Amsoil SS 0-20, 4,000 miles, 94’ Ford Ranger 4.0, 15 months

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4 qts Amsoil SS 0-20, 1 qt Amsoil SAE30. Ran for 1 yr 3 months. Engine has 90,070 miles on it. 4,000 miles on oil. Engine is 94' OHV 4.0. Driving is short trips in winter, longer trips during warmer weather, lots of off road and dirt roads. Engine calls for 5-30. I did not change oil yet. I drained one qt out for sample and added one qt of Amsoil SS 10-30. Should I change oil or no?

Iron 17
Lead 5
Copper 3
Aluminum 3
Silicon 10
Sodium 99
Potassium 52 (flagged for possible coolant)?
Mg 600
Calcium 1234
Phos. 629
Zinc. 800
Moly. 148
Boron. 41
All others less than 1

Visc. 9.8
TBN. 3.5
 
Except for the potassium, I'd say it looks great and leave it in.

BUT, if it is contaminated with coolant, I'd change it out ASAP.

Once you get the coolant leak(?) fixed, 2 years could be possible easily.
 
Thinking the SS 10-30 added some TBN. Was thinking running it for the summer and changing it out this fall before winter. What do ya think about that? Btw, never added any oil.
 
Agreed but do not want to tear into the engine. It runs perfectly now would hate to tear it down for such a tiny tiny possible leak. I am not above rebuilding the engine once torn down but seems extreme to me...or am I wrong? I haven't noticed a leak or have not needed to add coolant. IDK.
 
How is the frame? Spring and shock mounts? I would love to find a 125" wheelbase frame for the Rat. The 4.0 has an intake manifold gasket issue. The Rat's 4.0 is the best part of the whole blame truck
grin2.gif


PS. @ 90K miles, The internals of the 4.0 shouldn't need a rebuild
 
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I used SS 0-20 just to see what it would do in all my 3 vehicles. 2013 subie it worked ok but burned 1.5 qts per the one yr OCI. Still got one more to sample in a month or two, my 2010 Dodge 5.7 Hemi will be next. It too drinks the SS. I may just put in a group 2 or 3 in this Ranger next and call it good. Just wanted to see how 0-20 did is all.
 
Originally Posted by andyd
How is the frame? Spring and shock mounts? I would love to find a 125" wheelbase frame for the Rat. The 4.0 has an intake manifold gasket issue. The Rat's 4.0 is the best part of the whole blame truck
grin2.gif



I got lucky! No rust anywhere on this 94'. The frame and all underneath looks like it came from the factory when I bought it in 2013. Got a small rust spit on the tailgate now is all. My wheelbase is 108", single cab, shortbox manual 4.0.
 
I'd pressure test the cooling system to rule out the possibility of a bad head gasket.
 
I wouldn't be using 20wt oil in a 1994 engine that calls for 30wt.

Does your report show Glycol and is it at 0. Glycol would be present in that vehicle if it truly were coolant, although the Sodium and Potassium is high enough that I would think it is coolant.

The Amsoil formulation since they changed it to the LSPI formulation does have some minor amounts of sodium in it but certain not as high as your UOA.
 
As stated I did add one qt of Amsoil SAE 30. Not sure if that contains sodium or potassium 🤷â€â™‚ï¸
 
Originally Posted by ridgerunner
As stated I did add one qt of Amsoil SAE 30. Not sure if that contains sodium or potassium 🤷â€â™‚ï¸

None of their formulations to my knowledge have Potassium. Some have minor amounts of sodium though.
 
Originally Posted by demarpaint
I'd pressure test the cooling system to rule out the possibility of a bad head gasket.



^^^^^^^^^^^^

I agree.... You have more than likely have coolant in your oil... K+ and Na+
 
Since the OP does not want to tear into a well running engine, we have to accept that fact.

I would do three things if this were my truck:
1) change to a decent dino PCMO. 4k miles in 15 months isn't a lot, and there's no reason to think a good dino oil won't do just as well for far less money (save the money for the rebuild, should it become necessary).. because it's not like a PAO is going to stop the coolant intrusion, so why waste the money on such a short OCI?
2) continue to UOA annually, track the coolant %.
3) watch the coolant bottle; when the coolant starts disappearing at an elevated rate, probably time for that deferred rebuild. You are more likely to see the coolant level drop quickly, indicating a significant change, than waiting X months for a report. You'll know from observations before you'll know from the UOA, most likely.

The UOA is doing it's job; it's telling you that the wear rates are low enough that you don't need anything noble or special lube wise. It's also telling you that you have a contamination issue. Use the data for what's it's good for.
 
Thank you everyone for the replies, it really helps to make a decision when U get the cold hard responses from people w experience. I like that about BITOG. Was thinking of using Valvoline Maxlife since it is in my stash now. I have 5 & 10-30. Not sure of the HM oil will help seal up a small coolant leak but gonna give her a try. What do ya think? I also have Mobile 1 synth HM in 5,10-30 & 10-40.
 
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Originally Posted by ridgerunner
Thank you everyone for the replies, it really helps to make a decision when U get the cold hard responses from people w experience. I like that about BITOG. Was thinking of using Valvoline Maxlife since it is in my stash now. I have 5 & 10-30. Not sure of the HM oil will help seal up a small coolant leak but gonna give her a try. What do ya think? I also have Mobile 1 synth HM in 5,10-30 & 10-40.



The oil will nothing for head gasket leak. But there is no reason to use Amsoil.
 
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