Community Forums

Alan_Hepburn · 01-18-2020, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJ7365

Simple fact, the 8.1 uses/burns oil

1qt or less per 100gallons of fuel is acceptable.

This is straight from the 8.1 repair manual

Wow! One quart of oil with every other tank of gas is acceptable? I'm glad my 8.1L doesn't drink oil like that - I try to change the oil annually and it's never been more than a quart low, and we do anywhere from 3000 mikes to 10,000 miles per year.

CJ7365 · 01-18-2020, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan_Hepburn

Wow! One quart of oil with every other tank of gas is acceptable? I'm glad my 8.1L doesn't drink oil like that - I try to change the oil annually and it's never been more than a quart low, and we do anywhere from 3000 mikes to 10,000 miles per year.

Yeah I hear ya, mine does not drink that much oil either, just quoting what the book says is acceptable. I was shocked just as you when I first read it, read it a few times to make sure I was comprehending it.

grindstone01 · 01-18-2020, 08:48 PM

I apologize for sounding like a broken record, but a oil analysis will take the guess work out of any oil questions/concerns. It's a small cost to analysis a expensive motor and not much different than a blood test for a human health analysis.

Oemtech · 01-20-2020, 11:34 AM

1 qt of per tank is BS. My 8.1 didn't use enough to even hit the add mark. I changed once a year or 5k with full synthetic.

I used Blsckstone labs and tested at least 5 different brands. Bottomline any top tier brand full synthetic and a 1qt filter and your good to go. I ran 2qt filters from Champion Labs and never had an issue.

Full-Timers · 01-20-2020, 05:31 PM

Just curious,
Has anyone that uses Blackstone found anything significant to warrant the cost every 5K or 1 year? Other than extended oil changes that is.
I still say just do the oil change and forget about it, am I wrong?

Oemtech · 01-20-2020, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Full-Timers

Just curious,
Has anyone that uses Blackstone found anything significant to warrant the cost every 5K or 1 year? Other than extended oil changes that is.
I still say just do the oil change and forget about it, am I wrong?

2 tests that most people do not get due to extra cost are TAN (Total Acid Number) & TBN (Total Base Number).

TAN shows how acidic your oil has become. This is my criteria for 1 year change at minimum.

TBN shows how much of the additive package is left. I equate this to the OLM (Oil Life Monitor).

FYI - My Corvette gets an oil change every spring as it gets less than 5k a year miles and the OLM isn't even close to the change mark of 20% or less.

My Dodge Charger 392 HEMI usually gets 2 changes a year.

One last thing.... A true synthetic oil will have the Euro icon on the bottle.

grindstone01 · 01-20-2020, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Full-Timers

Just curious,
Has anyone that uses Blackstone found anything significant to warrant the cost every 5K or 1 year? Other than extended oil changes that is.
I still say just do the oil change and forget about it, am I wrong?

You don't need to test the oil every oil change. I opted to test my oil every 10th oil change. My last truck did need the coolant topped off every year. The oil test showed it was not a internal leak getting into the oil, so I chose not spend the $$ to find and repair the coolant leak. It actually turned out to be a external head gasket coolant leak, but the motor was not affected.
The more info you know about your motor, then the better decisions you can make regarding it. An example is if you can't conveniently get your oil changed per schedule while on a trip, you will at least know your limit!

udid · 02-09-2020, 03:41 AM

Any half decent brand oil will easily go at min 7500 miles these days.

I run Valvoline VR1 10w-30 conventional and change every 2 years based on my oil analysis tests ive done. My last check the TBN was at 6.1 aftee 14mos and close to 4000 miles. Virgin starts at 7.8

yeloduster · 02-11-2020, 09:47 AM

I was maintenance manager of a large manufacturing facility for 15 years. For a time we used a lubricant analysis service. After a couple years we determined that the analysis never told us anything we didn't already know!

Granted, we had no engines and were having gear box oil analyzed. We had no concerns about fuel or antifreeze dilution. I pretty sure on my MH engine I would have symptoms of fuel or antifreeze dilution and would know it without lubricant analysis. If I had a fleet of trucks I might not trust my drivers to recognize these symptoms and use a lubrication service.

For my motorhome I change the oil when the on board computer tells me to! I use Mobile 1 and a 2 quart filter.

I use about 1 qt/1500 miles. I probably drive mine harder than most of you because I live in Colorado and most of my adventures are in the mountains. I do a lot of miles at full throttle. Hard working engines use oil. By the way, 1 quart/100 gallons of fuel is about 1 quart/700 miles for most of us.