2006 Duramax LBZ, 10k mi, Delvac1 CK-4

[DNVDMAX]

I've been meaning to post this for a while. Ran my tow tune during last 5,000 miles. Towed occasionally, 5k to 10k lbs.

Code:

MI/HR on Oil			10,019			5,314			15,592			10,746			21,466			13,893			
MI/HR on Unit			153,066			148,361			143,047			127,455			106,671			85,205			
Sample Date			12/16/17		08/05/17		05/03/17		08/10/14		01/13/14		03/05/12		
Oil				Delvac1 ESP CK-4	Delvac1 ESP CK-4	M1 TDT			Rotella T5 		Rotella T6 5w-40	Rotella T6 5w-40			
				5W-40			5W-40			5W-40			10w-30
Make Up Oil Added		1 qts			0 qts			0 qts			0 qts			.5 qts (Filter)		0 qts			

ALUMINUM			3			3			4			4			6			6			
CHROMIUM			<1			<1			2			<1			<1			1			
IRON				38			23			47			49			24			34			
COPPER				2			1			4			3			4			14			
LEAD				2			<1			4			2			1			0		
TIN				2			3			3			2			2			3			
MOLYBDENUM			45			36			2			3			67			62			
NICKEL				<1			<1			4			<1			<1			0		
MANGANESE			Not Tested		Not Tested		Not Tested		Not Tested		Not Tested		1		
SILVER				<1			<1			<1			<1			<1			0			
TITANIUM			<1			<1			<1			<1			<1			0			
POTASSIUM			2			2			<1			<1			<5			7			
BORON				54			76			43			15			23			38			
SILICON				9			7			13			11			6			8			
SODIUM				11			1			8			5			10			4			
CALCIUM				1262			1212			1354			2517			860			970			
MAGNESIUM			961			828			990			50			1171			1258			
PHOSPHORUS			1148			981			1185			1091			1070			1098			
ZINC				1386			1207			1385			1254			1312			1309			
BARIUM				<1			<1			<1			<1			0			

										
SUS Viscosity @ 210°F		Not Tested		Not Tested		Not Tested		Not Tested		Not Tested		77.3			
cSt Viscosity @ 100°C		13.2			13.3			17.0			12.7			15.0			14.84			
Flashpoint in °F		Not Tested		Not Tested		Not Tested		Not Tested		Not Tested		420			
Fuel %				<1			<1			<1			<1			<1			<0.5			
Antifreeze %			No			No			No			No			No			0.0			
Water %				<0.05			<0.05			<0.05			<0.05			0.07			0.0			
Soot %				0.4			0.6			1.6			0.5			0.3			0.1			
TBN				8.0			8.8			7.0			6.1			7.2			8.3

 

[DoubleWasp]

My uneducated observation is that your iron likes to show itself since you switched to T5. Your iron doubled in half the OCI. Has there been any other changes, such as duty cycle, filter choice, or usage since then around that time?

 

[Garak]

Looks good. I see the magnesium is still there, and you had plenty reserve TBN.

 

[DNVDMAX]

No real change on the T5 run. Although she was running a tad warm on I-5 in Cali on that run pulling a cargo trailer from Georgia to Cali to Alaska. Mainly used Baldwin filters until recently I experimented with a Wix XP on the previous run and a Fram Ultra on this UOA.

 

[dnewton3]

Not a bad run. Within normal wear expectations. That's the good news. But, it's a Dmax; "normal" is normal - that's what we expect. What we see here is totally within "normalcy". I realize this is your UOA in your thread, but I offer this for consideration ... https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4527295#Post4527295 As you can see, I am getting slightly lower wear than you, when Fe wear-rate is averaged. In contrast, I run dino Rotella 10w-30. All while flogging my 2006 Dmax in heavy towing this last UOA. I assure you you're not running your rig any harder than I did in my last UOA; I was running at/near max EGTs for most all the trip, fighting headwinds pulling my RV for hours on end. Are you getting "better" results using an expensive syn? It depends on how you define "better" .... - You certainly are not getting less wear, that's for sure. (your last three Mobil syn oil UOAs have given you 3ppm/1k mi, 4ppm/1k mi, 4ppm/1k mi) (my last four Rotella dino UOAs have given me 2ppm/1k mi, 2ppm/1k mi, 2ppm/1k mi, 3ppm/1k mi) - You certainly don't need a syn for "cold" starts in most areas. (these are HPCR injection, with intake grid heaters and glow plugs; starting generally isn't an issue if your batteries are in good shape. My Dmax has started as low as -17F, on dino 10w-30) You're probably spending 3x more money than I am; what is 3x "better" in your UOAs? The Dmax engines simply don't care what is in the crankcase, as long as it's an appropriate lube. Base stocks don't matter. Vis does not matter. Brand does not matter. Your UOAs, and others, and mine, just continue to convince me that the Dmax is one of the best wearing light-duty engines made. And they don't need anything special to return excellent results. Syns have not shown any statistical advantage of wear reduction in a Dmax. The lube system design of the Dmax is what controls wear rates; not the base stock or brand of oil. Yes- this is a challenge to you. It's not meant to be a taunt, but a friendly challenge for you to think outside the synthetic box.

 

[A_Harman]

You seem to have had a winner with the Rotella T6 when you went 21k miles and only had 24 ppm of Fe. That seems so good, maybe it was an error at the lab. I think you should do another OCI with RT6. I'm jealous of your oil consumption. I wish my diesel was that good.

 

[DNVDMAX]

DN3, valid statement on the lack of ROI with synthetics in my application. This is my wife’s daily driver and she does jack rabbit starts in the morning, 13..0x sec 1/4 mile times on occasion, and does not let the turbo cool before shutting her down after a hard pull. I guess the synthetics just give me peace of mind so I sleep well at night. I don’t think I would run synthetics if I wasn’t continuously finding it on sale for $10/gal or less. I have 2.5 gals of T5 in 10w-30 and 15w-40. I will likely run one of these in my next OCI.

 

[userfriendly]

Can someone prove that the metals found in used oil are from engine wear?

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

userfriendly the best laugh I've had all week with my morning coffee!

 

[userfriendly]

Happy daylight saving time!

 

[userfriendly]

Changing the clock make the days longer.

 

[userfriendly]

Bump!! happy new year 2019. I'm still waiting for an answer to my question.

 

[DoubleWasp]

Better question: If not from engine wear, then what would the metal particulates in the engine oil come from?

 

[dnewton3]

VOAs certainly don't show high metal counts. As DoubleWasp asks, if not from the engine, then where in the heck does one think they originate from ????? Maybe Cu, Fe, Pb, Al, Cr and such are all floating about in the air we breathe, in nano-micron form, and they absorb through the engine block?

 

[DoubleWasp]

Maybe because I use a copper/iron/aluminum/lead oil cap and always cross-thread it when installing?

 

[claluja]

Originally Posted by DoubleWasp

Better question: If not from engine wear, then what would the metal particulates in the engine oil come from?

From the fuel is possible. Not specific for this uoa, but just in general. https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/foru...-4l-gm-marine-application-high-manganese

 

[dnewton3]

Possible? Yes. Probable? No. This specific series of UOAs shows very low (typical of Dmax) Cu, Pb, Al. The Fe can track a bit with severity of use, but generally does not get altered much in the grand scheme. I'm not sure what userfriendly was really getting at here ... Was he being generic? Was he being facetious? Was he being specific to this UOA? Seems he like to bump and run.