Wouldn't it be ironic if Terry sends the sample to Blackstone for processing and does his own report on the results?

 

I think Terry does exactly that. He will also have Blackstone re-test the sample if he feels there is a discrepancy. Blackstone is as good (or bad) as any other lab. The only difference is the way they determine TBN. It is always lower then others.

Koz

 

Technique, whatever you do, PLEASE don't go 15k between oil changes without at LEAST monitoring the oil level. You could be looking at very serious engine damage should the oil level drop for any reason.

 

what about sending samples to both companies and see if they really have a difference?

 

Wouldn't some sort of warning (oil pressure) light come on if my oil dropped to a low enough level to cause very serious engine damage?

Eh, I'm not really interested in proving which oil analysis company is better... I'll leave that to someone else with more time and money on their hands that I have

 

I don't know how low the oil has to be for the light to come on (loss of oil pressure), but whatever it is ... I wouldn't want to run on that quantity for long (ie. thousands of miles leading up to the light).

 

OK, changed the oil today... 10,305 miles to be exact... My mechanic was like "Oh, your oil is pretty dirty!" lol... The filter was pretty black as well... Here are a few pictures... Oh, one more thing, I took the oil sample from where the filter drained out because the oil pan stream was too forceful, I don't think this will make a difference will it?

1st pic is the old and new filter:



2nd pic is the stream from oil pan:

 

Sent the oil to blackstone today. They should have it Wednesday or Thursday, so the results should be in by this Friday at the latest... Anyone want to speculate now that you've seen pics of the filter and oil?

 

Yeah, no problem-o. With plenty of life left in the oil.

 

No, that's how I do it all the time. It's far easier. I'm still wondering if a magnetic oil drain plug would help mitigate the iron in the oil.

 

You can probably take it in now and they'll still honor the free oil change.

Your engine is fine... a car engine is stronger than most people think it is... its the other stuff that fails first. Gaskets... Wires deteriorating... and all the other good stuff...

But with all that said... Another reason why i dont like to buy used cars... I dont want to buy one from someone like you.

 

This is true. The engine will most likely be fine. But the gaskets, seals, etc will start hardening and your engine will leak oil.

My friend and I had a Toyota Camry 4cly. I changed my oil at 3k miles. He changed his oil every 7-9k miles. When his engine hit 110k miles I put his car on the lift and oil EVERYWHERE. We had to change the valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket, and main engine seal near the crankshaft.

My Camry was perfectly fine, not a drop of oil anywhere. I strongly believe that changing your oil sooner is better for your engine in the long run. No oil analysis in the world would make me change my mind.

But you are leasing so none of this applys to you.

 

Changing your oil has nothing to do with how long the gaskets last. How hard you run the engine has everything to do with how long the gaskets last. Besides, this comparison is barely anecdotal. It is very common for Camrys with the same maintenance to which you subscribe to have oil leaks, carboned up intake ports, failed EGR VSVs, and other serious issues by 150k miles.

 

Yes, I've heard this from quite a few forum members

You are correct in that this doesn't apply to me, but not because of the lease, but because I've never kept a car past 100k miles... ... I do this with ALL of the cars I own as well, not just the ones I lease...

Agreed on OCI not affecting gasket life... But, I run my engine probably harder than 95% of IS350 owners (just a guess) and I predict my gaskets will last just fine even with extended oil changes...

 

Will you be brave and honest and tell us if it doenst?