Should I use this for analysis?

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So I just did an oil change on my Fusion today. It had 9000 miles on the oil and filter, and was last changed on May 21, 2016.

I had planned on capturing some of the oil and sending it in to Blackstone for analysis, since it's the first time I've gone over 7,500 miles on an OCI for this car, and also because my driving habits were different for this OCI. Typically, I drive 75+ miles/day - mostly highway - and change the oil after about 3 months. This time, however, for about 5 months, I was only putting between 8 and 20 miles per day due to layoff.

So I did the oil change, and I completely forgot to capture some of the oil as it drained in the Blackstone container. Instead, I didn't remember until after I had already drained, and refilled the oil, which meant that all the old oil was in the drain pan, potentially mixed with some of what was left in there from before - I'd guess somewhere around 1/2qt of other mixed fluids.

I'm really curious about what the drained oil can tell me about my extended run, but I'm torn as to whether it's even worth it.

I'd like some feedback. What would YOU do in this situation?
 
You'll get SOME information from an analysis but what it's really telling you and if it's truly accurate for your vehicle would be somewhat questionable. It's your $, but I'd be tempted to try and pour off some of the freshly drained oil and send it in with the note explaining exactly what you did here and telling them it's from the drain pan. They'll take that into account with the results and you can interpret from there.

Question on another option-is there enough left in the filter for a sample? They would prefer a filter drain sample over a drain pan one.
 
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
I would not run the stuff from the drain pan, there may be enough in the filter for a good sample though.


Yep the filter would be a good idea if that's an option.

Contaminated oil won't tell you anything
 
Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
I would not run the stuff from the drain pan, there may be enough in the filter for a good sample though.


Yep the filter would be a good idea if that's an option.

Contaminated oil won't tell you anything


This is now 4 of us who concur. Sampling from the contaminated oil pan is a total waste of money; but if you have sufficient quantity from the oil FILTER, that is a valid sample.
 
Well, this is pretty much what I expected, and to be honest, it was the same thing I was thinking. The stuff from the pan MIGHT tell me something, but there is really no way of knowing if what I'm getting is valid.

I was also considering getting the oil from the filter. Two potential problems - 1 - The filter is a Fram Ultra 3614, which doesn't hold a ton of oil and 2 - The only way I'm getting any oil out of this filter is cutting it open and I'm a little concerned about getting some metals in the oil sample from the can.

Still, I may consider it, since I'm cutting the filter open any way for a C&P
 
Originally Posted By: SirTanon
Yeah that should work, MrQuackers. Now I just have to hope I can get enough out of it for the UOA.


They can run the main tests with a small amount but without the full bottle you won't get Flashpoint.
 
Well, good news on this. I was actually able to get enough oil out of the filter to completely fill the sample container. Looks like I'll be able to get the works.

Thanks for the input everyone.
 
Originally Posted By: SirTanon
I plan to post the results when I get them back. I will also be cutting the filter and posting pics on here at the same time.


Any results back yet?
 
Originally Posted By: Balrog006
Originally Posted By: SirTanon
I plan to post the results when I get them back. I will also be cutting the filter and posting pics on here at the same time.


Any results back yet?


Well, tracking shows Blackstone just received the samples about an hour ago today, so I don't expect I'll have results back for at least a few days, if not a week.. I'll post them as soon as they're back.

I say "samples" because in addition to this oil sample from the filter, I also sent in a sample of my trans fluid. Will be posting that too.
 
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