Amsoil ATM 10W30, 13500 miles, Subaru Forester

[Mort]

Hi,
Here is an analysis of a sample of oil from our 2000 Subaru Forester with 83500 miles on it. The oil was in service for 13500 miles and was Amsoil's 10W30 ATM. This is the first use of synthetic oil in this vehicle and the first oil analysis done on it. I changed the oil at this interval to Amsoil 5W30 ASL. The New Oil figures are provided By Fluid Life.

Elements New Oil / Used Oil

Silicon 7 / 6
Sodium 1 / 58(U)
Potassium 1 / 106(S)
Iron 0 / 22
Chrome 0 / 2
Lead 0 / 24
Copper 1 / 2
Tin 0 / 2
Aluminum 2 / 9
Nickel 0 / 1
Silver 0 / 0
Titanium 0 / 0
Boron 35 / 28
Phosphorus 1220/ 983
Zinc 1461/ 1146
Calcium 1929/ 2326
Barium 0 / 0
Magnesium 743 / 689
Molybdenum 0 / 0
Vanadium 1 / 0
Antimony 0 / 0
Lithium 0 / 0
Beryllium 0 / 0
Water - NO
Glycol - NO
Visc 40*C - 85.9(R)
Visc 100*C - 14.61(R)
Fuel - 1.2(R)
Solids - 0.5
TBN - New 9.50/Used 5.95

(R) = Reportable; (U) = Unacceptable; (S) = Severe

So the test was not perfect and I have some concerns/questions.

Why does Amsoil show up as a 40 weight oil in used analysis and should I worry about this?

Is 1.2% a lot of fuel in the oil? I think I must have idled the car outside in 0*F temps to warm it up before changing the oil.

The Sodium and Potassium have been flagged and are supposedly an indicator of possibly coolant in the oil. Are these #s really that unusual and what else could they indicate? There was Glycol found in the sample.

Any other observations/concerns on this oil analysis.

Thanks, Mort

 

[Mort]

Sorry the previous post should say there was NO Glycol found in the sample.

Is there an edit key somewhere? I looked but did not see one.

Thanks again

 

[rugerman1]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mort:
Sorry the previous post should say there was NO Glycol found in the sample.

Is there an edit key somewhere? I looked but did not see one.

Thanks again

---

 

[medic]

The fuel is a bit on the high side of normal, more than we usually see.

If the lab didn't say there was no glycol, I would say you have a definate problem with coolant getting into the oil somewhere. These sodium & potassium numbers aren't that high, but they are still there. I wouldn't completely rule out a coolant leak with this from what is shown here.

While Amsoil does like to thicken a bit, this is a bit too much for this engine. Once again, I would suspect coolant & fuel for this thickening.

This is also a first run, so some of the numbers may be from some cleaning that went on during this interval, but I would still be slightly concerned about a coolant leak. The lead also seems high and should've been flagged as abnormal.

I would spend the $20 and have Terry take a look at this one.

 

[buster]

I agree, contact Terry on this one. I do not think it has anything to do with the oil in this case.

 

[Pablo]

First of all, trends are what UOA's are all about. However we have seen cases where there is no glycol detected, but high K and high Na that definitely point at coolant ingress into the oil system. The high lead may point to water explosions at the bearing surfaces. Maybe it leaks more when cold - and the leak could be very, very slow.

I think you would be well advised to start detecting by 2 or 3 means, a cooling system escape.

Most of the Amsoil XW-30's will thicken into 40. An irritating, but API specification tolerable feature.

 

[Al]

You have a coolant leak..take it to the bank. Get a writeup from Terry..If he agrees, his writeup may give you the clout to get some of it repaired under warranty. Do you have any previous analysis's

 

[TooSlick]

Mort,

You have a slow coolant leak - this results in the formation of an acidic sludge which thickens the oil and is the reason for the high bearing wear, ie the lead level.

I'd suggest a pressure test of the cooling system and see if you can pinpoint where this is coming from. The analysis is actually not bad, so it looks like you caught this early on ...

TS

 

[vvk]

Busted head gasket. VERY common on these engines. Replace ASAP!

 

[Mort]

Thanks everyone!

I have an email off to Terry and just waiting to hear back.

vvk, thanks for the advice. I think you are right and I will get it dealt with ASAP as soon as it is confirmed as the source.

 

[vvk]

Subaru actually has a recall for this:

WWP-99 Service Campaign - Cooling System Conditioner

More info
More info
More info -- 1999 Forester