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Transmission oil analysis at 1000 Km (600 miles)

2K views 4 replies 3 participants last post by  TimVipond 
#1 ·
The attached show the results of the analysis of the original factory transmission oil. The fluid was replaced with Amsoil Long Life Synthetic 75W90.
 

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#2 ·
This one looks pretty good and could probably stay in till the 12,000 mile service. This is what I am planning on doing.

How long do you plan to leave the AMSOIL in? Have you noticed any differences in shifting? I hit neutral occassionally when upshifting from 1st to 2nd and hoping the AMSOIL will lessen this.

These analyses are great! Thanks for sharing. When do you think you will do the next one?
 
#3 ·
TimVipond said:
This one looks pretty good and could probably stay in till the 12,000 mile service. This is what I am planning on doing.

How long do you plan to leave the AMSOIL in? Have you noticed any differences in shifting? I hit neutral occassionally when upshifting from 1st to 2nd and hoping the AMSOIL will lessen this.

These analyses are great! Thanks for sharing. When do you think you will do the next one?
The shifting has improved. before changing, the tranny sometimes balked going into 3rd gear. Better now.

My son races in the Canadian Suzuki SV650 class and one of the races is in Clagary, Alberta on JUly1st weekend. He is having the race bike shipped out and we are going to ride out west via Canada and come back somewhere thru the northern US. He has a Honda VFR800.
I'll change the engine and rear drive oil just before I leave.

Anybody got some suggestions for roads to take in northern US??
 
#4 ·
Amsoil for my K12 as well

I noticed a difference in shifting and gear noise with my 05 LT when I installed Amsoil gear oil. The bike will still shift to neutral when going from 1st to 2nd if I am not careful to follow through with my foot when shifting. It actually shifts 100% positive when I shift 1-2, 2-3 etc without using the clutch. I don't do this often as I am concerned about the stress on the syncro's. I use Amsoil 75W90 Severe Gear Oil in the transmission and rear drive. Amsoil 20W50 M/C oil in the engine. The engine oil has been analysed at 10,500km/6500 miles on the oil with excellent results. The rear gear oil will be analysed when I change it with at least 12000km/7400 miles on the oil.
Currently 29600km/18350 miles on bike June 11/06
 
#5 · (Edited)
I just now received a gear oil analysis from Oil Ananlyzers on a sample of AMSOIL SVG 75W90 gear lube from my 135,260 mile K1200LT which had 26,960 miles on this lube (2.25 times longer than the BMW recommended change interval). The results were very similar to the ones posted above at 600 mile break in. The analysis recommendation was "No corrective action required. Oil is suitable for continued use. Resample at next regular interval". So I guess this means I could have gone another 27,000 miles on this lube and resampled.

This oil is from my transmission that sheared a few teeth from the lower two gears (I'm guessing 4th and 5th gear as the transmission locked up during a down shift from 5th gear). This oil analysis shows the gear oil and the transmission seemed to be in great shape with minimal wear so would not be a good predictor of imminent transmission failure. I was hoping the oil had failed so that AMSOIL would have to pay for parts and labor to get the transmission repaired. I did not tell Oil Analyzers the transmission had failed so as to not bias results.

Lab results:
45 ppm Iron - wear metal. Iron or steel components or rust.
0 ppm Chromium - wear metal, coolant additive. Chrome and alloys.
8 ppm Lead - Wear metal. Additive in gear oils and gasoline. Alloyed with copper, tin or alumnum in plain bearings and bushings.
2 ppm Copper - wear metal or additive. Alloyed with lead, tin or aluminum in bushings. Leachate from gaskets/sealant or coolers.
2 ppm Tin - Wear metal. Alloyed with lead, copper, or aluminum.
10 ppm Aluminum - Wear Metal. May be alone or in alloys.
0 ppm Nickel - Wear metal. Used in steel alloys.
0 ppm Silver - Wear metal. Bearings in EMD diesel engines.
11 ppm Silicon - Contaminant. Dirt particle, antifoam additive, or leachate from gaskets/sealant compounds.
73 ppm Boron - Contaminant. Additive in engine coolant or oil. Compare to level in unused oil (156ppm via AMSOIL).
0 ppm Sodium - Contaminant. Additive in engine coolant or oil. Compare to level in unused oil.
1 ppm Magnesium - Dispersant/Detergent oil additive. Wear metal in steel alloys.
15 ppm Calcium - Dispersant/Detergent oil additive. May indicate water contamination.
0 ppm Barium - Diesel fuel additive.
725 ppm Phosphorus - Anti-wear oil additive. 1018 in unused via AMSOIL.
16 ppm Zinc - Anti-wear oil additive.
0 ppm Molybdenum - Wear metal or oil additive. Compare to level in unused oil.
0 ppm Titanium and Vanadium - Wear metals in steel alloys.
Vis@100C - 16.79 cST (AMSOIL lists 16.4 for unused showing no shearing of oil took place).
0% water.
Trace soot/solids.
Total Acid Number 4.89 - Increases with use. AMSOIL reports 1.72 for unused.
Oxidation 36 - Causes increased viscosity and acid formation.
Nitration 3 - Causes sludge and varnish formation.

I took the cover off the transmission and found the broken gear teeth. Everything else looked like new with no visable wear, discoloration or varnish.

I've asked AMSOIL for an analyses of unused gear oil so I can compare the data better. Check back for updates.
 
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