pruney81

I just use valvoline 10W30 and change it every 3K miles. My friend's dad just uses regular 10W30 in his 86 4Runner with over 300K miles that he's owned since the early nineties, and it runs great. But, hey if you want to spend more money on fancy oil that really won't prolong the life of your engine at all go for it.

shaeff

LOL. Read here if you would like to learn: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/

Blackstone does oil analysis, and can tell you what kind of shape your motor is in by what byproducts are in the oil. They can tell you if you have worn bearings, crappy air filter, running rich, etc... all by what's in the oil. Assuming you tell them what oil you used, and what the change interval was, they can even tell you how much more usable life you can get out of the oil.

Totally worth it, especially if you have a built car (like my project car).

shaeff

I just told you what they tell you. I'm not entirely sure what you're asking. For an example: if they detect dirt in your oil (because it WILL make it past the rings), that would be an indication of a crappy air filter, or an intake leak. So, obviously you'd fix the problem. If they detect fuel in your oil, you're likely running rich, and as such, you should probably correct that. High levels of sodium and potassium indicate coolant, which could indicate a leaking headgasket.

Here are three examples of Blackstone Lab reports:
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/gas-e...e-report-1.php

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/gas-e...e-report-2.php

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/gas-e...e-report-3.php

Am I understanding you correctly?

Teuf

The thing i like about blackstone is numbers, thats a constant. So consistent base information gives a good platform to make decisions about your engine, as in whats wearing out or not.

Teuf

Well i think it just gives you info thats not otherwise seeable, or feelable. If you owned a vehicle it's whole life then, and maintained it faithfully , i'd skip it the test. But a vehicle you bought used is a little dif.

pruney81

^^^Well said.

DupermanDave

Getting an oil analysis done is may be overkill, but if you have problems with the engine or want to fine tune it some more, the oil readouts might tell you what is failing in your engine.

Teuf

Well i would not get one done. BUT, its a tool useful to someone who could perhaps interpret the info better than i.

JigsN Rigs

Ok so what are some good full synthetics to use.. Like brand wise. I'm going to go synthetic just because I'm rich... Not.. I live in WI and it gets pretty cold. After my rebuild I'm going to use full synthetic in everything. What brand should I get and should I get class IV or V

flyingbrass

Here is a lengthy piece about oil, viscosity in particular: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/faq...=haas_articles

I don't know enough to have an opinion about what he says, but it is food for thought.

pruney81

after reading all that I think I'm gonna start using 5W-30 instead of my usual 10W-30.

highway

here is someones report from blackstone (dunno who's it is) but it looks like it could tell you about bearing wear, water in oil , etc...

http://home.comcast.net/~louielouie/D34717.pdf

flyingbrass

That's in line with what the guy says at the link I posted above. The gist of his position is that all oil is too thick at startup temperatures, even at 75 F. The colder, the worse. 0w-xx synthetics are the thinnest available when below operating temp.

seanmearse

If its a big blue container you can dump everything besides coolant and fuel.

clydehatchet

I went from castrol 5w-30 to Rotella-T 15w-40. Doesn't really run any smoother, or quieter. But after running it for several oil changes, the oil is just as gold as it was new. Long story short, I know my engine is a little cleaner and because its thicker, it doesn't leak as much. I have valve cover and rear main issues, but they dont leak as bad. Say what you want about it, but i have done my research and i know all the pros and cons.

Teuf

Brass thanks, good read. I guess the main point is start up oil thickness, mmmmmmm.