Best oil/filter for worn bearing+piston

[danishguy]

Just got results from blackstone labs on oil in my '10 Town & Country 4.0 V6. Report showed 55 Al and 33 Cu most likely from worn bearing and/or piston scoring - probably from running with too little oil for 500 miles or more. Car has 35K miles on it and I'd obviously like to postpone the inevitable engine failure as much as possible so now I'm considering what the best oil/filter strategy (apart, of course from ensuring enough oil in the engine) would be.
The car only runs about 15K miles a year, mostly short trips (5 miles or less) and in a warm/hot climate (Central Texas).
I'm leaning towards Valvoline Nextgen (uses 10w30) with a Napa Platinum filter, but wanted to throw it out there in case anyone know of any other oil and/or filters that would be particularly suited for this situation. Planning, of course, to put in the largest filter that will fit (still have to figure out what size that might be) with an oil filer magnet since my issue is mainly metal wear.
Any advice or ideas will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lead Shoes]

55AL and 33CU is not a lot of wear, it is still far from blowing up...

I would just watch the oil level closely and change it at normal intervals, just make sure it doesn't happen again is all you can do.

 

[Chris142]

Any damage has already been done. No oil is going to prevent the inevitable.

 

[Voltmaster]

High moly is good for further damage, eventhough its inevitable.
Royal Purple has a demonstration , does not mean they are the best but shows why moly is important.

Pennzoil has high moly,

 

[david_ES2]

Pretty much any high milage oil, first that comes to mind is maxlife

 

[cascivic]

What about defy? That's zinc though

 

[Quest]

Originally Posted By: cascivic
What about defy? That's zinc though


lol! excessive bearing clearance, zinc does nothing in this case.

Thicker oil can delay the much needed engine work, but only to "postpone", not a complete solution...

Q.

 

[95busa]

The 4.0 is a stretched 3.5 IIRC, which specs 10w30. Why not run rotella 10w30 or maybe even 15w40? Robust oil....more cushion, etc.

 

[Coprolite]

I wouldn't worry about engine death unless compression comes back whacked or you have sudden oil consumption after that last event. Even if you attribute a lifespan shortening of 30k miles, you probably have a good 10 years left @15k per year...

I would just use whatever is specified for your car and is on sale/rebate. PP with at least $10 off right now or PU on clearance. Don't forget oil warranty rebates from multiple suppliers before your car is considered too old.

 

[GSCJR]

Move up to a 10w-40 and stay with 3-4K OCI and monitor.

 

[HerrStig]

What, no "thin oil is better" position here?

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: danishguy
probably from running with too little oil for 500 miles or more. Car has 35K miles on it.

Rotella 15w40 and a purolator

 

[KCJeep]

What filter size does it spec?

 

[addyguy]

Is it smoking, consuming oil, or knocking at all?

If not....engine is probably okay. Just use a high-mileage 10w30, keep an eye on the level, and don't really worry about it.

 

[danishguy]

Thanks all for your comments - a few follow ups:
Engine doesn't smoke or knock at all, uses about 1qt/1500 miles which I guess is considered normal.
For the filter size I haven't looked it up yet. I was planning on going to part store - find the recommended filter and buy a couple others with same fit of larger size and then use the largest I can fit and return the rest.
The thicker oil makes sense, I'll change it, run 2000 miles and get another test to see where we are.
2 more questions:
1 - If moly is good does that mean more is better? Does anyone know of a table (on BITOG or somewhere else) that compares moly content of oils?
2 - Do you know of a good filter comparison anywhere on this (or another) site, in terms of filtration rates, flow rates etc?
Thank again all!

 

[uart]

Originally Posted By: danishguy

Engine doesn't smoke or knock at all, uses about 1qt/1500 miles which I guess ...


You haven't yet told us what oil you are currently using (or have been using) in it Danishguy?

 

[danishguy]

oops...

 

[danishguy]

Oil for first 3000 miles was Mobil 1 syn-blend - that's when it was low, then added 2qts of Valvoline syn-blend. Both 10w30.

 

[danishguy]

Ran another 2000 miles and then got the oil analyzed.

 

[[RT] ProjUltraZ]

you have no direct evidence that your engine has worn terribly. Compression test would tell more but if it's doing a lot of short trips, i'd go Valvoline MaxLife 10w30

if not, then a 40 might be good but i would stay in spec with a thicker 30 first, like MaxLife (the new GC)

Originally Posted By: danishguy
1 - If moly is good does that mean more is better?

no that is rarely the case (if ever) in oils. There have been studies that show high moly can cause corrosion to other metals, or pitting was the word used i believe