[greenhorn]

At most international forums where I've ended up looking for info on engine oils, when i see people going into the finer points of engine oils, Used Oil Analysis (UOA) almost always comes into the picture. Seems its fairly accessible to folks there, but does anyone do it in India, i mean to the DIY'er market? and how much does it cost ?

Determining oil change intervals via analysis

this was what made me really curious

[Raccoon]

IIRC, Valvoline does have this facility. Can't recall any others. But its a bit pricy... for that cost you can have your oil changed and mebbe more...

[mithun]

In India, only a minuscule portion of the people change engine oil on time. Here, a vehicle sees a service centre only when it's time to fix something !

[silver_shadow]

Originally Posted by mithun

In India, only a minuscule portion of the people change engine oil on time. Here, a vehicle sees a service centre only when it's time to fix something !

word!

i have this colleague in my office who was thrilled when he saw i drive a ford ikon. reason: he says he loves fords because his old escort goes to the workshop for a service once a year. so he's basically changing oil just once a year. mind you it's his only car! people love to brag about these things! it makes me cringe!

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by silver_shadow

so he's basically changing oil just once a year.

Isn't it fine if his cars run less then 10k KMs in a year?

[silver_shadow]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

Isn't it fine if his cars run less then 10k KMs in a year?

technically it's ok but i don't think he's using it only that much in a year which was my point when i said it's his only car.

[Raccoon]

Well, even my Esteem is serviced about once a year.

And the Maruti Manual recommends oil change once a year or 10,000 km whichever is earlier. Mine is changed approx every 10 months +/- two months.

[SirAlec]

For research and fun its fine but for daily use car i will stick to my usual log book of service history. I will use a Rs.50 log diary rather than Rs. 1500 ($30) test. and save the rest for three cans of oil and filters. I will still have cash left for a can of Fosters.

Its plain overuse of technology, which americans are famous for.

Here is a small anecdote i read somewhere. i don't know if its an urban legend or true.
Bosses at NASA spend billions of dollars on a pen that could be used by astronauts in space in no gravity situation. and even more on inks that would work in it.
what did the russians do?? They said "Hell yeah! we will use pencil instead."

[M_power]

I have been thinking of getting an oil analysis done on the older cars I own, and I was wondering if anyone here on the forum does this. Basically you send an oil sample to a lab and they tell you viscosity, if theres coolant in it, levels of metal content etc. Its extremely useful in helping gauge the health of your engine as you will know if theres blow-by, leaks, coolant leak, corrosion, overheating and a whole lot more things, especially when used in conjunction with a compression test and a leakdown test.
When I was in USA I used to use Blackstone Labs, check them out at Blackstone Labs its quite informative.

I haven't heard of a lab that does this here, but in my line of business we have to send samples of our product for analysis to a lab quite frequently for quality control. Maybe I can convince them to do an oil analysis for me, because I'm sure they are capable.
Guys please, if anyone knows a lab that already does this, do let me know!

I'll update when I find out.

[avinash_mac]

Used LO analysis is useful for industrial/marine plants where the quantity of sump oil is large, and renewal is not so frequent.
For automotive sector oil analysis would not be cost effective as a single test is costing more than an oil change.
For the people who still want to get analysis done, please contact:

Mars Petrochem Pvt Ltd
25 Jackeria Bunder Road
Next to Bank of Maharashtra
Cotton Green Mumbai-400033
Tel: +91-22-23723836
Mars Petrochem Pvt Ltd : Authorised Dealers of Mobil Lubricants in India

[vigsom]

Slightly OT ; with the quantity of used lube oil being generated by cars , and this lube oil being "filtered" to look like new oil,how can one be sure of what one is getting? When my Padmini had to be started up post flood,for the engine flush to remove oil-water emulsion, I used such "filtered" oil which in 1998 was retailing at 20 bucks a liter(normal Automol from Bharat Petro was 50 a liter).

[athalaga]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

At most international forums where I've ended up looking for info on engine oils, when i see people going into the finer points of engine oils, Used Oil Analysis (UOA) almost always comes into the picture. Seems its fairly accessible to folks there, but does anyone do it in India, i mean to the DIY'er market? and how much does it cost ?

Determining oil change intervals via analysis

this was what made me really curious

You can get it done at Valvoline Cummins. Goto their webpage and under the link POST, wherin you can set up and send the samples. The cost is around Rs 3000/Sample. They also mail you the sample bottles and sampler. Hope this helps.

[auto_enthusiast]

USED OIL ANALYSIS OF MY FORD ASPIRE TDCi AT 30k kms:

I had got the used Oil Analysis (UOA) done after the car had crossed 30k kms. The analysis was basically done to get to know the condition/service life of the oil after using it for 10k kms. Since the 20k service was done at 19,400 kms and the 30k service was done at 30,100 kms, the oil was effectively used for 10,700 kms.

The analysis was done by 'Intertek' labs, Mumbai. Had sent them 100ml of used oil, which was collected by me directly in a plastic container whilst draining the oil during service. This was a basic analysis and hence the charges were 600+90(15% service tax). The most important value in the report was the Total Base Number (TBN) which determines the 'serviceable life' or 'remaining life' of the engine oil. The report states the TBN as 5.78 and according to the their technicians the oil can be used till the value reaches 4.00, but I don't want to strech the drain intervals and use the oil till it's last permissible limit and therefore I get the oil replaced every 10k kms. Apart from TBN, all other readings were also well within the specified limits. The car is regularly serviced at FASS, Surat and the oil used by them is Shell 5W30 semi-synth. Nowadays the car is not driven much but I intend to get the next analysis done at 70k kms.

Attaching the report for reference. Pls note the remark at the end of the report.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by auto_enthusiast

USED OIL ANALYSIS OF MY FORD ASPIRE TDCi AT 30k kms

Thanks for sharing! Copying your post to this thread in case it helps someone .

[Jeroen]

Thanks for sharing. I’m a little surprised the results don’t shown anything about metal content. It’s a very relevant parameter. You will always have some. Basically the bearings and other parts do wear and that ends up in the lub oil. The amount and material is relevant. As they are indicators of state and also which part is wearing. (e.g. main bearings are made from different material then say piston rings)

When I was in the merchant navy this was a normal procedure. At regular intervals we took oil samples and they were sent off for analysis.

For regular cars it’s really not a very cost efficient method. It might costs as much as a regular oil chance, so why bother. I tried it a few times when we lived in the US. Seem to recall it cost around $30.

If you get the analysis of the metal parts it becomes even more interesting obviously.

Jeroen