[svHyLyte]

I have been following this discussion loosely for some while and it occurred to me that before I made any major investments in anything once the usual suspects have been eliminated, I might have the oil I've been using for my oil changes tested/analyzed before I use/put it in the engine. You might discover that the contamination is in the oil to begin with and that your fears/worries about your engine are misplaced. It would not be the first time.

FWIW...

 

[svHyLyte]

Good logic, but how *salt* would get into a motor oil plant production line in the first place...That could only be sabotage on the line. Unheard of, AFAIK.

Perhaps, but, depending upon where the supplies are stored, there could easily be contamination. I have also seen, on the yacht moored next to us, an owner using a funnel for adding oil to his engine that he had used, only a short while earlier, to add coolant to his heat exchanger. Perhaps he "flushed" it before doing so, perhaps not. I do know of one test case in the Annapolis area in early 2000's where an oil sample straight from the bottle (Rotella 15-40) was pronounced to have indications of engine wear. Strange eh? When one does analysis, it is not unwise to have a "control" base as a reference from which to work, no?