Oil Report


Fubar

Totally ****** Up
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Aug 2, 2006
3,979
Dallas, TX
Has anyone had their oil tested after a change? I just did and got back some strange readings. I wanted to know if it was normal for this type of car.

It read pretty high on:

Calcium - 2896
Phosphorus - 889
Zinc - 1072
Silicon - 29
Iron - 18
Lead - 6

Then the flash point was 380 which could be fixed with better oil. There was some fuel in the oil (1.0) but the sample was taken cold so I expected that. Anybody else run their oil thru the ringer?

I am thinking about using royal purple based on the flash point.
 

paul b

GT Owner
Nov 2, 2006
810
I know blow-by is a problem with these engines. Perhaps this is a cause more than the oil.
 

Indy GT

Yea, I got one...too
Mark IV Lifetime
Jan 14, 2006
2,545
Greenwood, IN
Fubar-
Kinda difficult to make a comment as you do not state how many hours (in airplane speak) or miles you have on the oil? Was the filter changed? (most probably). Did you cut the end-caps of the filter off by chance and look in the paper pleats for anything? Is the oil the OEM Motorcraft?

These are all pretty standard questions oil analysis companies want to know in my aircraft experience when I submit an oil sample for analysis.

As a general comment-

The Calcium, Phosphorus and Zinc are most likely from the oil additive package and thus of little significance. Submit a virgin sample to be analyzed (of the same oil you are using obviously) as a benchmark.

The Silicon is an indication of how well the air filter is doing (or not doing) its job of filtering dust, sand, silica etc out of the combusiton air. This does not seem too high but obviously can be aggrivated due to where you drive. Like road construction, new building construction, etc that releases dust into your driving environment.

Lastly, the Iron and Lead are "wear metals" and are an indication of engine health. Iron obviously from cylinder rings and walls and lead from the babbit bearings.

Understand oil analysis is not a one time deal. Its usefulness is in spotting TRENDS in engine health and thus you need to build up a number of samples as a baseline to see if any future test looks abnormal relative to your sampling experinece. Then too your comparison of your cars results to someone else in another part of the country with different driving conditions (be it humidity, temperature, airborne dust, frequency of car use, time between oil changes) can all affect the ability to compare apples-to-apples. Best to build up YOUR baseline over the years with sampling taken at your controlled rate to monitor your engine health.

Hope this helps...
 

Fubar

Totally ****** Up
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Aug 2, 2006
3,979
Dallas, TX
This is the report. I don't think the company doing the report had any similar engines to compare.

I thought I would ask if anyone here has gotten their oil tested. I suspect every engine has slightly different “expected” results and this engine is so different from the normal or "Universal Average" that I really wanted a similar report to compare it too.

Have you had your engine oil tested?
 

Attachments

  • 1stOil Repot.pdf
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Gimbal

GT Owner
Mark IV Lifetime
Jan 11, 2007
204
Queenstown, New Zealand
Nice info guys!
I'm just about to have my oil changed and will also get the oil analysed.
 

TEXAS GT

2006 Twin Turbo
Mark IV Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
[QUOTE It read pretty high on:

Calcium - 2896
Phosphorus - 889
Zinc - 1072
Silicon - 29
Iron - 18
Lead - 6

[/QUOTE]

Obviously there's nothing to worry about. Somebody just dropped a One-A-Day into your oil tank. I'd think about switching to Centrum though, you need more Beta Carotene (Did I spell that right?):biggrin
 

Indy GT

Yea, I got one...too
Mark IV Lifetime
Jan 14, 2006
2,545
Greenwood, IN
Hi Mark!
Gary took good care of our cars out and back....

To answer your question.

Yes for aircraft oil changes at every oil change with a filter change and open the filter up for inspeciton of any large metal shavings which might corroborate high wear metals indicated in the oil sample analysis. Typical air cooled flat opposed AC engines can start camshaft wear which once the lifter breaks through the surface hardened material into the softer core can accelerate rapidly throwing metal shavings which are easily seen in the pleats of the oil filter. Just good insurance as an engine failure while flying can get your attention quickly.

No for automotive applications. Never have had a car analysis made, nor have I ever experienced an oil related engine failure. Typically change at around 5K for daily driver and once a year in the GT with its limited milage utilization.

The attached pdf of the report is helpful. Lists 2800 miles on the oil (remember 9.5 quarts is a significant dilution factor relative to a normal 4-5 quart crankcase which the reviewer may or may not be aware of) and the use of the 5W-50 Motorcraft oil. The "comments" section are always interesting and hopefully (usually is the case) the results are reviewed by an experienced technician (maybe and engineer) with his interpertation of the results.

I am relatively certain the reviewer has not seen many samples of our MOD 5.4 supercharged engine and is going by results for a typical modern Spark-Ignition (SI) V8 engine. He does not appear to raise any red flags. As I stated earlier the true value of oil analysis is in trending the engine which as the reviewer states, the next oil sample (another approx 3K miles) will allow further break-in and you may see wear levels drop a bit. Do not however be concerned if they do not, this may just be the norm for your engine which further oil samples and higher mileage will indicate.

