Castrol GC 0W-30, 5568 mi, '96 Buick RMWagon 5.7L

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WishIhadatruck

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Changed it sometime this winter with GC and a UPF-52 filter.
Previous fill and filter was the same but not tested.
First sample of 9/2/07 was Valvoline 10W-30 most likely with a cheap filter from my mechanic after fixing some oil leaks.
Wix air filter. Air filter changed at approx. 92k miles on the odo.

Blackstone Coments:
Silicon dropped nicely, so the sealers used during the work are washing out. Lead did not improve. Even when you factor in that this oil was run more miles than the last, lead increased on a per-mile basis. This shows bearing wear is increasing in your Roadmaster, which isn't good news. We'll assume that you'd like to hang onto this car, at least for now, so we suggest trying different oil. No harmful contaminants were found, so maybe the oil doesn't agree with the engine. There's nothing wrong with this oil in general though. TBN=3.6.

Comments welcome. I've got GC in it again with a AC Delco Gold UPF-52 filter. Not sure where to go from here. I bought the car 2 years ago with 90k miles and did an Auto RX double clean/rinse cycle on it then. I then switched to GC for 1 change before getting some oil leaks fixed and then the oils mentioned above.

Code:


OIL GC 0W-30 Valv. 10W-30

MILES IN USE 5.6k 4.6k Uni Avg

MILES 118k 108k

SAMPLE TAKEN 7/28/08 9/2/07



ALUMINUM 6 6 7

CHROMIUM 1 1 2

IRON 19 22 38

COPPER 4 5 12

LEAD 32 19 13

TIN 0 0 2

MOLYBDENUM 7 15 49

NICKEL 1 1 1

MANGANESE 1 0 1

SILVER 0 0 0

TITANIUM 0 0 0

POTASSIUM 2 1 9

BORON 5 7 42

SILICON 29 94 24

SODIUM 7 8 24

CALCIUM 1648 1701 1935

MAGNESIUM 526 66 270

PHOSPHORUS 868 616 791

ZINC 1054 737 954

BARIUM 0 2 1





SUS VIS 210ºF 66.2 59.3

cSt @ 212ºF 11.95 10.02

FLASHPOINT ºF 385 390

FUEL % TR
ANTIFREEZE % 0 0

WATER % 0 0

INSOLUBLES % 0.3 0.3

TBN 3.6 2.6
 
Why go thicker? Thicker = Extra protection = Lower wear metals???
 
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I would change your air filter, I bet not all that silicon is from the sealant. Also, you might want to try an oil with some moly in it such as PP or M1 and see how they do.
 
Hard to figure. Everything else is at par or stable ..but Pb is elevated. It's not killer ..but I wouldn't like it too much. I have a hard time figuring bearing wear without some antagonist or a viscosity issue or a pressure issue (which tend to amount to the same thing). I'd surely check the PCV system for letting stuff that bypasses the throttle body.
 
Maybe try M1 TDT 5w40 for one UOA and see what it does for the numbers. It has a very robust additive package..........
 
Originally Posted By: sunfire
Why go thicker? Thicker = Extra protection = Lower wear metals???
Why not? Would thinner improve bearing wear?
 
I was already planning to replace the air filter at 120k so I'll do it sooner and check the intake for leaks. I'll check out the PCV system which I have not done before. If that doesn't do anything I'll probably give PP a try since it really reduced the bearing wear in my other car compared to M1.
 
Originally Posted By: Fester
Originally Posted By: sunfire
Why go thicker? Thicker = Extra protection = Lower wear metals???
Why not? Would thinner improve bearing wear?


He's almost at a 40 weight now. I have a hard time seeing this as a viscosity issue. His Pb increased with increased viscosity.

I'd like to see back to back UOA with the same oil.

This condition may not have anything to do with oil selection in either composition or grade.
 
I'll try and look at the air filter and PCV system this week and keep the GC in there. Perhaps go 4500 miles like the Valvoline fill?

The other variable I can think of is that I've done a little towing during this last interval. The towing is only going to get more severe as well as I just bought a travel trailer. I'm still well under the 5k lb towing limit of the car but it will definitely be getting a work out. First trip (other than a test drive) is coming up this month.
 
Originally Posted By: Fester
Originally Posted By: sunfire
Why go thicker? Thicker = Extra protection = Lower wear metals???
Why not? Would thinner improve bearing wear?


I never said anything about going thinner... there is nothing wrong with xW-30. No need to jump on the thick oil wagon when you have slightly higher wear metals. He said the car was serviced recently for oil leaks and the mechanic put in a cheap air filter. Which explains the high SILICON and wear metals.
 
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Quote:
I'll try and look at the air filter and PCV system this week and keep the GC in there.


Look for any cracked hoses or loose grommets. You should be able to refresh the whole thing without too much expense (if need be). Just to cover your bases ..go ahead and get a new air filter. Your Al is in line ..so I really don't think that's the source ..but
21.gif


Quote:
Perhaps go 4500 miles like the Valvoline fill?


I dunno. I would since I don't think anything here is a grenade situation ..or rather even if it is, that leaving the oil in for that span of mileage/time will make a difference. Just understand you'll be nervous about it.

I highly recommend contacting Terry Dyson (google his name) for his services.
 
What brand of fuel are you using? Any fuel additives?

I agree with getting Terry Dyson involved with this one.
 
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I use Marathon and Shell gas mostly. No fuel additives.

Above someone mentioned that my mechanic used a cheap air filter. It was the oil filter that appeared to be cheap. It looked like a Walmart brand filter but with a different brand stamped on it. As stated in the first post I have a Wix air filter and it has close to 30k miles of use and I already have a NAPA gold filter on hand to replace it.

I have contaced Terry Dyson and sent him my report. If he is helpful it will be worth the $50 interpretation. I've heard nothing but good things about him over the last couple of years so hopefully he can give some good advice.
 
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Originally Posted By: sunfire
Originally Posted By: Fester
Originally Posted By: sunfire
Why go thicker? Thicker = Extra protection = Lower wear metals???
Why not? Would thinner improve bearing wear?


He said the car was serviced recently for oil leaks and the mechanic put in a cheap air filter. Which explains the high SILICON and wear metals.
What cheap filter any media will work unless it just doesn't seal around the edges, and a dirty filter actually filters better with less flow barring any leaking air intake. The silicon was higher with 10w-30 and showed lower lead, so that proves that the silicon isn't causing all the higher lead in this case at least. With over 100k miles I would try a thicker high mileage oil maybe even conventional, and like someone said run 5k oci's before the next uao
 
I thought my pb was slightly high a year or two ago when I did 3 analysis with M1 0w40, but yours is higher. Same Motor, mine just has almost twice the miles and probably 10x the abuse :)

I'm trying to get some miles put on my car this year to get a UOA done as I'm running GC in it now
 
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Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
Kind of a random question... where did you find GC in Grand Rapids? I've never seen it around anywhere here...


All the Autozone's used to carry it but it disappeared here for a while like most everywhere else. The last time I was at the Autozone near Kalamazoo and 60th they had it in stock.
 
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