Question Oil change?

[dennisj2003]

Just another idea, Cat will do an oil sample for you, If you have a dealer close, They charge me $10.00 a sample here in WV. Havent sent one off for awhile.
I usally pull in to the dealer they supply the bottle, I craw under the truck right there turn the old fumuto on to fill the bottle then turn it back in, about a week to get results back.

 

[Bolt]

Cat charges 13 bucks out here now. I sample allot of warranty machines, so Cat provides those free of charge. Also have a few of the pumps. The main thing is to do a consistent sample. Either always use the suction gun, or always use a pressure port. All the cat points (except the differentials, I have to use the pump there) have pressure ports that I put a needle on and it fills up the bottle from there. What I don't like about the sample from the drain plug is that you can get some crud in there, especially if you pull the sample and close it again. It would be different if you took it after a gallon of oil has gone by, me thinks. I was going to put a pressure port on my 6.0, but I talked to the oil lab guy, and in my application I think it was going to be after the filter, and he said that wouldn't help much, as he wants oil out of the pan before it gets filtered. So I use the suction gun.

 

[dennisj2003]

Nice info. Cat always just told me to make sure the truck was at running temp and to sample as soon as possible after stopping.

 

[Bolt]

Close, I sample at temp with the motor running. I even go the extra mile, spray carb cleaner on the port, take a sample and dump it to flush the line, etc. (it may be slightly in a dead spot) and then take the real sample.

If it's been a while, I bet your rates went up too. They used to be cheaper. This 13 bucks is if I buy 10 samples at a time, it gets cheaper at 25, etc.

 

[Kleetus]

I don't know that oil in the pan would be any cleaner that the stuff after the filter. you're looking for particles smaller than the filter can even see anyway.

Go the other route, if the filter did in fact catch some of that stuff, you'd never know what your true wear is.