How to Read Your Oil Report
Follow the steps below to decode your report! Scroll down to see the individual elements.
This is your summary. It will tell you:
- If wear looks normal
- If anything is high or unusual
- Whether you need to take action
Small amounts of metal are usually normal. We compare your wear to averages for that type of engine. As you build trends, we also compare to your own averages, to see if anything’s out of line.
- Close to average: usually okay
- Slightly above or below: also usually okay
- Much higher: potential problem, depending on what’s been going on
One high reading isn’t necessarily a problem—trends tell a much fuller story of what’s going on in your engine.
Things to watch for:
- Fuel—too much can reduce lubrication
- Antifreeze—a serious leak can destroy the engine
- Moisture—none should be present
- Silicon—can show dirt from an air filter problem
- Viscosity: too thick or too thin? It’s not usually a problem when it’s only off by a little. If it’s significantly thinner than it should be, fuel or solvent contamination may be a problem. When it’s too thick, that can be a sign of excess heat or soot in the oil.
- Insolubles (solids): how is the oil filter doing? Excess heat or an oil filter problem can cause more solids than the oil filter can handle.
Not all engines are driven the same way or in the same conditions, so whether these are problematic really depends on your situation.
One report is just a snapshot of a moment in time. Multiple reports show the patterns that tell us how your engine is truly wearing. We want to see:
- Stable trends
- Unusual finds easily explained
For example, things like racing, a change in commute, aircraft inactivity, and idling can all change an engine’s wear metals.
When to worry?
- Sudden changes to wear metals
- New contamination
- Unusual changes in the oil’s condition
Not sure? Ask us! You’ll get a real person every time you call.
- Everything normal? Keep on trucking! Decide how often you want to sample.
- Something slightly high? Usually we’ll say to monitor it and resample to see where the trend goes.
- Something really high? We’ll let you know, and we’ll also suggest what you might want to do about it. We often suggest shorter oil changes, so you’re getting more data sooner.
Gas/Diesel Engine
Aircraft Engine
Transmission
Transmission
Industrial
Aluminum: Pistons, bearings, the case (heads & blocks)
Chromium: Rings, trace element in steel
Iron: Cylinders, rotating shafts, valve train, any steel part sharing the oil
Copper: Bushings, bearings, oil coolers, any bronze or brass part, aftermarket additives
Lead: Bearings, leaded gas, octane booster, aftermarket additives
Tin: Bearings, bronze parts
Nickel: Trace element in steel, plating on some cylinder types
Silver: Bearings, solder
Titanium: Some intake valves & connecting rods, aftermarket parts, oil additive
Zinc: Brass parts (with copper)
Potassium: Antifreeze, aftermarket additives, flux compound (with aluminum)
Sodium: Antifreeze, oil additive, sea water in marine engines
Silicon:Â Airborne dirt escaping air filtration, sealers, gaskets, lubes, antifreeze inhibitor, oil additive
Molybdenum: Anti-wear additive, coating on some types of rings
Manganese: Trace element, additive in some gasoline
Boron: Anti-wear additive, antifreeze inhibitor
Calcium: Detergent/dispersant additive
Magnesium: Detergent/dispersant additive
Phosphorus: Anti-wear additive
Zinc: Anti-wear additive
Barium: Detergent/dispersant additive
Viscosity: Viscosity looks at the grade of the oil. If fuel/solvent is present, the viscosity will often be low. A high viscosity can be from oxidation or excess soot, or from an aftermarket additive
Flashpoint: The flashpoint checks for fuel/solvent contamination. When fuel/solvents are present, the flashpoint reads low
Fuel %: Indicates the amount of volatile fuel dilution in the oil
Antifreeze %: Indicates the amount of coolant in the oil. A question mark means we found possible traces of coolant, but not enough to definitively say it’s there
Water %: Indicates the amount of moisture found in the oil
Insolubles %: Solids present in the oil; typically free carbon from oil oxidation, along with blow-by past the rings
Aluminum: Pistons, piston pin plugs, bearings, and the case
Chromium: Rings, replacement cylinders, valve stems, steel alloy
Iron: Cylinders, rotating shafts, valve train, any steel part sharing the oil
Copper: Bushings, bearings, oil coolers, any bronze or brass part
Lead: 100 LL blow-by, bearings (but lead from bearings is often masked by blow-by)
Tin: Bearings, bronze parts (with copper), anti-wear coating
Nickel: Valve guides, replacement cylinders
Silver: Some bearings
Zinc: Component of brass (with copper)
Silicon: Airborne dirt escaping air filtration, silicone sealers, gaskets and lubes
Sodium: Antifreeze, brine-filled valves
Calcium: Additive typically found in Camguard
Phosphorus: Oil additive
Viscosity: Viscosity looks at the grade of the oil. If fuel/solvent is present, the viscosity will often be low. A high viscosity can be from oxidation or excess soot, or from an aftermarket additive
Flashpoint: The flashpoint checks for fuel/solvent contamination. When fuel/solvents are present, the flashpoint reads low
Fuel %: Indicates the amount of volatile fuel dilution in the oil
Antifreeze %: Indicates the amount of coolant in the oil. A question mark means we found possible traces of coolant, but not enough to definitively say it’s there
Water %: Indicates the amount of moisture found in the oil
Insolubles %: Solids present in the oil; typically free carbon from oil oxidation, along with blow-by past the rings
Aluminum: Housing, oil pump, bearings, gear & pump vanes
Chromium: Ball & roller bearings, alloy in steel parts like gears
Iron: Gears, bearings, shafts, clutch plates, sometimes the case
Copper: Bronze bushings, oil cooler oxides, clutch plates, fittings
Lead: Gear marking compound, alloy of bronze
Tin: Bearing cages, alloy of bronze
Nickel: Clutch bands, steel alloy
Silver: Some friction bearings, Allison needle bearings
Manganese: Steel alloy
Titanium: Trace wear metal
Potassium: Antifreeze
Silicon: Dirt, sealers, gaskets, spray lubricants, antifreeze
Sodium: Antifreeze
Boron
Calcium
Magnesium
Phosphorus
Zinc
Barium
Viscosity: Viscosity looks at the grade of the oil. If a solvent is present, or if the oil has been exposed to excessive heat, a transmission’s viscosity will often be low
Flashpoint: The flashpoint checks for solvent contamination. When solvents are present, the flashpoint reads low
Antifreeze %: Indicates the amount of coolant in the oil. A question mark means we found possible traces of coolant, but not enough to definitively say it’s there
Water %: Indicates the amount of moisture found in the oil
Insolubles %: These are solids present in the oil
Aluminum: Pump vanes, pistons, valves, other aluminum parts
Chromium: Ball & roller bearings, hydraulic rams, trace element in steel
Iron: Gears, any steel parts including rotating shafts and valves
Copper: Bronze and brass parts, bushings, valves, oil cooler
Lead: Friction bearings, solder, component in bronze wear (with copper)
Tin: Bearings, component in bronze, anti-wear coatings
Boron: May show coolant contamination
Silicon: Dirt, sealers, gaskets, spray lubricants, antifreeze, anti-foam additive
Sodium: Antifreeze, contamination from other sources
Molybdenum
Manganese
Boron
Calcium
Magnesium
Phosphorus
Zinc
Barium
Viscosity: Viscosity looks at the grade of the oil
Flashpoint: The flashpoint checks for solvent and moisture contamination
Water %: Indicates the amount of moisture found in the oil
Insolubles %: Solid materials present in the oil; typically these are free carbon from oil oxidation, or they may be dirt contamination
