How does oil analysis work?

How does oil analysis work?

12-24-2002, 10:25 AM

#1 (permalink)

rblomquist

Non Member

Offline
Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Vegas Baby Posts: 555

How does oil analysis work?

I have a few thousand miles on the truck since I got it/changed the oil and am curious about oil analysis vice just throwing out the stuff without knowing if it's bad or not. A few questions that I have are:

1. How do you get the oil to a lab i.e. drive the truck to a shop (like speedco) and let them obtain a sample or do you guys actually drain a specified amount into a container and "send it off"?

2. Do you replace the oil filter when you do an analysis?

3. What's it typically cost and how does a layperson know how to read the data i.e. what's a bad number of any particular item?

4. What mileage interval is a good place to start sampling?

ANY words of wisdom would be much appreciated from this newbie

Oh yeah, the truck has always been run with Delo and it has about 74k on it now.

__________________
99 2500 QC, 4X4, Auto, 3.54; ATS Trans, TC, Commander, and Coated Pulse Manifold; Mag-Hytec DD Trans Pan & Rear End Cover; Westach Trans Temp, Combo Boost/Egt (post-turbo) & 0-16 FP Gauges

Non members can only view the initial post on threads more than 7 days old. There are 33 additional replies on this thread that you could view if you were a member.

TDR Membership offers many benefits including:

4 issues of the TDR magazine per year including these columns:
- Tailgating - A Letter From The Editor
- Letter Exchange - Responses From The Readers
- Member2Member - Members' Solutions To Members' Questions
- Technical Topics - Service/Parts Update
- First Generation - Owner-Specific Articles On The '89 - '93 Dodge Diesel Trucks
- 12-Valve Engines - Owner-Specific Articles On The '94 - '98.5 12-Valve Dodge Diesel Trucks
- 24-Valve Engines - Owner-Specific Articles On The '98.5 - '02 24-Valve Dodge Diesel Trucks
- Third Generation - Owner-Specific Articles On The '03 And Newer Dodge Diesel Trucks
- Blowin' In The Wind - Industry News
- Shadetree - Back To The Basics
- Celebrity Corner - The Shadetree Mechanic - Sam Memmolo
- From The Shop Floor - Tips From Turbo Diesel Repair Shops
- Products Showcase - Featured Products
- TDRelease - Vendor Press Releases
In many areas of the country a local chapter with events
A yearly printed copy of the TDR Travel companion listing approximately 700 TDR members across the country willing to help you if you have trouble on the road
Complete access to the TDR website including:
- Ability to do advanced searches over 1.1 million posts
- Access to members only forums (Truck 911, FAQ Forums, Discontinued parts support, Rigs spotted, Pay it forward, Other, and Political)
- Posting ability to the forums
- Ability to read an unlimited number of posts from the forums
- Can customize your forum list to your interests
- Can choose 1st, 2nd, 3rd gen, or rotating header graphics
- Limit searches to forums your interested in
- View posts since you last logged on
- Private message ability to other members
- Chat room access
- Diesel truck specific TSB listing by model year
- Online access to the Travel Companion database (with most current information)