First oil analysis ever, trying to understand

[Mokanic]

It's impossible to know much from one oil change. A poorly tuned Camry 4cyl will show symtoms of poor drivability. I think it wise to make sure your air filter is right and intake hose is good and run a few more intervals to see if you have the similar numbers.
It's difficult to know(unless you have ALL the records)that it has always had 3K intervals at the dealer. Every dealer is different and some will advise 3K intervals and some will advise 7.5K intervals so REGULAR maintenance from a dealer can mean good things or bad things.
Based on my experience with Yodas, the Camry's with the old 2.2 belt driven motor will never be a good candidate for long oil change intervals(over 7.5K WITH a top-notch synthetic). The head design along with the balance-shaft design are hard on oil and only holding 3.8qts. does not help either. The analysis I have done on my mom's Camry(2.2L) shows that it likes a HDEO in the 5W40 weight. These engines do well on a high TBN oil like Amsoil,Schaeffer9000, Rotella T 5W40. Her Camry has not shown any significant MPG loss by running a HDEO 5W40.
I've worked on them a long time. Send me a PM if you ever need any info and i'll be glad to help if I can.

 

[BigBadf350]

WOW, great info in this thread.


to me the silicon is out of wack.

i dont think you have a fuel problem.

i would try another brand of oil to see if its more shear stable.

after this OCI you need another UOA from the same lab to establish a pattern.

if the car didnt have recent major engine work(timing belt,ect.)chech your intake system as stated for leaks or cracks or get a high quality filter.

if it is sucking dirt and you fix it, your wear will get better and dirt may contribute to shear as well.

 

[benjamming]

Originally Posted By: BigBadf350

i dont think you have a fuel problem.


Well, Toyota would probably agree with you, but I don't. That is a lot of fuel for Blackstone's open cup flashpoint and then calculated fuel (unless they have changed methods).

 

[Gary Allan]

I agree. Terry's close cup would have this down around 325F or less. Something is "unright".

 

[jsharp]

Originally Posted By: va3ux
Originally Posted By: jsharp
Originally Posted By: va3ux
Originally Posted By: jsharp
Silicon is way high and fuel is high for the interval.

This isn't a case for 3K changes, it's a case for finding and fixing minor issues before they cause major problems. Thanks to the gear driven cams it may also be case where a synthetic or other more shear resistant oil would be called for.


Loss of viscosity, fuel, low flash point : this is a case for 3K mile oil changes.


I added the rest of my post back to the quote so it wasn't out of context.

I suppose 3K changes are a great idea if he wants to ignore the potential problems we see here. Fuel dilution, high silicon, and possibly an oil that isn't all that shear resistant.

Why not try to fix the real problems though instead of hiding them by changing the oil so frequently?


I'm saying : change the oil more frequently because it's contaminated and out of spec, and can adversely affect longevity and engine cleanliness.

You're in essence saying : forget that; it should be able to run longer, even though it should clearly be changed; ignore the contamination and out of spec conditions, and keep running the contaminated oil until the causes are fixed. And I do agree with your push to identify and fix root causes.

I say : whenthe root causes are fixed, then run the oil longer. Until that day comes, change it more frequently. And if the root causes are frequent short trips or worn rings or whatever, that day may never come.



No, the only thing I'm saying is that it would be advisable to find the problems and fix them. I tried to make no case for longer a OCI but I don't think there's any evidence here that tells us his 3K OCI is optimum either.

My point is similar to this - A person keeps seeing uneven tire wear. It's no real soluition is to just rotate the tires more often and claim it makes sense because of the wear problem. The actual cause of the problem needs to be addressed...

 

[remmious]

I agree about not ignoring this report and looking for potential problems such as checking the air filter and other possible entries of dirt/silicon but I wouldn't spend a lot of money or time on 'fixes' until I verify that there is an issue and go from there.

Just like tire wear you want to progress in steps, check air pressure then run for awhile, then maybe rotate, etc.. If a person switches oil, driving style, OCI, etc.. there are to many variables changed to even determine what the root problem is.

I think jsharp is correct, check things over for potential problems but I would run the same oil & filter and keep things equal and see how that report comes back.