"Michael Horowitz" wrote in message
...
I did my first oil change, had an oil analysis done and got back the
results. Two figures were flagged: 20ppm for AL and 99ppm for Iron
with the following comments: Wear Metals Appear Slightly High for Oil
Time, and Possible Corrosion if Aircraft Not Flown Regularly. It
concluded with the recommendation to sample next oil change to check
wear trend.

Is it time to panic or just note the figures with interest? - Mike

Mike..........

I'm not the resident expert on oil analysis, but - I like to think - an
informed user. I had a 34' Trawler with a Ford-Lehman diesel on which I kept
an oil analysis chart.

Numbers for oil analysis, unless way off the chart are best looked at as
trends. Much like battery electrolyte specific gravity readings, each
battery and each engine are slightly different. One reading doesn't tell a
hell of a lot by itself.

"Slightly" and "Possible" notations mean that you should keep an eye on the
numbers. Were it mine, I wouldn't panic. Mebbe you're just not using enough
of "Henderson Jones' Magic Engine Elixir" to "Prevent all Wear and Corrosion
Forever". ;-)

Rich Shankland