they must be magnificent.
My Audi dealership, which has perhaps the best customer service on the planet, does oil analysis every time you get your fluids changed. Hilariously (and mostly due to Covid) I purchased a new Q5 SUV in July 2019, and I was alerted to a service (for the first time in my life) based in TIME. As in, instead of the dashboard saying “100 miles to next service” when you startup, it said “12 DAYS to next service.” Due to the lockdown and my extreme extra caution because I’m immunocompromised, after one year I had driven a grand total of 2,236 miles. Oil and other fluids really should be changed after a year no matter what, and luckily my results came back no concerns. I just thought it was cool that this dealership goes to these lengths to show how your engine is holding up. Hopefully in the next year I will have the opportunity to drive more. I like driving. And my sweet Irish Wolfhound LOVES going on drives, rides, trips, around the block, whatever. We need to do more of that.
Stephen Miles: Having sensors might be better. My friend, who drives a 25_ year old Mercedes changes the oil promptly when the car tells him to, roughly every 10K miles. It does it based on sensors detecting how much dirt the oil has in it.
Many auto dealers, OTOH, want to charge you for service every chance they get, and also sell you things you don't need, so there's that.
@@rogergeyer9851 I agree with all of that. However, fluids really should be changed at least once a year, especially if one lives in a hot climate like I do. And all of my services up to 120,000 miles were included with the price of the car, which, because of my wife’s job, was a non-negotiable fixed price.
Where do we sign up for an oil analysts and who was the second company used? Links to buy a kit to test oil.
I remember talking to an Amsoil rep about their 25k mile change interval recommendation and I was asking about how they validated it and if they would assume any responsibility for damages caused by ignoring manufacturer specifications, and they basically told me they tested some old corollas (which have insanely reliable and simple engines) and either I can buy it or not they don't care but if it causes problems in my car that's my problem not theirs. So rather than pay 5x the price for a quart of 5w20 from them, I just do 5 5k changes with normal full synthetic (I use Pennzoil but that's irrelevant) for the same price and maintain my OEM maintenance.
In this case with them saying they support 20k miles with that oil, make sure you have a car with as little systems dependent on oil and oil pressure as possible. I'd NEVER trust those claims in my 5.7 hemi due to the MDS system, and same goes for AFM/DFM in GM trucks.
Good info. My takeaway from the video confirmed my actions of just sticking with reliable Hondas with some tolerance in the engine if miss the strict 9k mile interval
9k on Honda, after servicing more than few Honda cars I feel safe with something like 5-6k using Honda OEM oil. 9k is really pushing it to the limits in regular city driving (it will last past the warranty). I have seen some of the engine with 20-25k OCI using Amsoil. Personally I don't trust such claims and not all engines are designed the same way - some require more frequent oil changes than others.
Seems that Mobil screwed up the testing on the fuel dilution. Why didn’t you get the extra sample tested to confirm and also have them retest?
I was heart broken when I was told not to use Mobil one in my turboru. Three past Subarus went 300k on Mobil one, vdc and two outback sports. Now I use Motul X clean 530 on my 13 WRX every 3-4k. I wanted to keep it 530 and Motul has that good shearing rate. Those oem Subaru air filters really are the best, I have a new itb grimmspeed intake collecting dust after seeing how much oem collect after 3k.
What's the typical price for oil annalise? Cool video thanks
Did I miss where you describe how you get this kit, what you do, lead time, cost?
Jason, another informative video on hot button topics of motor forums.
No comment pro or con regarding oil analysis on passenger cars.
Everytime I've used Blackstone Ive been asked what oil and what weights. I did find it interesting there were sizeable differences in the results, I assume that is because the way the tests are preformed between the two compainies?
I love Blackstone labs with their oil reports I've been able to specifically try different oils in my vehicles and see what oil produces the least wear metals mobil 1 does phenomenal its a great oil and I was always a lifelong mobil one guy but Amsoil edges them out just a bit in wear metels TBN and oil life!!!!! Either way great oils mobil 1 and amsoil is the only oils i trust in my vehicles power equipment motorcycles ect....thank you Blackstone!! Great video brother
With experimental aircraft the first oil change is after 5 or 10 hours of use. And it critical to use a specific oil to do the break in(one without a lot of detergents I think). I wish I knew more but after learning this I wondered why the same strategies weren’t practiced for cars.
When I sent my oil into Blackstone, they asked for the specific oil used. You stated they didn't know. Second, turn the bottle on side or even with the opening to the top, it pours a lot better.
They asked for oil type so I listed 0W-20, not the brand/specific bottle.
@@EngineeringExplained they asked me for the exact oil, brand, line and weight.
For those additives such as phosphorus and zinc, is the higher the result the better the oil?
Jason, you left out the how, where and cost to get this done! (Kit in the background?) Also if there is an advantage to having this one before buying a pre-owned vehicle? I hate to say "used car/truck" now that all vehicles are so $$$$$!!!. Certainly not like the old days!! Thanks much, you rock!! 8) --gary
How as there any fuel measured in the brand new oil... 7% by volume on say 4 qts of oil would be like a 1 cup of gas which would seem significant if I am reading that right and agree there would be a data error.
It was after a 15min idle. In the oil fresh out of the can there was zero fuel if you watch the video :-)
1:23 did the bear check bear-ings as well? *badum-tss*
The reason for the fuel dilution issue is because cold engines are programmed to run rich until warm.
I think it would be interesting to see how age effect's oil, usually it's recommended every x miles or x months and while the miles makes sense I'm wondering if 1 year old oil that's lightly used vs oil that's at it's mile limit would compare.
Also interested
Usually it's not the age itself that's the issue, but the time interval is to handle vehicles that are driven on a lot of short trips and which may build up more contamination.