[bwilson4web]

Thanks! The commitment to empirical testing is what attracted me to Ecomodder and requires a disciplined life.

In the case of engine oil additives, I wanted to know what is going on. Unlike other additives, the science behind boron CLS (aka., boric acid) is backed by Argonne Labs research. It looked to be the first oil additive that due to the chemical action would remain after the first treatment and not get flushed out. But I knew my 2003 Prius, 138k mile Prius, would be a challenge.

I still need to look at the oil testing metrics, particle and material, to see if there is a correlation with observed engine friction. I had particle counts performed as well as the standard oil test and these may provide a pattern, a template, to indicate the state of the engine oil.

Engine oil pans were once easily removed because they used a gasket but the 1.5L Prius oil pan is 'sealed'. To drop the pan, I'll need sealant and tools to remove the old sealant. When I drop the pan, I'll try to capture and quantify the amount of gunk removed. I just wish there were a practical way to make a real gasket instead of having to apply a bead of sealant. Then cleaning the oil pan like I do now with the transaxle, would be more practical.

What really irritates me is how little we know about the oil filters beyond the advertisements. Here is a part that is designed to pass all of the oil and the natural home for a micro-filtration trap. But no micro-filtration trap is going to remove a layer of gunk that I suspect is in my engine.

In my minds eye and soon enough, camera lense, is probably a layer of gunk several millimeters thick and hundreds of square centimeters wide, the area of the oil pan. It may be that the best practice is to have the oil pan dropped and cleaned either as a result of some threshold from oil testing or 100-150k miles.

Bob Wilson