Bad News from Blackstone

[Rocket Man]

Agree to test again with a specified mileage OCI, probably 2 or 3k just to see if there’s anything concerning at that point and go from there.

 

[gooffeyguy]

I've never done an oil analysis on any vehicle I've owned. I guess I'm missing out on a whole lot of worrying.... Lol

2001 Yukon SLT
2012 Yukon Denali XL
2011 Yukon Denali RIP 5/20/18

 

[swathdiver]

I've never done an oil analysis on any vehicle I've owned. I guess I'm missing out on a whole lot of worrying.... Lol

You can even send in samples of your transmission fluid too for a whole lot more anxiety and gray hair growing!

 

[07Burb]

LOL does make me curious what they'd find in my oil of my 221k mile engine. I change my oil every 3,000 miles religiously and completely ignore the DIC %. I'm sure that mileage, though, I've gotta have some wear and tear even with good oil pressure and no odd sounds or performance issues LOL

 

[muldoon]

First of all, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to respond and share their knowledge. Here are some answers to various questions and additional information.
The mileage at the time of the oil change which was submitted to Blackstone was 4,477.
This is in keeping with the average distance between changes. My initial post was inaccurate about using the DIC readout. Only one time was the readout less than approximately 25%. The truck was purchased "Certified" and that gave me "free" (meaning the new owner has actually paid for them in advance as part of the purchase price) oil and filter changes for two years. At first, the dealer was reluctant to change at less than 20%, but finally settled at 25%. My records show the average oil and filter change took place at 4,200 miles. I use the readout only as a reminder and have kept up the change at 25%--which turns out as 4,200 miles--procedure.
A previous oil sample was sent to Blackstone when I initially bought the truck. The analysis from 8/14/2015 showed Aluminum, 4 ppm, Chromium 1 and Iron 27. The summary read "Your engine looks great from our end."
Going forward, I bought some Delco filters and today I will drain enough oil for sample purposes, change the filter and cut the old one open for inspection. Right now, the truck has close to 1,000 miles since the latest full oil change. I am planning do a complete change with Shell Rotella
5W-30 and Delco filter in another 2,000 miles, both times submitting samples to Blackstone. No matter how it turns out, with engine in current state or having been rebuilt, all future changes will be made at approximately 3,500 to 4,000 miles (DIC reading closer to 33%) from now on.
Thanks again, and I'll post the results of both oil reports.

 

[Rocket Man]

You can even send in samples of your transmission fluid too for a whole lot more anxiety and gray hair growing!

Don’t forget differential fluid, TC fluid...

 

[kbuskill]

First of all, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to respond and share their knowledge. Here are some answers to various questions and additional information.
The mileage at the time of the oil change which was submitted to Blackstone was 4,477.
This is in keeping with the average distance between changes. My initial post was inaccurate about using the DIC readout. Only one time was the readout less than approximately 25%. The truck was purchased "Certified" and that gave me "free" (meaning the new owner has actually paid for them in advance as part of the purchase price) oil and filter changes for two years. At first, the dealer was reluctant to change at less than 20%, but finally settled at 25%. My records show the average oil and filter change took place at 4,200 miles. I use the readout only as a reminder and have kept up the change at 25%--which turns out as 4,200 miles--procedure.
A previous oil sample was sent to Blackstone when I initially bought the truck. The analysis from 8/14/2015 showed Aluminum, 4 ppm, Chromium 1 and Iron 27. The summary read "Your engine looks great from our end."
Going forward, I bought some Delco filters and today I will drain enough oil for sample purposes, change the filter and cut the old one open for inspection. Right now, the truck has close to 1,000 miles since the latest full oil change. I am planning do a complete change with Shell Rotella
5W-30 and Delco filter in another 2,000 miles, both times submitting samples to Blackstone. No matter how it turns out, with engine in current state or having been rebuilt, all future changes will be made at approximately 3,500 to 4,000 miles (DIC reading closer to 33%) from now on.
Thanks again, and I'll post the results of both oil reports.

May I suggest posting an actual picture of your Blackstone report. It makes it easier to see what's really going on when you can look at it on a spreadsheet of sorts.

 

[iamdub]

LOL does make me curious what they'd find in my oil of my 221k mile engine. I change my oil every 3,000 miles religiously and completely ignore the DIC %. I'm sure that mileage, though, I've gotta have some wear and tear even with good oil pressure and no odd sounds or performance issues LOL

Surely there's more wear at that mileage, but it wouldn't mean your oil would have lots of various metals in it. High mileage wear is the surface metal being worn away in very tiny amounts over a long period of time. A high-mileage, but well-maintained engine's wear (in this aspect) is more like just looser bearing tolerances that, at worst, can result in slightly lower oil pressure at idle. I'd bet that if you compared your UOA to that of an identical engine but with 1/4 of the mileage that's been equally maintained and running the same oil, your UOAs would look very similar. Keep up the maintenance and care and about the only failure from high mileage you may ever experience is something breaking from fatigued metal. That could be 100,000 miles or more from now.

 

[rjr]

Personally, I would not hold off changing oil, even Mobil 1, until the 10% level. While synthetic oil holds up well, it still collects condensation, fuel residue, and acids. I change every 4-5000 miles; oil is cheaper than an engine. Only exception is if we're driving coast-to-coast, so there is a minimum of stop-&-start, idling in traffic, etc.

 

[gooffeyguy]

Do you happen to have a quick drain valve that replaces the drain plug? Some of those are chromed

2001 Yukon SLT
2012 Yukon Denali XL
2011 Yukon Denali RIP 5/20/18