Anyone else do MOA’s?

[Drivebelt]

Manual Oil Analysis. I know just about everyone here must do it. Pull the dipstick out and check the color of that drop of oil still hanging on the end of the dipstick. -- or how dark it looks on the crosshatches. Then, put that drop of oil on the forefinger, and rub it lightly between your thumb/forefinger to check for lubricity. In the old days (70/80’s) with the old Grp I based oils, it seemed like one could tell that after a 3000mile/6month oil change that the oil was loosing its lubricity. These, days, no matter how long I go the oils still feel really slippery even when drained at the end of my OCI.

 

[ekpolk]

Not so strange as it sounds. There's always the blotter test, which I suppose would qualify as an MOA. Click here to see a thread showing the results of a blotter test. I've posted some pics of my own recent experiment with this. Definitely old tech, but still a useful screening tool, IMO.

 

[ekpolk]

Here's a pic of a card I did a couple weeks ago. That's GC with about 3k miles on it -- still looks pretty good -- not a surprise at all.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Definitely. I even smell it to insure there's no gas.. And monitoring the level is important to insure it's not decreasing too quickly (or even increasing due to the bi-product vapor of combustion)... And heaven forbid one sees the dreaded white foam in an older engine...

 

[Nickdfresh]

That's very impressive after 3K...

 

[1040 WreckerMan]

I like to put a drop on WonderBread. Blotter, sniff and taste test in one! I use the blotter test on my gas engines. I use it kind of the same way as checking the level on the dipstick; it will give information about big changes. I think it's helpful, but certainly not harmful if you don't.

 

[johnd]

That is a very nice looking blotter spot. I do them on all my vehicles. Until I went to a bypass filter I always had an inner soot ring on my Chev. 350. My wife's Honda still does, even immediately after an oil change.

 

[ekpolk]

The VQ series V-6 (mine is a 3.5L from a G35) has a reputation for running clean. In addition, I do a lot of highway miles (just over 200 miles every Friday and Sunday, with shorter trips every day in between. Unfortunately, you can't see it in the pic, but when examined very closely, with the card held up to a light bulb, you can see the faintest of soot/dirt rings in this drop. It's a very small ring, roughly 2/3 of the way toward the center from the edge of the darker area. I'm approaching 5k miles and will do another card (and UOA) for comparison at this point. I anticipate staying with 7500 mile OCIs on this car (max recommended in manual) until the wty is up, then as determined by UOA.

 

[crunchtime2k]

looks like someone ate too many potato chips cooked in Olestra. lol

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

I believe the GM oil life monitor has a blotter as its basis.