Oil Sample

Mulochico

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Well, I got some not so good news today. I sent an oil sample to Blackstone and the lead went up (bearings?). When I did the last test I had added Lucas to the oil and the lead had dropped by almost 1/3 (28 to 11). I left it out on this oil change and the lead went up X3 (11 to 33).

I included the latest report, so if anyone has any ideas, I would appreciate it. I am planning on doing an oil change within the next week or 2 and possibly trying some synthetic. Any input if that might help?

I don't have a lot of funds available, like most, so I am just trying to take as good a care of the old girl as I can. :D
 

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Mulochico

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The only gauge I have is the factory on/off wannabe gauge. It shows there is pressure. I am in the process of getting a gauge (one on the way from Amazon)
 

Hydro-idi

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This will be an interesting topic. Hopefully the Amsoil preachers stay out of this one :rolleyes:. I am now wondering if Lucas is what they say it is. I guess that stuff does cut down engine wear :dunno. I remember dumping some of that stuff in my 62 ranchero 289 engine. It was cold outside and that stuff was thicker than molasses. Not so sure Lucas is good for cold weather operation though.
How long have you been running this oil? Your lead % is a bit high but in all honesty, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Change the oil and keep on truckin.
 

Mulochico

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This will be an interesting topic. Hopefully the Amsoil preachers stay out of this one :rolleyes:. I am now wondering if Lucas is what they say it is. I guess that stuff does cut down engine wear :dunno. I remember dumping some of that stuff in my 62 ranchero 289 engine. It was cold outside and that stuff was thicker than molasses. Not so sure Lucas is good for cold weather operation though.
How long have you been running this oil? Your lead % is a bit high but in all honesty, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Change the oil and keep on truckin.

The current sample had 3,225 mile on it. Almost all in town driving.

I had added Lucas on the chance that what I heard On Road Dog Radio about it possibly helping was accurate. Seems to help, but not sure. I had it at a pretty high % (20-25%) so I am thinking of trying it at a lower % or possibly synthetic.

Keep the reply's coming. I might not be able to respond as I am leaving for work. Thanks to all for any input.
 

CDX825

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I would avoid the lucas additive. All it does is make the oil thicker and dilute the detergents and additive package. I don't think switching to a synthetic would help either quite honestly.

I would try something other than delo though. The one time I ran delo my oil pressure was lower than with any other oil.
 

icanfixall

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Was this oil the oil that saw the injection pump replacement and heads repair. If so you did plenty of cranking. I'm not feeling you have a wear issue. I see what you posted about time on the oil too being town driving but. Was that the only thing this oil saw.
 

chris142

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Imo Something made of iron is contaminating the oil and going through the bearings. Cam? Rocker?
 

Mulochico

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Was this oil the oil that saw the injection pump replacement and heads repair. If so you did plenty of cranking. I'm not feeling you have a wear issue. I see what you posted about time on the oil too being town driving but. Was that the only thing this oil saw.

No, the IP was 2 years ago and the lifters was 1-1/2 years ago. This oil has been in since July 2014.

As far as the driving, the 1st 1,000 miles was a trip to So. Cal. and a trip to the mountains with my son (easy off road). The rest was mainly in town or short (10 mile) trips down the freeway (very few).

I am considering a new brand of oil. :dunno Not sure which, just looking at options after what CDX825 posted about oil pressures. I will get a baseline after I get my gauge in (probably a week and a half) then see what happens with a different brand.

I am also going to look into the http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...lysis_-_Diesel website to get more perspective on things ;Sweet

Thanks for all the input so far. :Thumbs Up
 

PwrSmoke

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Remember and keep into perspective two things here, those readings are PARTS PER MILLION. They are way short of anything catastrophic, so you are just in a cautionary area waiting for another lest. Ignore anyone at this stage that advises a teardown. Overall, you can't tell much from two or three samples anyway. In order to make logical sense of wear trends that are not immediately catastrophic in scope is over many tests... 10 + over years of operation. If you were seeing 100 ppm versus 33, you would be allowed to run in circles and scream incoherently based on one test. ( : < )

That is not necessarily terminally high lead, but it ain't good. I don't see much else. Bad bearings are usually lead AND tin AND copper. Your copper and tin are low. A good sign.

Was this last test with the Lucas? If so, it didn't seem to thicken the oil out of grade, but the test prior was thickened out of grade (for whatever reason). The last test was 20.3 cSt at 100C (212F, the usual temp for the viscosity grade rating) and that is at the top end of 50 grade territory, nearly into 60 grade... and that's too thick!

Sudden high lead can sometimes be a large chunk of something that got into a bearing and did some serious scraping. In that case, it's a one-time thing (usually) that the engine can survive. I list this possibility first because you recently had the engine apart and an engine component failure, both of which can put large and small contaminants in the oil... and stuff like this can happen down the road as bits or pieces are washed out of the nooks and crannies. If you get unlucky, a big chunks is past the filter or goes past the filter when it's in bypass (during a cold start for example). Overly thick oil makes the likelihood of filter bypass even greater. The filter bypasses because the oil is too thick for all of it to pass thru the filter, so some of the dirty oil bypasses the filter. In essence, the thick oil could've left a big chunk of something bypass to the bearing and created the high lead situation.

Lead can also come from oil or fuel additives (or fuel).

What filter are you using? If it's not the FL1995 (PSD) or an equivalent, there is another positive step if you are worried about contaminates. The FL784 is a low efficiency filter. The FL1995 is a high efficiency filter.

The oil pressure test will be a good test of overall bearing condition. That should be your next test. Factory specs (from the factory manual) on thoroughly warmed up oil are: Idle= 10psi or higher, 2200 rpm= 40-70 psi.

