Here's my blackstone report checking for bearing failure

[TX]

As a follow up to this thread below:
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=935340

Here is my blackstone report. I wanted to get the oil checked for bearing failure on my 37K miles E92. Everything looks ok except for the lead level, titanium level, and molybdenum. Any thoughts? Thanks.

[4corners]

I think it's all about trends in metals as they say.

[///mawana]

Your lead don't look too good! Titanium should be an additive in Castrol Edge, I believe.

[TX]

Thanks, I'm interested in seeing reports from other engines and their lead levels to compare against. I'm 3 times over the universal average for lead on this sample. At this point I'm unsure how serious it is. I'm going to change it again in 5K miles and have another analysis run.

[The Nash]

Originally Posted by 4corners

I think it's all about trends in metals as they say.

What does this mean? Can you clarify, thanks.

[dparm]

Originally Posted by 4corners

I think it's all about trends in metals as they say.

Correct. A single reading, and even a single spike, is not very indicative of anything. You have to get a baseline and then watch for repeated deviations. Blackstone has even said that sometimes you will see particle streaking where a single elemental metal spikes, then falls back down -- it doesn't mean there's anything wrong. Similarly, you can see a "normal" particle count and have a massive problem developing. UOAs are only one piece of the puzzle.

As for the TBN hitting 1.3, I'd say that's proof of your driving habits needing a 7,000 mile change schedule.

[The Nash]

Originally Posted by dparm

Correct. A single reading, and even a single spike, is not very indicative of anything. You have to get a baseline and then watch for repeated deviations. Blackstone has even said that sometimes you will see particle streaking where a single elemental metal spikes, then falls back down -- it doesn't mean there's anything wrong. Similarly, you can see a "normal" particle count and have a massive problem developing. UOAs are only one piece of the puzzle.

As for the TBN hitting 1.3, I'd say that's proof of your driving habits needing a 7,000 mile change schedule.

Thanks for explanation. Sort of like a dyno for a car.

[TX]

Originally Posted by dparm

As for the TBN hitting 1.3, I'd say that's proof of your driving habits needing a 7,000 mile change schedule.

I accounted the low TBN to the oil being in the car for slightly over a year. I don't do the miles, so I change it yearly. I'm going to do 1/2 year changes now, but that will only be around 3,000 miles on the oil then.

[dparm]

Originally Posted by TX

I accounted the low TBN to the oil being in the car for slightly over a year. I don't do the miles, so I change it yearly. I'm going to do 1/2 year changes now, but that will only be around 3,000 miles on the oil then.

Next time pay for a TAN analysis in addition to TBN. That will help you understand if a lot of acid is building in the crankcase (from not being driven).

As long as the car gets out on the highway for 20-30 minutes with some regularity, you'll burn off most of the contaminants and keep the TBN from getting depleted as quickly.

[TX]

Here's my 2nd oil report. Lead level looks much better. I have a hunch that the dealer didn't do an oil change that I paid for prior to that first change/report that I sent out. When I pulled that filter it was in much worse shape than this filter I just changed last month. The oil was much thicker. I really believe the dealer did not change the oil so it ran for two cycles when I had that report done. Anyway, here is my new report which I know the oil/filter was changed because I did it myself. Notice that lead almost dropped in half and TBN almost went up almost 4 times. Another reason I think that oil ran a double amount of time. What do you guys feel about the current lead level I'm seeing?

[Flying Ace]

Your report looks very similar to mine, I suspect it's the longer drain interval.
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1091088

[W///]

Originally Posted by TX

Here's my 2nd oil report. Lead level looks much better. I have a hunch that the dealer didn't do an oil change that I paid for prior to that first change/report that I sent out. When I pulled that filter it was in much worse shape than this filter I just changed last month. The oil was much thicker. I really believe the dealer did not change the oil so it ran for two cycles when I had that report done. Anyway, here is my new report which I know the oil/filter was changed because I did it myself. Notice that lead almost dropped in half and TBN almost went up almost 4 times. Another reason I think that oil ran a double amount of time. What do you guys feel about the current lead level I'm seeing?

Personally, I still think that's more than I'd like to see. Anything in the double digits would make me a little uncomfortable, especially twice in a row.