Castrol Syntec 5w20 (SM); 6110 mi; 2004 Mazda 6s

[V1]

Code:

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VEHICLE INFO SAMPLE DATA

Year: 2004 Date Installed: 2/8/2007

Make: Mazda Date Sampled: 9/2/2007

Model: 6s 3.0L Time On Oil: 6110 mi

Transmission: 5-Speed Manual Time On Vehicle: 78060 mi



SPECTROCHEMICAL ANALYSIS PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Fe 20 Fuel:
Cr 3 Vis @ 40cst: N/A

Pb 2 Vis @ 100cst: 8.27

Cu 2 Soots/Solids: N/A

Sn 1 Coolant: NEG

Al 3

Ni 0 ADDITIONAL TESTS

Ag 0 TBN: 1.02

Si 7 TAN: N/A

B 2 Oxidation: N/A

Na 2 Nitration: N/A

Mg 26

Ca 1611

Ba 0

P 562

Zn 662

Mo 54

Ti 0

Vd 0

K 0

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Wear metals are up across the board, and TBN is critically low. This is not what I expected.

My car was driven mostly on the highway during this OCI. The only abnormality was a period of 5 weeks where the car sat parked in the garage.

LCD products are used regularly. I added an initial dose of LC20 to this oil as recommended, and 1 oz per 600 miles thereafter. FP60 was also used as recommended.

My last UOA was 100% better though. I used the same oil, same overall driving conditions, and same LC20 regimen. The main difference was the 5-week sit. Also, the oil spent 7 months in the crankcase this time versus 3 months last time. What could be the problem?

Last UOA:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...true#Post774855

 

[buster]

Quote:

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The only abnormality was a period of 5 weeks where the car sat parked in the garage.

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Corrosion from sitting too long is my guess. Moisture maybe? Not really sure. Definitely time to change it.

Castrol = Mediocrity.

 

[OriginHacker21]

I'll agree with buster on this one. When my car sat for 2 months (basically not used) the engine had a HORRIBLE start up where it shook and sounded really bad. I thought it didn't have any oil in the crank case. I think cars don't do well when they aren't used. However, my UOA turned out fine maybe because during the 2 months of little use I did take it for short runs once every other week.

 

[Cutehumor]

ha! my 96 sunfire sat for almost 6 weeks from a car accident. when I first cranked it up, oil was full, a puff of black smoke came from the exhaust and the engine was shaking. it smooth out of course and everything was fine since then.

 

[Scout1]

Wow, that really is a big difference from your previous UOAs... Seems to really show a negative effect for having the car sit and/or having the oil in the vehicle longer.

Last year I took the insurance off my pickup for a year and had it sitting with only a few start-ups to keep the battery charged. I dumpted the oil with only 400 miles on it when I started driving it again... Good thing!

 

[V1]

Corrosion would have been my best guess for the extra metals. Summers are humid, so I'm sure plenty of moisture found its way in there.

What about the TBN though? How did that get all the way down to 1 versus 3.68 from last time? LC20 is supposed to be good at "TBN retention" isn't it?

Oh well. I'll sample again after this run to see if it all goes back to normal. No long sits this time. Like I said earlier, my last UOA was good so that's what I'll be looking for.