Blackstone oil analysis on 2011 Ford Ranger, 4.0 SOHC, Amsoil Signature Series 5W-30 + MolySlip Oil Additive, 10,459 miles on oil at change

[ekrampitzjr]

This was the third time I've changed the oil with this combination + Amsoil oil filter. Five quarts of Amsoil + 10 oz can of MolySlip with the Amsoil EaO11 filter puts the oil level right at the full mark on the dipstick, so it isn't overfull. Amsoil claims the oil is good for 25,000 miles, but also recommends an annual change, and this oil had been in the truck about a year.

The truck is not losing any coolant. See what you think of the comments about sodium, as the sample had no water. I think the results show the engine is basically healthy.

The prepayment was $45.00 enclosed with the sample, which is sent free with prepaid postage.

 

[Northidahotrailblazer]

So this is my .02 cents on this. A year is a lot of time on an engine and doing only one oil sample at the time of the oil change once a year isn't going to help much for tracking the conduction of the engine. I would be sending in several oil samples a year. Unless you have the last oil sample from your last oil change how do you know what it was? You cant just go on what the oil analysis lab says, They are just people behind a desk. I'm not saying what they do isn't good. Oil samples can 100% tell you if you have a failure coming 100% but not if you don't have a way of looking at the elements overtime.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

There was some interest here when I mentioned I was thinking of an oil analysis. I don't think getting one has come up here much. This was more about how the analysis looks for those who are unfamiliar with them.

 

[rubydist]

I would not be worried about that result at all. And I would agree with them that you can run this oil longer than 10k miles if you want. (Although I limit mine to 10k, using Mobil1) The wear metals are all in normal range for that interval, and the sodium is not much elevated.

Curious - how much make up oil did you add during the 10k miles of this oil?

 

[19Walt93]

First, the dipstick isn't the final authority. If we got an oil use complaint, step one was an oil and filter change to verify the dipstick read correctly. Step 2 was having the customer drive the vehicle and return when it needed oil so we could document the mileage to justify a teardown under warranty. At least 90% of oil use complaints were fixed by correcting the dipstick- usually by cutting the tube. A pro would always check the oil level after an oil change, an amateur(like jiffy lube) would squirt in the oil and shut the hood.
Second, I would never go more than 5000 mile or 6 months on an oil change, analysis or not. Oil is cheap engines are not, but if you choose to go longer that's OK. I don't sell engines anymore but I have friends who do.
Third, almost every oil use complaint we got on vehicles running Amsoil was cured when we changed it with Motorcraft. I don't remember a single case where a teardown followed the consumption test. The Canaan Police used to run Amalie in their cruisers and they used oil. We changed them with Motorcraft and the oil use stopped- until they changed it again and put the Amalie back in. The chief was a friend so I didn't mince words explaining why the oil was being used again.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

I would not be worried about that result at all. And I would agree with them that you can run this oil longer than 10k miles if you want. (Although I limit mine to 10k, using Mobil1) The wear metals are all in normal range for that interval, and the sodium is not much elevated.

Curious - how much make up oil did you add during the 10k miles of this oil?

Zero added. Over 10,000 miles the dipstick level went down only a small amount, maybe about a quarter of the way between "full" and "add". If the difference between "full" and "add" is a quart, then the consumption/loss was only about half a pint. That would work out to a quart about every 40,000 miles. For a truck with 125K miles, I can't complain.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

First, the dipstick isn't the final authority. If we got an oil use complaint, step one was an oil and filter change to verify the dipstick read correctly. Step 2 was having the customer drive the vehicle and return when it needed oil so we could document the mileage to justify a teardown under warranty. At least 90% of oil use complaints were fixed by correcting the dipstick- usually by cutting the tube. A pro would always check the oil level after an oil change, an amateur(like jiffy lube) would squirt in the oil and shut the hood.
Second, I would never go more than 5000 mile or 6 months on an oil change, analysis or not. Oil is cheap engines are not, but if you choose to go longer that's OK. I don't sell engines anymore but I have friends who do.
Third, almost every oil use complaint we got on vehicles running Amsoil was cured when we changed it with Motorcraft. I don't remember a single case where a teardown followed the consumption test. The Canaan Police used to run Amalie in their cruisers and they used oil. We changed them with Motorcraft and the oil use stopped- until they changed it again and put the Amalie back in. The chief was a friend so I didn't mince words explaining why the oil was being used again.