Bill
 

Fubar

Totally ****** Up
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Aug 2, 2006
3,979
Dallas, TX
Thanks for the info. I hope you and the misses made it back well. I still owe you a stogie.

I have never run oil samples before so I have no experience with this subject. I know that retesting with every change will give me a lot more information. But as you said (and I suspected) this reviewer has probably not had any experience with this engine.

I will keep the forum updated as I test future oil. If anyone else gets a test please post the results as it would be nice to compare with other like motors.
 
M

Mark O

Guest
Calcium - 2896
Phosphorus - 889
Zinc - 1072
Silicon - 29
Iron - 18
Lead - 6

Sounds like the water quality at my house. :ack
 

Silverbullitt

GT Owner
Mar 3, 2006
1,757
Lago Vista, TX
Those are the exact numbers on my test at the sperm bank. I guess I'll go every 3000 so I can also build a trendline.
 

Fubar

Totally ****** Up
Mark II Lifetime
Le Mans 2010 Supporter
Aug 2, 2006
3,979
Dallas, TX
Those are the exact numbers on my test at the sperm bank. I guess I'll go every 3000 so I can also build a trendline.

If you’re still picking up trace silicon elements you may want to look at newer models. I think they switched to saline a few years back.
 

DanQ

GT Owner
Aug 18, 2005
336
Lake Zurich, IL
I've done a couple of samples. IF you are interested here is my data. I can add your info to the sheet if you like.

http://home.comcast.net/~dquicker1/OilSheet.xls

The more info we get, the better we can predict trends and problems
Dan
 

DanQ

GT Owner
Aug 18, 2005
336
Lake Zurich, IL
looking at your numbers from blackstone make me question the results I got from Oil Guard. the additive package items don't even register on my results.
 

Silverbullitt

GT Owner
Mar 3, 2006
1,757
Lago Vista, TX
If you’re still picking up trace silicon elements you may want to look at newer models. I think they switched to saline a few years back.

No synthetic for me so far.:lol
 

Indy GT

Yea, I got one...too
Mark IV Lifetime
Jan 14, 2006
2,545
Greenwood, IN
Mixing Oil Sample Data

Dan-
Interesting results with your sampling.
Looks like you sent in a virgin oil sample with your first oil change to baseline the results. That is a good way to proceed.

Looks like the change in characteristics (delta in myspeak) between 2 and 3 is all trending down which is good. The odd ball is the silicon which started relatively high and now is trending down. Have you done anything to the airbox or air filters during the period? Usually silicon trends the other way starting out low with a new filter and then as time passes and/or the filter gets compromized in any way letting particles by, the silicon goes up with time. Or was there some sort of work construction going on where you initially drove the car during the first period?

I am unclear as to your offer to "add" Mark's oil sample data to yours..? It serves no purpose and just clouds the issue of trending value for a particular unit. My recommendation is not to mix data.

All very intersting and the sample reader indicates all is well (in his opinion) (and my limited opinion as well).
 

timcantwell

Le Mans 2010 Sponsor * Moderator
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Jan 22, 2006
2,637
N.E. OH & Naples, FL
I can't speak to the test levels, but do have a comment that may offer you some reassurance. At the rally last year, the yellow test mule car that Ford's engineers flogged daily was driven 30,000 between oil change with no problems. Regardless of the tests, it says that the oil and systems are doing their job as Ford planned.
 

DanQ

GT Owner
Aug 18, 2005
336
Lake Zurich, IL
Bill
By adding Mark's info to mine, I meant that I'd create another chart, not put his data on the same chart as mine.

In the data I've seen, it is typical for silicon to start high and then go down. The initial number is related to gaskets, seals and dirt (casting remains) in a new engine that get washed out over time. In the F250 diesel data it takes almost 40,000 miles before the silcone number starts to level out. If you want to see the power of collecting a bunch of samples from many owners look at this data (http://members.aol.com/fmtrvt/OilStudy/60current.pdf )

My data has a virgin oil as the first sample so it makes the chart look wierd.
The first engine oil sample has the highest silicon. When it will level out, time will tell. At 6000 miles per year I may not know until 2013! I have stock filters by the way. Now, if number starts to go back up, I'd suspect a bad filter as you mention.

I think Fubar's data looks very good, I'd hope my next change to trend down to the ranges his data shows...
 
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Fubar

Totally ****** Up
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Aug 2, 2006
3,979
Dallas, TX
Nice data collection. I hope we have something like that on the GT one day.
 

Indy GT

Yea, I got one...too
Mark IV Lifetime
Jan 14, 2006
2,545
Greenwood, IN
Yep!

Dan-

Nice data package. You obviously have depth of oil sampling knowledge!

Understand adding Mark's data as a stand alone chart. Yep!

And the high silicon at startout makes sense as well with casting residue and gaskets, etc.

Thanks for posting all the data for us to view!

Bill
 

DanQ

GT Owner
Aug 18, 2005
336
Lake Zurich, IL
I'd like to take credit, but I can't!

Oh, don't mistake the 6.0L Diesel data as collected by "me". I'm just linking to the data collected "fmtrvt" on the dieselstop.com forum... I like his format so I'm just using the same thing. There is an old thread I started that covers some sources for understanding your data. Here is some history...

http://www.fordgtforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3270&highlight=analysis