I just received my oil sample kit from Blackstone Labs. Question is this, Without a valve or petcock on the drain plug, how do you get the oil from the pan into that little tube they give you without making a complete mess? Also for those of you who do a test without changing the oil, do you drain about a quart out then add some new?

 

I still have the stock drain plug on my '98.5, the type that you don't have to completely remove to drain the crankcase.
Of all the vehicles I've owned, this has been the best, no mess.

I'm able to loosen it slightly until a small stream is flowing, sample taking has been a breeze. When not doing a complete change, I use a clean container and only draw off about 2 quarts, then take the sample, close it back up, and dump what's in the container back in. I usually add a small amount of make-up oil also, but I wouldn't think it's necessary, unless you've spilled alot.

Please post your analysis results when you get them! Thanks.

 

I dont think the stock plug on the 04,5 allows you to do that without removing it completely. I'll try that though. Thanks for the response.

 

I dont think the the oil fill hole goes down into the pan. I think it it drains onto the head and then down to the pan. Anyone else know for sure.

 

If you're on your first or second oil change, I don't think there's a compelling reason to do OA yet. It certainly won't hurt, but its your money.

Some options are:
Us boaters use suction/vacuum to suck oil out of the engines thru the dipstick tube for oil changes.

Another would be to drain it all out into a large clean container, take your sample from it and then re-fill the engine with the remaining oil - but while the oil is completely drained, my advice (strongly recommended) would be to purchase a one-touch drain valve (or any of the ilk) and install it in place of the plug for the next sample period.

If you do get one of those one-touches, if you get one with a nipple - they work fine, just slower than heck.

Have fun.

 

Why worry about OA if you are going to be changing the oil at the specified interval anyway
If you plan on leaving the oil in for any longer period of time then I would reccomend putting in a By-Pass oil filteration system with a built in sample port
I myself have one of these installed from AMSOIL so I don't change oil unless the sample comes back and tells me to do so. I don't even have to crawl under the truck to change the filters when it's time.

 

There are reasons to do an oil sample even if you are not extending your drain intervals through use of a bypass filter.

1. To periodically check the overall health of your motor. Find fuel leakage (fuel dilation), air filter problems (silicon levels), bearing problems (wear metals), etc.

2. To determine the proper oil change interval based on the condition of the oil. You may have to change your oil more or less frequently than the schedules say. The only way to find out for sure is with one or more oil samples.

3. To see if the brand of oil you are using is any good. If it seems to be going bad earlier than you would like or wear metals seem to be high, try another brand and test it too. This especially applies to dino vs synthetic.

 

I agree, I am having a OA done at 15,000 miles just to check the overall health of my engine and to check and see if my True Flow air filter is really doing its job.