Oil Analysis - Post your VOA and UOA Here

[turbo87targa]

Turbo87 - I'm afraid what you are thinking is the likely cause. What's really troubling is the bearing metal wear with only 3200 miles on the oil.

Mike - Blackstone is nailing it. Right now the coolant problem is being managed adequately - unlike Turbo87, your wear metals are not out of line, esp for the bearings. The change interval you are using is working - you should be able to go to 5K with no adverse effect. While RP is a good oil, it's add pack is not as stout as others available. Give German Castrol a try in this motor.

Yea the 3200 on the oil was kind of an estimate and I didn't realize how far off it was until I just thought of it. It's probably closer to 4000 (as if it makes a difference) but what's odd is they didn't say for certain it was antifreeze. The car doesn't smoke at idle, accel, or decel...at all. Any ideas how long I can make it last till I can fix it? (my only car)

Edit** also if it means anything, through probably 3000 of the miles the car was running dexcool. It now has xerex g05 Asian

 

[Piratetip]

Well I finally put enough miles on the DD to justify an oil change.
Last oil analysis I posted here was 10,500 miles.

Last changed the oil in November 2009.
Lets continue pushing the envelope.
13,000 miles on the oil 236,500 on the engine.

 

[Supracentral]

Well I finally put enough miles on the DD to justify an oil change.

Awesome man! Be sure to post the change at 15K!

 

[jdub]

Wow!! Looks like this motor sure likes GC!

 

[Apollonius]

Any added insight to whats going on here?

Oil Redline 5w/30 5000mi change

Block test kit from napa

And compression test showed

155
163
161
158
152
150

 

[Piratetip]

Awesome man! Be sure to post the change at 15K!

Thanks guys.
Only have to wait another year for that report. :biglaugh:

 

[turbo87targa]

Turbo87 - I'm afraid what you are thinking is the likely cause. What's really troubling is the bearing metal wear with only 3200 miles on the oil.

Well I've put another 500 miles or so on the car and still no signs of bhg other than coolant disappearing, but no coolant burning smell....

They said the bearing metal in the oil was copper and lead, maybe I'm thinking of the wrong parts but my motor has clevite 77 bearings throughout, which are lead free aluminum, could the lead and copper they found be from anything else?

 

[Piratetip]

Not a UOA update, just a general update.

The very small oil usage and or leakage from the last sample had been bothering me.
It only used maybe 1 1/2 qt over the 15,000 miles but still bothered me nonetheless.

Tore into the old engine and ended up replacing the following:
Distributor Shaft O-Ring
Valve Cover Gaskets
Timing Belt (Had the timing belt on hand for sometime just needed an excuse to actually do it)

Happy to report there is now zero oil seeping from any seals whatsoever.
Oil on the stick has not changed at all, so I am pleased.

Also note: The timing belt looked to be original which was not pretty with 236,000 miles on it.
Very sloppy, cracked, loose, ready to break.
With the new one on the engine is much happier and running better than ever.
Amazing what a few degrees out of timing will do.

 

[BrandonW]

i wanted to give this a try to get a little info on what was going on in my engine

i would like to add this was on the first synthetic oil change with the 0w-30 german castrol before that i went through i believe 3 oil changes of conventional oil

5,000 miles on the oil and 11,000miles on the engine

mods would be:
apexi intake
turbo back exhaust
.5 over npr pistons
hks stopper hg
intercooler and hardpipes
57trim ct26

any comments on the numbers shown:

 

[jdub]

Brandon - Iron, copper, and (esp) lead are all high - all are wear metals, so not the best result. Iron and copper are really close to the univ average, so nothing to panic about since it is the 1st switch to synthetic and could be some residual wear metals from the break-in. Silicon is also high - an indication that the air filter is not doing it's job and can account for some additional wear. What were Blackstones' comments on this analysis?

What oil filter are you using?

I assume you stuck with GC on the change after this - do another analysis on the next change.

 

[BrandonW]

the comment they left

BRANDON: A little extra bearing wear (lead) showed up in this sample. It was accompanied by potassium
and sodium and those elements generally show coolant. This level isn't quite enough to say 100%, but
assuming that is the case, you caught the problem early. It may be something that you can control with short
oil changes for a while. Universal averages show normal wear for this type of engine after around 3,200
miles on the oil. No fuel or moisture was present. Watch your coolant level and oil pressure and check back
in around 2,500 miles. Everything else looks good.

(i am loosing zero coolant)

the oil filter i used and went with again is the purolator pureone the gold one with the sand paper like outer coating

and yes i stuck with the gc again

 

[Reg]

Heres my first ever oil sample. This was 3,800 miles ago, i just recently changed my oil again and im waiting on a new analysis.
This royal purple 10w-30 was sitting in my car idle for 3 months during the winter when i had my turbo shipped off to get its seals replaced.
I added about 2 quarts before i got the turbo refurbished. Drove another 2k miles on oil once turbo was back in.

 

[jdub]

Brandon - I saw the potassium/sodium too, but didn't really get to that conclusion - I think it's premature, esp since telling me you are not losing coolant. Perhaps a lil shorter change interval is warranted this next time though just to be on the safe side.

That's a excellent filter

 

[Supracentral]

the oil filter i used and went with again is the purolator pureone the gold one with the sand paper like outer coating

That's the one I use on every car we own.

 

[jdub]

Reg - the wear metals are high. RP is a good oil, but it is formulated more so for the track...some guys have good luck with it, some do not and show the same kind of analysis. It could be exactly as Blackstone says - wear in of the new parts. The next analysis will be more informative. If wear metals are still high, I would switch oils.

 

[BrandonW]

what do you think, change it again at 3k and see what we come up with?

 

[jdub]

what do you think, change it again at 3k and see what we come up with?

That would be a good idea IMO - you could go 3500-4000 though.

 

[Reg]

Second analysis. Probably going to change oils next interval. Possibly redline or german castrol.

 

[jdub]

Second analysis. Probably going to change oils next interval. Possibly redline or german castrol.

Give GC a try - I'm thinking your motor doesn't like RP.

 

[BrandonW]

did a early one this time around next i will do the 5,500 or 6,000

not really sure why they keep going to coolant as i have no coolant loss

suggest continuing to watch for any lost coolant to be safe though

i keep a good eye on the coolant level as i am 7m :eek3dance