Recent content by FutureBlake

Again, spot on. I bring my own oil when I want to take advantage of the dealer changes. But that brings up another potential problem - I'm never sure that the tech uses that oil. It's not that I suspect foul play, but I know they're often in a hurry and it's that communication between the...

That's a really good point. I had to give the service advisor the instructions, have her pass those off to the tech, and trust that the tech was taking a clean sample. Since I would have felt odd supervising the tech, I think I'll pass on UOAs on the dealer performed intervals and just send off...

Thanks for the response. You know Volvo did a recall for that PCV 'breather box' on the P1 platform volvos about 5 years ago - I'd check the web to see if your car qualifies.

The manual suggests 5w30 but recommends 0w30 or 0w40 synthetic for extreme driving conditions. I don't often meet the extreme conditions (extreme temperatures, towing, or mountainous roads) but thought it would be best to run 0w30. What's the conventional wisdom say? I usually run about 70%...

Yes, they were all Mobil 1. Sample one was from the first Mobil 1 fill after the OEM oil, so that may explain the sodium. That last one was also Mobil 1, but I can't confirm how the tech took the sample. Not sure if it was contaminated in the catch pan with OEM oil or not.

Thanks! I do like to change the oil myself. No one treats your stuff as good as you would (already got a bit of a rounded drain plug from dealer services) - but since I've got factory service for free up to 60k miles, I've been taking advantage of it - mainly because it comes with other freebies...

Thanks for the reply - I had no idea that potassium would also be a good indicator of whether anti freeze was present. That makes me feel better. From what I can tell, the dealer uses Castrol SLX Professional 5W-30. Lots of questions since I have no idea how the sample was taken, but if it was...

Got my third report back and the sodium is back. I had the dealer perform the service since it's still under warranty, but I supplied my own oil for the fill. I wasn't there for the sampling process, so I have no idea how the tech sampled the oil. My hope in explaining the sodium is that he...

Quick follow up - I sent a note to the folks at Mobil 1 to ask if sodium was an additive in M1 5w30 EP. They wrote me back and asked me to call their tech support team. After 20 minutes of research, they still weren't able to tell me if Na was included in the EP version. I'm sure it's fine...

Originally Posted By: abycat good call volk !! No kidding! Volk had the response and PQIA link posted quicker than I could pull a dipstick! Thanks, my friend.

Ah, good info. I know the factory fill was Castrol conventional, but this was my second change with Mobil 1 (I didn't send the first change out to Blackstone), so I'm not sure how much Castrol would still be around. Would it be possible to see that sodium even though it's already been through...

Hi folks - First time poster, long time lurker. I got my first oil analysis the other day and I'm a bit concerned about the sodium levels. Does anyone know if Mobil 1 EP uses sodium as an additive? Blackstone mentioned regular Mobile 1, but I didn't know if EP would be different. Should I be...