Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Zetec Maintenance Lab results are in

I just received the oil report on the Mystique's oil sample I sent to Blackstone Labs and felt the urge to share...

Some history:

Since I bought the car in '99 with 37,000 miles the oil was changed every 3,000 miles by the dealer with a
Motorcraft filter and whatever 5w30 they had in their giant barrel. Last March I decided to switch to a
different oil and filter and start changing it myself (couldn't they have found a better way to access the filter
than through the wheelwell?). Anyway, with 80,000 miles on the clock I put in Castrol Syntec 5w30 with a
Purolator Pure One filter. I drove the car all spring, summer, and most of the fall...a total of 7,230 miles
before changing it again. My goal was to extend my intervals so that I would only change the oil twice a
year. But curiosity got the best of me as to what might have gone inside the dark recesses of the Zetec.

The lab's comments:

"Universal averages show typical wear metals for an oil from this type of engine after about 4,575 miles.
Your oil was in use 7,230 miles, and we found all wear from the engine at around average levels and in the
correct balance to show normal mechanical parts inside. Wear probably would have read better were the
silicon not present. We suggest checking air filtration. Oil filtration looks okay. This was 5w30 engine oil
with no gas, moisture or anti-freeze in it. We don't know how your engine was doing on Dyno oil, but it
looks pretty good here."

In the oil test for the viscosity @ 210 deg. F the value should be 57-63; it was 60.9. Higher than 63 would
indicate that the oil had been overrun and broken down, less than 57 would indicate fuel had diluted the oil.

The fuel percentage should be <2.0%; it was <0.5%.

Antifreeze and water were both 0.0% as they should have been.

Insolubles are solid material that is centrifuged out of the oil. They are typically free carbon from the
oxidation of the oil itself, along with blow-by past the rings. It should be <0.6%; it was 0.3%.

This was a pretty good investment of $20.00 for the test. I would recommend having it done if you want to
know what's going on inside your beast. It might also be a selling point if anyone were to put their car on the block.

Check out www.blackstone-labs.com for more info.

I'm almost afraid to do it, results would probably read "don't drive your car, it's about to blow up any minute"

The example oil report they provided with the kit indicated to the owner that

"Anti-freeze was found in this oil at a seriously high level. It appears to have affected wear at both bearings
and the upper end. Wear has been varying for your engine but now is clearly abnormal. Copper, lead and tin
show bearing wear. Aluminum, chrome and iron are from the upper end. Suggest having this engine repaired
before any more operation. It will fail, if it hasn't already, with this much anti-freeze contamination in the oil."

It's amazing to me that they can tell so much from just analyizing the oil.

Of course, they keep your report on file and add to it each time you send in a sample. They suggested once
a year to see any changes, or if you want to know if synthetic is worth the extra money. Sometimes high-
mileage engines can be too far gone for synth.

Do you think it's worth the extra $10 for the TBN analysis?

Not sure... they say the TBN is used to measure the amount of active additive left in the oil.
Since I didn't use any additive with the oil...

I guess I was happy with the viscosity rating of 60.9. Since it was between 57-63 it showed that the oil
hadn't broken down or been "overrun" during the 7200 miles, even with the summer heat, and the filter did
a good job with the insolubles. They say "Excessive insolubles can form in oil if the oil is running hot, receiving
more than a normal amount of contamination, is suffering from more (or more severe) heat cycles than
normal, is being run longer than a typical use cycle, or if oil filtration is marginal or ineffective."

I'm waiting for them to send another kit so I can send in the sample I took from the Cherokee...
almost 10000 miles on that oil change.

I think they're talking about the additives that come in every oil.

wonder what my mobil 1 (almost 4K old) would read...yes i drive ALOT!! put 45K on the car in under 2 years.

I asked for a kit from Blackstone about a week ago. My next change is coming up quick and I want to see what it says about the car.

I removed it that way once but it was a very tight fit pulling it out the top, not worth the hassle at all (fl-200 filter). Easiest (though longer) way is to remove the wheel and cover over the filter/belt area and remove it there.