About $20, and they send you another test kit when they return the results.

You drain some oil into a little black plastic tube, which gets wrapped in
plastic, then put into a cardboard mailing tube.  Results takes about 1-2
weeks, and they send you back a very detailed analysis with notes explaining
what the various findings mean.

Some of the things they test for (off the top of my head):
1. Copper, nickel, manganese (bearing wear)
2. Iron (cylinder wall scuffing)
3. Coolant (leaking head gaskets)
4. Unburned hydrocarbons (over rich fuel mix)

They also include averages for other engines of the same type, using data
from their databases so that you can compare.

Brent Christensen
'89 GL Syncro Westy
Santa Barbara, CA

-----Original Message-----
From: Cesar Baptista [mailto:cesarali@earthlink.net]
Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2000 2:03 PM
To: BRENT CHRISTENSEN; vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com
Subject: What does an oil analysis cost?

What does this type of lab-work cost? How much of a sample do you submit?

From: BRENT CHRISTENSEN <bchristensen@INFOGENESIS.COM>
Reply-To: BRENT CHRISTENSEN <bchristensen@INFOGENESIS.COM>
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 2000 13:10:32 -0700
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Waterboxer longevity and oil analysis

I have been doing this with every oil change for a year now, in order to
start creating some bench marking.  I use Blackstone Labs

http://blackstone-labs.com/

If anyone else out there is using their service (or another) and wants to
compare results, it may be interesting.  (Heck, I may even publish it on a
web site!).  I began testing my engine at about 30,000 miles (it now has
about 45,000 miles), so it should be showing a relatively "healthy"
chemistry.

This could be a pretty interesting project...

Brent Christensen
'89 GL Syncro Westy
Santa Barbara, CA

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
> Of Stuart MacMillan
> Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2000 8:50 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Waterboxer longevity and oil analysis
>
>
> I forgot to mention another technique for checking your engine
> condition, and that is having an oil analysis done.
> http://herguth.com
> sells a kit for $19.95 called their oil analysis kit.  You collect a
> sample of engine oil with at least 2000 miles of service and in a week
> you get a complete report on its condition.  Metals indicate bearing
> wear, coolant and water are also measured. I did do this to
> my used 2.1
> engine and it passed with flying colors.
>
> Well worth $19.95!  Unfortunately, my '65 MGB came back with lots of
> copper in the oil, evidence of a worn out bearing, even though my oil
> pressure is excellent.  Probably a cam bearing.
> --
> Stuart MacMillan
> Manager, Case Program
> 800-909-8244 ext. 8208
> Fax: 206-269-6360
>
> Getting your share of the Net yet?
> http://cobaltgroup.com
> http://UsedEquipNet.com
>

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