oiltest

[Dave C]

Has any used any oil test? Are they reliable? Who does them? I purchased a running 8ba but am thinking that I may want to have the oil tested before I install the engine, any thoughts?

[paul2748]

Why do you want to test the oil? If you have any doubts about it, change it.

[Kaonix]

Originally Posted by Dave C

Has any used any oil test? Are they reliable? Who does them? I purchased a running 8ba but am thinking that I may want to have the oil tested before I install the engine, any thoughts?

I was an over the road truck driver and an owner operator for 12+ years and everytime I got the oil changed in my truck I had the oil analyzed just to see how the motor was doing. Don't see why you couldn't go to any truck stop with a service plaza and get the same test. I imagine you could do the same with any Class 8 dealer with a shop.

[Henry/Kokomo]

I used to change oil filters and get samples of locomotive crankcase oil analyzed every 90 days. Used that as the basis for when to change oil and also to monitor the condition of the engine. Analyzing was a lot cheaper than a 2 barrel oil change and you knew what the individual engines were doing. At that time - early 2000's - it cost about $35 per sample to get them analyzed. I think the cost varied depending on the specific tests run. For the amount of oil needed to change an automobile engine and the cost of the testing, I'd change the oil.

[Mike in AZ]

drain the oil thru a paint filter to see if anything is in the oil....otherwise, what are you worrying about??....oil milky??.....Mike

[Dave C]

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my concern was the condition of the engine rotating assembly NOT the condition of the oil itself!

[cmbrucew]

Shepard Machine was our Cat dealer. They offered a service to test oils for metal, carbon, sulpher, brass, etc. We pulled samples from eng, trans, hyd, dif, and final drives, labeled them and sent them in. Took 7 to 10 days to receive the result, which was put into the file.
Same service from pennzoil.
Some times we ran oil in the loco's over a year. If no dilution, or contamination why change?

Bruce

Works good
Lasts long time

[Dave C]

thanks, that is what I was looking for

[Lawrie]

When I had my shop we used Castrol lab check for our customers eng and hyd oil check.

Lawrie

[DICK SPADARO]

Paying for an oil test on a passenger car engine is snake oil salesmanship 101. Since you have no original base line to determine the oil operating quality with a used engine any results would be guessing. In addition even if you show some bearing or metal wear in the oil sample it would be difficult to tell just how much wear has resulted because you dont know the date of the last oil change.

The most important test for a used unknown engine is a compression or leak down test to determine the condition of the rings and valves. When purchasing a used engine the best check of the lower end is to pull the oil pan and clean out all the sediment and sludge before you refill it with new oil anyway. A pan gasket is cheap and at that time you can check the condition of the bearings.

[Dave C]

OK, thanks