Motoring Discussion > Oil testing kit.	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: -	Replies: 28

Thu 17 Feb 11 20:56   Oil testing kit. - -

www.oil-spy.com/ Is this of any interest. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:11   Oil testing kit. - Iffy

...Is this of any interest?... Only to you. :) Seriously, I've never seen anything like that before, so the answer is 'yes'. Are you going to buy a kit? Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:15   Oil testing kit. - Zero

>> ...Is this of any interest?... Yes and no. Of no interest to those running well maintained modern cars with no issues. Why would I bother to check what state the oil is in? It lasts for 12k miles fine, it gets changed then. What's to know? If I had problems, or was running an old classic, the ability to see if fuel or water was in the oil would be of interest and use. Mind if I has a Mazda diesel, I would know it had fuel in the oil without checking! Last edited by: Zero on Thu 17 Feb 11 at 21:16 Reply to this message | Report message       1

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:15   Oil testing kit. - -

>> Are you going to buy a kit? Probably not, for all i know it's just a few swabs of litmus paper and a set of comparison drawings. I'd be interested to hear what our varied group makes of it though. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:29   Oil testing kit. - spamcan61

>> >> Are you going to buy a kit? >> >> Probably not, for all i know it's just a few swabs of litmus paper and >> a set of comparison drawings. >> >> I'd be interested to hear what our varied group makes of it though. >> It looks to me like some blotting/chromatography paper and some drawings you can download from the website anyway, but maybe the paper's treated in some way. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:11   Oil testing kit. - RattleandSmoke

At £12.99 I will risk using my ears :) Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:15   Oil testing kit. - Runfer D'Hills

No offence GB but "interest" isn't the first description which springs to mind...Each to their own of course... :-) Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:17   Oil testing kit. - Old Navy

When did you last have a lubrication related problem GB? Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:19   Oil testing kit. - Iffy

...last have a lubrication related problem GB?... Ooo, you are awful. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:20   Oil testing kit. - Old Navy

Me? :-) Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:20   Oil testing kit. - Runfer D'Hills

I expect ON knows of a product for that too. He's good at unctions it seems. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:21   Oil testing kit. - Zero

Matelot isnt he, he knows about lubrication. Last edited by: Zero on Thu 17 Feb 11 at 21:21 Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:26   Oil testing kit. - -

>> When did you last have a lubrication related problem GB? >> As per my post about fuel contamination before i had the injectors replaced, that could have ended up a lubrication problem...indeed some Toyota D4D engines have been seizing due to injector seal blow by....these may well have been picked up before damage resulted from a simple test. Prior to that, none in memory..i was thinking more of the results such a test might show on oil that been in the sump for 20K or more under long life and/or neglectful servicing. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:21   Oil testing kit. - -

It's the ability to keep an eye on fuel contamination of modern Diesels that interests me. It's not common knowledge, but i had a sample of my pick up's engine oil professionally tested prior to the injectors being replaced, it came up with 2% fuel contamination. Something like that could be happening to any of our engines, if this testing kit works it just might be a worthwhile investment to sample the oil when changing. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:25   Oil testing kit. - RattleandSmoke

If it can give useful information about the state of the oil (e.g does it contain coolent) then it could very very useful when buying second hand cars. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:23   Oil testing kit. - Manatee

>> At £12.99 I will risk using my ears :) >> How are you going to test your oil using your ears? I'm not interested enough to spend £12.99, but I might have a go with a coffee filter at the weekend. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:28   Oil testing kit. - Zero

>> I'm not interested enough to spend £12.99, but I might have a go with a >> coffee filter at the weekend. Good idea. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:31   Oil testing kit. - RattleandSmoke

Because engines which are knackered often don't sound right. I agree that ears probably won't detect a failing head gasket but they will sure detect low oil preasure. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:44   Oil testing kit. - Fenlander

It is of interest even if not life changing. A system they've used in America for a while. Work out a way to split the kit GB and we can do a forum comparison. If he ever gets it back we may be able to tell Stu what will fall off his Wagon engine first. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 22:03   Oil testing kit. - -

Work out a way to split the kit GB and we can >> do a forum comparison. You're not the real CJ are you FL....''i didn't get where i am today by buying a complete oil testing kit''...:-) A forum comparison would be interesting, a more advanced tester, sort of the lubricant equivalent of a speaking weight scales could give amusing replies. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 22:20   Oil testing kit. - Fenlander

>>....''i didn't get where i am today by buying a complete oil testing kit''...:-) Well a whole kit would be a big investment for one person. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 21:57   Oil testing kit. - Manatee

>> Because engines which are knackered often don't sound right. I agree that ears probably won't >> detect a failing head gasket but they will sure detect low oil preasure. >> Stable door. Horse. Bolted. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 22:11   Oil testing kit. - PR

It looks like paper impregnated with various indicators, exactly like litmus paper as mentioned above (or universal indicator paper). Could have some use but wouldnt think it is particularly accurate, and therefore probably not necessary. I cant see how it indicates sediments any better than dripping oil onto white paper and looking! Oil refineries have laboratories to test oils....if you could do it with paper then they wouldnt, and I wouldnt have a job!! Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 22:32   Oil testing kit. - Skoda

It only costs £25 for a full lab test, including postage and a vial to stick the oil in. As well as results for each of the tests, you get an informal note about change interval "could move up to 14k changes and retest from there". This is over priced. Would be a good idea at £5 for a few sheets. Maybe when buying a new car a couple of drips off the dip stick. Reply to this message | Report message

Thu 17 Feb 11 22:56   Oil testing kit. - bathtub tom

I know someone who does similar with tea leaves. ;>) Reply to this message | Report message       1

Fri 18 Feb 11 08:14   Oil testing kit. - Old Navy

How many years ago was the sealed for life engine predicted? that would upset the OCD oil changers. :-) Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 18 Feb 11 09:44   Oil testing kit. - Kithmo

You don't need any fancy kits to do this, all you need is a piece of white card (business card etc) or if you prefer, blotting paper. If you Google "Oil spot test" or "Oil spot check" there are lots of references, some with actual pictures of the results and their meanings. I did this 3-4 years ago when I had rising oil levels on a Mk3 Mondeo TDCi I had and found slight fuel contamination. Last edited by: Kithmo on Fri 18 Feb 11 at 09:45 Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 18 Feb 11 09:58   Oil testing kit. - Cliff Pope

Diesel railway engines are, or were, tested regularly in order to spot problems early on: 1) Flame spectrograph picked up trace metalic elements from different kinds of bearings. 2) Acidity test for combustion product contamination. 3) Flash-point measurement to detect fuel contamination 4) Stick a hot soldering iron in a sample - if it crackles, there is coolant contamination. £12.99 might buy a soldering iron, but not the other parts of the kit. Reply to this message | Report message

Fri 18 Feb 11 11:02   Oil testing kit. - NortonES2

I know some HGV fleets used oil analysis to check for a number of indicators. They ran the same oil for something like 60,000 miles. But I suppose the oil has an easier time than Mr Muggins car which spends most of its time standing around, and even when not idle, rarely gets a workout. Reply to this message | Report message