Blackstone Labs is our trusted partner in maintaining our customers’ engines in top condition, identifying trends before they become problems, and helping us deliver service for our customers’ aircraft to remain SAFE, AIRWORTHY, LEGAL, and RIGHT!

We first thought the high temp on the oil was due to a couple of small exhaust leaks at the cylinder flange blowing on the push rod tubes. The AI was in the process of replacing the gaskets when he asked if I had cut the filter open. He too was worried about the source of aluminum that you alerted us to. There was nothing in the filter material but the bottom of the filter looked like glitter.

He stopped the reinstall and we both decided to pull a cylinder to inspect. We did, and found that the wrist pin had abnormal wear,(to say the least first pix). Not what I wanted to see. Unanimous decision was to pull all 6. Not good, it appears that the overhaul was better on paper than reality. Four of the six wrist pins are the same.

I am fortunate in that the AI’s father owns an aircraft engine shop. He stopped by and within 10 minutes found that the connecting rod bushings were worn more than 371 hours could do. Long story short, we are going to pull the engine for a complete tear down and hopefully it can be overhauled right. Thank you and Blackstone for possibly saving our lives. The next time you get an oil sample it will either be a newly overhauled or a new engine. 

I absolutely love how simple you make this process for us non-professionals!

Thanks for the great summary and the care that is taken to compare results against run hours.  This report is invaluable to me.  I’m a 60- something female that never even changed the oil in her car.  Bought a boat so I could cruise to Canada and back and decided I needed to know how to do all the maintenance, winterizing, etc. by myself.  This report gives me peace of mind that I’m maintaining the engine properly.  I won’t talk about the quart of oil that ended up in my lap and bilge this year!

Thanks for the great service.  Very much appreciated!!

Have had multiple oil samples tested, and results were always prompt and easy to understand. Recently I lost a copy of results and only realized it less than an hour prior to an appointment to show the truck to a potential buyer, I called and Jason was able to get me a copy with in a few minutes. No long hold time, no automated menu, just great customer service!

That’s actually REALLY insightful thank you!

The amount of stuff in that one report alone is truly wild. I thought the intake leak diagnosis with the last car I tested was impressive, this latest one takes the cake. Coolant and fuel in the oil is one thing, but being able to tell the bearings are shot, and the piston and camshaft are grinding away? From an oil change? I mean it makes sense that it’s possible, but it’s still nuts to me that it’s as affordable as it is for the insight it gives me, it feels like I should be adding a zero or two to the price for it to make sense.

Knowing the engine is toast is one thing, but the level of toast that the oil testing came back with is an advertisement itself. I’m just gonna show it to people. The engine’s that one thing you can’t tell the health of by just looking at it. Being able to tell basically EVERYTHING about the engine by just testing the oil (and the cooling system by the coolant testing!) is nuts to me.

I cannot praise enough the invaluable information provided by BLACKSTONE Lab in each and every oil analyses performed. I have discussed this with you on multiple occasions re: my Jasper replacement on my 01 Grand Cherokee 4.0L. A Jasper installed Feb 2022 with 152k and as of 3/13/24 under 30k on this reman 4.0. I have meticulously changed the oil and sent samples to BLACKSTONE with each and every oil change, except the first 500 miles. Low oil pressures from the onset and then progressive antifreeze and metallic particulate(s) contamination demonstrated with with each sample- and great narratives with each report.

Jasper Warranty Div has everything and will soon swap out this failing eng to another 4.0. I just sent another sample 3/13 and await the analysis. And for the first time ever, a few days ago, I found mayonnaise on my oil filler cap – none in the radiator, dipstick nor the overflow tank, and never an external leak.

THANK YOU MUCHLY- it has been worth every dollar I spent!!

I am following up on this issue of the higher silicon content from my January oil report for my Jaguar XKR.  For a variety of reasons it has taken me until this weekend to check the air filters. Lo and behold both air filters showed signs of damage and wrinkling of the corners, allowing in a bit of unfiltered air.

I mentioned previously that the air filters were not easy to get to in this car. Removal and replacement involves a unique design. I now realize that I installed the air filters incorrectly the last time. The filters need to be placed into the frames and situated inside the air boxes BEFORE the bracket is wedged in; previously I had placed the frames inside the brackets and then slid the whole thing into the air boxes.  I recall it being very tight and needing to use a mallet to tap it into place. When properly installed it is still very tight but goes in with hand pressure because the gasket of the filter isn’t proving sliding resistance.  In any case I have now discarded the damaged filters and replaced them correctly with new ones.

THANK YOU for the quality of the analysis that Blackstone provides!  I would not have checked on my air filters for probably many thousands of miles had it not been for the elevated silicon finding.  I am hoping that there hasn’t been any long term damage to my engine from the approximately 5,000 miles driven with these improperly installed air filters, but there might very well have been if I continued to drive for many more thousands.

The report on the Kohler engine was spot on. The oil was probably 3 or 4 years old in that mower, but the hours on that oil was probably 100-150 at best.  The air filter had also been neglected and was saturated with dirt, so it has been replaced.