Jim, I am part of the "Choir" here...

I have 2 large marine engines and one aircraft engine. (all 3 are
$$$$$)

And.....

I depend on them !!!

I have used oil analysis for 25 years,- boat, heavy trucks, and now
on the plane.

Cheap "peace of mind cost".

It WILL turn up some problems in time for a minor fix, before it
becomes a catastrophic failure.

It will take about 3 tests to set a "normal" baseline for your engine
(s). After that, sudden changes are quickly detected.

We tore down an exhaust system last week, confident the antifreeze
leak was not in the block because if it was, the coolant would have
been detected in the oil. (there was none)


It is part of knowing you have taken EVERY reasonable precaution to
insure your safety flying behind that engine.

Dave



On Sun, 19 Aug 2007 11:33:22 GMT, "Jim Carter"
wrote:

From those that use it, I'm interested in the usefulness of starting an
oil analysis program on a big bore Continental that already has 850 SMOH
and 450 STOH on an 1100 TBO. Does it take so long to establish a
baseline and trend that it would be better to wait until OH or can an
individual engine be compared to the class as a whole?


-----------------------------------------
Kindest regards,
James A. (Jim) Carter, ANS #8215
Rogers, Arkansas

Anyone can do the job when things are going right. In this business we
play for keeps.
- Ernest K. Gann