2013 Chevy Malibu I Ecotec 2.5 D.I. I PP 5W-20

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I'm a long term lurker of the forums. Bought this car recently with the intent of following the OLM, but got worried seeing all the talk about fuel dilution and D.I. engines, especially after I smelled fuel on the dipstick. Looks like the fuel smell was fluke based on a short trip and cold weather. It's encouraging to see that fuel dilution isn't an issue at all with this engine.

Aluminium: 4
Chromium: 1
Iron: 12
Copper: 5
Lead: 0
Tin: 0
Moly: 212
Nickel: 0
Manganese: 2
Silver: 0
Titanium: 0
Potassium: 3
Boron: 90
Silicon: 67
Sodium: 3
Calcium: 2454
Magnesium: 8
Phosphorous: 748
Zinc: 868
Barium: 0

SUS Viscosity @ 210 F: 51.1
cSt Viscosity @ 100 C: 7.62
Flashpoint in F: 395
Fuel %: Antifreeze %: 0.0
Insolubles %: 0.3
TBN 5.4

Comments: You mentioned smelling fuel in the oil, but we didn't find any measurable fuel present in the sample. We measure fuel using the flashpoint, and it read right where it should here. The only mark was for high silicon, but since this engine is still pretty new, it's probably just residual from silicone sealers and sand-casted parts. We expect it to decrease over the next couple of oil changes. Wear metals look good -- the universal averages show typical wear after about 4,600 km of oil use. The TBN was strong at 5.4. Leave this oil in place another 2,000 km and resample.
 
You didn't mention how many miles on the OCI. I would guess that it does have a little bit of gas in the oil but overall not as bad as many DI vehicles.
 
yeah there is no boron in PP either based on pqia site, but the viscosity @ 40c is rite on for PP and lower than pyb. shear? its not possible leftover from ff skewed #'s if not drained well? strange
 
Originally Posted By: PolarBear1979
From what I gather it couldn't be Ultra either, correct? I want to make sure I have my facts straight before going in.


Here is an SN ultra VOA
ultra voa

Looks close but thinner, moly still high here is a recent PYB
pqia pyb
 
How many oil changes have been done? If this is the first change after the factory fill, I'll bet the moly is just residual from the factory break-in oil. Factory fills often show >700 ppm of moly.
 
The Boron and Moly both seem off for PP. If the previous fill was factory, that could be skewing it, but I did search for some GM factory fills and didn't see much Moly or Boron in those.

Your engine did great though, so whatever the case, don't worry about its protection.

Is this oil still in the engine? Did you take the sample yourself?
 
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I believe this was the third oil change for this car. The first owner was a car rental company which should have changed oil once, and I bought it from a Chevy dealer that told me they changed the oil as soon as it came on their lot. The oil is still in the engine as my only concern was with fuel dilution.

Glad to hear the engine is doing well, my only frustration would be with the quick lube if they didn't give me synthetic like I paid for. Looks equally unlikely to be Ultra as PP, so most likely they filled up with PYB. Still a good oil, just not what I paid for (nor Dexos rated).

Thanks for everyone's comments.. I greatly appreciate it!
 
I also agree looks like PYB to me especially with that much shear, I'd expect both PP and PU to still be around 8cst or higher.
 
Just as a follow-up, I contacted the manager of the quick lube and sent on the lab analysis as well as the PQIA analysis. The manager has contacted Pennzoil headquarters for more guidance, but they were reluctant to share proprietary info about the additive pack. Pennzoil HQ is evaluating right now, so he wanted to hear what they had to say before committing to changing out the oil. There was some speculation as to whether this is a different formulation of Platinum, although judging from everyone's comments that's unlikely to be the case.

Sounds like it's being taken seriously, but will defer judgment until I get the final word.
 
Final word is that Pennzoil HQ did not agree the lab indicated the wrong oil, but the quick lube is giving me a free oil change regardless to make sure I have peace of mind the right stuff is in my engine. I'll definitely take a sample after 4000 km on the new oil, as presumably they wouldn't deliberately put anything other than Platinum in again..
 
I don't have the greatest space for doing it, but this experience has certainly made me more inclined to do so. Either that, or I'll be bringing my own oil and filter.
 
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