Wow, paying in installments for bad news that you can't do anything about is just not right. Just sayin'.
That's definitely the "glass half empty" outlook! ( : < 0) Plus, there are plenty of things a guy can do based on oil analysis. You can change the oil type, grade or maintenance interval. You can make a repair (when clearly indicated... and sometimes it is, unlike this case). You can change the operational situation. Also, most times, you get a GOOD report, which means you have nothing TO do. Knowledge IS power and oil analysis is that. Whether it's cost effective in every case, is another question.
The danger in oil analysis, and this may be what you were hinting at jim_22, is that you can get overly sensitized to slight variations in the tests and overreact... either in what you do about what you see or just in the mental anguish area. As I have been told by experts in the lubrication field, "Dude! It's parts per MILLION!" You have to keep perspective on these things and that's tough to do when you don't know what's good generally or "normal" for your engine. Part of that is knowledge about tribology and part is having enough data points. Mulochico, after three tests, you still don't know enough to say what is "normal" for your engine. Each engine is a little different but every time you change a major element, such as the type or viscosity of oil, the oil change interval, the operational situation, etc., you are resetting the data as far as trending goes.
For the most part, reacting to one analysis is like changing clothes 5 times a day every time you see a cloud blow over... worrying you might get cold or wet. On the Blackstone report, you want to look at the UNIVERSAL AVERAGES, which is the average of all similar engines to yours, in all operational situations, with whatever type of oil. If there is a lot of reports on that engine, universal averages are a good indicator. If they have a relatively small sampling, they are less useful. I had all this explained to me by an expert in statistics.
The bottom line to oil analysis is this:
1) You can't tell MUCH about engine wear from a single, or a few, reports; a single report is just a snapshot of a moment in time.
2) You can tell a LOT about oil health from a single or a few tests, most usefully about how close your oil change interval is to optimal.
3) Trending, i.e. about 10 reports, will give you a very good picture of how the engine is wearing in it's present situation (operationally and lubricant efficacy).
4) In certain situations, if you get lucky, you can catch a problem happening; or, as Mulochico is doing, track a possible coolant problem.
5) In light duty, non commercial applications, oil analysis pays for itself by helping you extend the oil change interval or in rare occasions shorten it. The former save you money by not allowing you to dump foil that has use left in it (oil is good until it's not and changing oil before it's time DOES NOT help you engine). In the latte case, which come into play in severe operating conditions or when using low-rent oils, you change it soon enough to prevent damage. Using oil analysis this way, which is what I do, is done by doing analysis at each oil change interval point (either when changing or via another sampling method BEFORE you drain it) and adjust the interval out until you reach a point when the oil start to significantly degrade. That mileage then becomes your interval and as long as you don't make a significant change in the "equation " (the lubricant or the operational environment) you don't need to sample any more. I spot check every few years or if I change the lubricant.
Going back to the cost effectiveness question, does oil analysis really pay for itself for the average person versus just using the standard, or slightly extended OCI? Despite having done it for many years, I'd have to say, for most people, no it doesn't. Lightly used engines seldom have problems and at $35 for the lest expensive tests (I consider the extra cost TBN report mandatory), it's just is an added expense.... $35 added to every oil change. In my case, it's provided the opportunity for a LOT of learning experiences so my payback did not come in the wallet but in other ways. BUT, I also used it to extend the oil change interval on all my equipment. 12K miles on the Honda on conventional oil (still stretching it out), 15K miles on the F-150 on conventional oil, going to 25K, 8K on the diesel and likely going out to 10K, HOURS ONLY on my two farm tractors, which equates to about 3-4 years of operation on each to reach 120-150 hours. All that saves me time and money on oil and filters but the analysis take some of those savings back. The one time I serious crunched the numbers, just last year, I was considerably ahead of the game versus changing the oil according to the arbitrary listings in the books. That works for me because the operational conditions on my vehicles are almost perfect... almost no short hops. My minimum drive out is 20 miles in this very rural environment, so the oil always has a chance to get fully warmed up. It's all about context... this works for me in large part because of my environment. Every situation is different.
