Samples are normally taken at a scheduled oil change, directly from the stream when draining the oil, but it can be done though the dipstick tube if sampling between changes is needed. Taking a sample should be done shortly after shutdown when the oil is still plenty warm and well mixed, says Stan Light. It should also be taken about "midstream," so there is usually sufficient time to somewhat leisurely set the drain plug aside and grab the bottle, and maybe even to wait a few seconds before filling it up. Don't worry about the bottle getting oily-just screw the cap on to keep the sample inside from getting contaminated and finish the oil change in normal fashion. Later, wipe the outside of the bottle clean and fill out the paperwork-thoroughly and correctly, or the lab report will not be all it could've been. Next, stick the sample and paperwork into the larger bottle and mail it. Ideally, in the next day or so.
Meant for small- and medium-sized diesel truck fleets rather than us four-wheelers, Shell Lubricants' VideoCheck is an interesting concept nevertheless. By removing an injector nozzle and inserting a lighted fiber optic cable into the cylinder, a technician can view valves, cylinder bores, piston crowns, and such. Everything is photographed with a high-resolution digital camera and can be examined in detail later.
It's obviously a lot quicker and less expensive to use the Shell VideoCheck than to tear the motor apart for a look-see, and in this case a video can literally prevent a blockbuster.
We changed the oil and took a sample from a new pickup at just 1,385 miles. Sure glad we did, because the oil probably should've been changed 1,000 miles earlier. Shell Care attributed the high levels of contaminants to break-in and recommended another sample in 1,000 miles (we never did). As the report shows, there was a lot of debris in there. The truly scary part was that our Jeep-based tractor (which usually gets used oil, has no oil filter, often doesn't get fully warmed up before shutdown, and has lots of oil in the coolant) had better numbers on all but lead, phosphorous, and magnesium. Silicon, for example, was 23 times higher in the pickup's fresh motor-and that's dirt. Yikes.
After a few samplings, you get a much better idea of what the norm is for your vehicle and the trend is a very important part of the analysis. The graphic portion of this report from Staveley shows four samples (from 23,775 to 35,126 miles), and based on iron contents, at 35,000 miles, this 6.2 diesel is still not fully broken in. Or, the rust from sitting for a decade is finally coming out. Judging by the amount of silicon (dirt) in the oil, we should either get a better air filter or stay on the pavement.