Broadly agree with most of your points, but extended changes using the appropriate full-synthetic oil have been the norm in Europe for years. That said, 10K is about my absolute limit, and I'm not going to push it to the 25K Amsoil claims its premium Signature Series oil can go. The time limit was a year anyway, and I had reached that at about 10K. Amsoil has cheaper grades of oil that I would not use for 10K. The analysis was out of curiosity and not because of any perceived problem. My Ranger runs like a champ (knock on wood) and does a lot of highway trips, so that helps.

 

[cbxer55]

I got one for you. From late 2009 to late 2013, muh (misspelling intentional) sister had my 98 3.0 Ranger. I had recently changed the oil, and always used Valvoline 20w-50 extended life oil. She finally gave the truck back to me in late 2013, after my L had been involved in an accident, and was going to loiter in a body shop for a while. She never changed the oil in that four years. Put over 40,000 miles on it. Had no deleterious affects at all. To this day, doesn't leak or burn oil.

So, my last oil change, I put well north of 10,000 on the oil, same stuff. But, I dropped the weight down to 10w-40. Noticed it is awful noisy on cold stars when the weather is south of freezing. Will see what happens this winter.

Anyhow, I think this puts the kibosh on those necessary 3,000 mile oil changes. 40,000 miles and four years on the same oil. Nothing happened. WOW!!

 

[sgtsandman]

The oil analysis looks good. It’s your call if you want to go longer on the change interval. I wouldn’t but I’m also not using Amsoil.

 

[gw33gp]

I have used extended oil change intervals for many years. I established a 25K oil change interval using oil analysis with my 89 STX. I found that at 20K miles the oil was still good but was starting to increase in viscosity. I balanced that by adding a lower weight oil at around 20K miles. I used 20W-50 Valvoline full synthetic oil so adding a little 10W-30 would keep the viscosity where it should be. I sold it to a co-worker at near 200K miles and that 2.9 L engine still used no more oil than it did when it was new.

When I bought my 2002 FX4, I decided to go with a 20K mile oil change interval and used 5W-30 Valvoline full synthetic oil. I didn't bother to do the oil analysis anymore. I think one of the key things to do with extended oil change intervals other than using a good synthetic oil is to use a good micron bypass oil filter. It keeps the oil much cleaner than the standard filter does and controls sludge build up.

I have switched to 5W-40 Valvoline full synthetic oil now with over 282K mile on the 4.0 SOHC engine. I decided with that many miles on it, the bearings are sure to have more clearance due to wear and could use a higher weight oil at operating temperature.

 

[19Walt93]

Broadly agree with most of your points, but extended changes using the appropriate full-synthetic oil have been the norm in Europe for years. That said, 10K is about my absolute limit, and I'm not going to push it to the 25K Amsoil claims its premium Signature Series oil can go. The time limit was a year anyway, and I had reached that at about 10K. Amsoil has cheaper grades of oil that I would not use for 10K. The analysis was out of curiosity and not because of any perceived problem. My Ranger runs like a champ (knock on wood) and does a lot of highway trips, so that helps.

I just noticed you're in Va., that means no sub zero weather to condense moisture into the oil and much quicker warm ups so far less combustion byproducts are blown by the rings. I'm glad it's working for you but I still wouldn't do it. Europe isn't a good example to cite, they keep starting wars at home and losing.

 

[cbxer55]

It's also important not to do short range drives all the time. The oil needs to be up to operating temperature for at least 15 minutes. It's the reason I don't usually do the seven mile drive to work and home every day. I take the longer way in, which can be anywhere from 13 to 20 miles. And warm it up before I first start off. Getting the oil warm and keeping it there gives the oil the ability to g et rid of the moisture from cold climates, and lets the detergent in the oil do it's job. Lots of short range drives, you need to change the oil more frequently.

 

[gaz]

@ekrampitzjr ,
Last I checked Amsoil says that you can use their oil as long as it's clean while using their 1 micron bypass oilfiltration system. They provide a device to check it's particulate contamination level; send them a sample at their prescribed intervals. As long as it's clean they say keep using it.

My opinion was they are selling/promoting their bypass dual filter system, which I have used on 2 vehicles and is one of the best.