I strongly advise NOT using the Lucas. As was said above, it can increase viscosity across all temperature ranges, increasing the likelihood of oil filter bypass on cold starts and contamination. The increase in viscosity could distort your oil pressure readings, too. You want readings from warmed up, 15W40 grade oil so they can be properly interpreted. As I said, at 15.2 cSt on the 100C viscosity test, the oil is within grade right now, with or without the Lucas, but if you do ever run more oil pressure tests, avoid additives that will thicken the oil and throw off the readings (thicker oil = higher oil readings... to interpret them correctly, you want to get readings on warm, unadulterated 15W40 oil).

DELO is a great oil! Unless you were using some unrated, low-rent peewater oil, a change of brand is not likely to help with this problem.

PS- You had coolant in the oil previously and in high amounts, it can be very ******* bearings. What was the cause of the previous high coolant?
 
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Hans13

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Currently running Wally-World Rotella 15-40w. I'm happy with it. I've new had an oil analysis done but I change my oil every 4,000. (My truck doesn't get idled for long periods of time or hotrodded.)
 

marmot

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Hey man,

Stress is the number 1 killer. Fold that analysis up, stick in the glovie (or the electronic equivalent) and get an oil change. Sounds like you've got the pressure gauge coming so keep an eye on it. Not much else you can do really. The reason snake oils are so enduring is that they are a psychological ploy designed to give us the illusion of control over things we can't. Best of luck to you.
 

Hydro-idi

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Remember and keep into perspective two things here, those readings are PARTS PER MILLION. They are way short of anything catastrophic, so you are just in a cautionary area waiting for another lest. Ignore anyone at this stage that advises a teardown. Overall, you can't tell much from two or three samples anyway. In order to make logical sense of wear trends that are not immediately catastrophic in scope is over many tests... 10 + over years of operation. If you were seeing 100 ppm versus 33, you would be allowed to run in circles and scream incoherently based on one test. ( : < )

That is not necessarily terminally high lead, but it ain't good. I don't see much else. Bad bearings are usually lead AND tin AND copper. Your copper and tin are low. A good sign.

Was this last test with the Lucas? If so, it didn't seem to thicken the oil out of grade, but the test prior was thickened out of grade (for whatever reason). The last test was 20.3 cSt at 100C (212F, the usual temp for the viscosity grade rating) and that is at the top end of 50 grade territory, nearly into 60 grade... and that's too thick!

Sudden high lead can sometimes be a large chunk of something that got into a bearing and did some serious scraping. In that case, it's a one-time thing (usually) that the engine can survive. I list this possibility first because you recently had the engine apart and an engine component failure, both of which can put large and small contaminants in the oil... and stuff like this can happen down the road as bits or pieces are washed out of the nooks and crannies. If you get unlucky, a big chunks is past the filter or goes past the filter when it's in bypass (during a cold start for example). Overly thick oil makes the likelihood of filter bypass even greater. The filter bypasses because the oil is too thick for all of it to pass thru the filter, so some of the dirty oil bypasses the filter. In essence, the thick oil could've left a big chunk of something bypass to the bearing and created the high lead situation.

Lead can also come from oil or fuel additives (or fuel).

What filter are you using? If it's not the FL1995 (PSD) or an equivalent, there is another positive step if you are worried about contaminates. The FL784 is a low efficiency filter. The FL1995 is a high efficiency filter.

The oil pressure test will be a good test of overall bearing condition. That should be your next test. Factory specs (from the factory manual) on thoroughly warmed up oil are: Idle= 10psi or higher, 2200 rpm= 40-70 psi.

I strongly advise NOT using the Lucas. As was said above, it can increase viscosity across all temperature ranges, increasing the likelihood of oil filter bypass on cold starts and contamination. The increase in viscosity could distort your oil pressure readings, too. You want readings from warmed up, 15W40 grade oil so they can be properly interpreted. As I said, at 15.2 cSt on the 100C viscosity test, the oil is within grade right now, with or without the Lucas, but if you do ever run more oil pressure tests, avoid additives that will thicken the oil and throw off the readings (thicker oil = higher oil readings... to interpret them correctly, you want to get readings on warm, unadulterated 15W40 oil).

DELO is a great oil! Unless you were using some unrated, low-rent peewater oil, a change of brand is not likely to help with this problem.

PS- You had coolant in the oil previously and in high amounts, it can be very ******* bearings. What was the cause of the previous high coolant?

Good information to know. I also agree that Delo is good oil and doubt that changing oil would make much difference. I will probably do an oil sample after I complete my last dose of auto-rx including the rinse phase.
 

OLDBULL8

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That oil sample looks pretty good and only 1 Qt. added in 3225 miles suggests you have good tight rings. Never used Lucas, but have used STP which is probably the same. Thing is, never add it in cold, always heat it up so it flows easy so it can mix with the CC oil readily. With 12 Qts. CC oil and 10 Oz of Lucas, the ratio is .025:1 Oz. When Delo changed there oil formula from the 400 to the 400 LE, I went with Castrol GTX oil myself. I believe the change had something to do with 2004 and up Diesel engines for the emissions control in them.
I went thru an online Oil comparision course from UNOH called "Fact or Friction", Delo 400 LE was listed good for the 2004 and up Diesel's but was down the list for the 2003 and earlier Diesel engines.
I had a metal working Lathe, while taking a pretty heavy cut, I used to use just motor oil, had a can of STP with a little in it, brushed some on a shaft I was cutting, I'll tell you, it made the smoothest shinny cut I ever saw, actually made the cut deeper by about .003 IIRC.
 
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