M1 EP 5W-30 11K mi 08 4 Runner 4.7L V8 (two labs)

[GMZ]

I decided for curiosity to send a sample to OAI AND Blackstone. This one has thrown me for a loop with the high Na. First a bit of history on the vehicle.

My ex gf wrecked my old 4R and I found this one with 40,6XX mi on it. At 40,720 miles I changed the oil to M1 EP 5W-30 and installed a M1-209 filter since I still had a few OCI of this combo left, it had a carquest filter and an unknown oil in the sump when purchased. I have driven a lot more than usual during the 9 mo the oil was in service. I normally dont even get 10k mi in 12 mo but I racked up 11k in 9 mo on this interval. Driving conditions are everything under the sun: 48 mi hwy commute, several ski trips, usually a half dozen low marks on the dip stick.

The sodium worries me, but I check all the fluids religiously and coolant levels have not budged. Neither wear nor the oil seem to have felt the effects of antifreeze contamination, and there is no potassium present. So either it is a remnant of the previous fill (seems a bit high for this) or I have caught a small leak in its infancy. Im going to sample current fill without changing it at 5k miles and go from there. I had contemplated pushing this fill to 15k but decided to exercise some caution and am glad I did. I should have did a shorter run to get a cleaner baseline but it didnt work out that way.

Blackstone/OAI
XXX indicates was not tested by lab

Miles on oil: 11,274
Time on oil: 9 mo
Miles on engine: 51,994
Sample date: 8/11/2013
Report date: 8/15/2013
Makeup oil added: 0

Aluminum 3/3
Chromium 0/0
Iron 10/10
Copper 3/2
Lead 0/0
Tin 1/0
Molybdenum 63/71
Nickel 1/0
Manganese 0/0
Silver 0/0
Titanium 0/0
Potassium 2/1
Boron 24/19
Silicon 18/19
Sodium 151/154
Calcium 1105/1130
Magnesium 590/615
Phosphorous 636/650
Zinc 752/765
Barium 0/1

SUS Viscosity @ 210* F = 59.7/XXX
cSt Viscosity @ 100* C = 10.1/10.12
Flashpoint in * F = 420/XXX
Oxidation= XXX/18
Nitration= XXX/14

Fuel % = Antifreeze % = ???/XXX
Water % = 0/0
Insolubles % = .3/.1

TBN = 2.0/3.02

 

[gfh77665]

Excellent reproducibility between the labs.

 

[GMZ]

I didnt think the results would be so close but its good to see that they are.

Couple of other points, IIRC this is the SN spec even though Calcium seems a tad high after looking at the VOA. Also I added a bottle of Amsoil PI about 300 mi before I took the sample.

 

[chubbs1]

That is very nice to see how close they were and makes me more confident in B_S labs. What were your last two oils used? Keep an eye on coolant if you have not used any sodium containing oils the last two OCI's. Excellent report BTW.

 

[Hermann]

What is Amsoil PI

 

[GMZ]

Originally Posted By: chubbs1
That is very nice to see how close they were and makes me more confident in B_S labs. What were your last two oils used? Keep an eye on coolant if you have not used any sodium containing oils the last two OCI's. Excellent report BTW.


I dont know what oils were used before I bought it and put in the one fill of M1 EP.

Originally Posted By: Hermann
What is Amsoil PI


Performance Improver, its like an injector cleaner.

 

[buster]

It looks good, and it's definitely Mobil 1 but I don't know where the Na is coming from. I'd re sample and keep an eye on that.

As expected, B/S Labs showed a lower Tbn.

 

[btanchors]

I've run many Mobil 1 EP UOAs through Blackstone using the same filter you do, on the Toyota 4.7 L in my 2006 Tundra. Everything I see in your report is where it should be, except for the Sodium. My guess is that it is from a previous oil that uses Sodium as an additive. It will take a couple of oil changes to get it down to normal.

 

[buster]

^ true. Could have been Valvoline.

 

[tig1]

It's best to do at least two OCIs with the same oil before doing UOAs.

 

[KCJeep]

That's about half the level of sodium Valvoline or Castrol would use, so definitely could be residual from a previous run.

Soom coolant can show up as sodium also.

Great repeatability between the labs.

 

[Built_Well]

Thanks for your report--or I guess I should say thanks for 2 reports! That was great of you, and I know we all appreciate your effort a whole lot.

Just wondering about your methodology.

I'm guessing the best way to send an oil sample to 2 different labs is to collect the oil coming out of the hole into a single container. Then shake up the container a bit. And finally, pour half of the container's oil into a second container, and ship the 2 containers to the 2 different labs.

Was that what you did? Or did you follow the other possible course: Filling one container with oil coming out of the hole. Then filling a second container with oil from the hole, and sending each container to the 2 labs? This second method takes the oil flow in succession, instead of taking out a "single oil."

Either way, thanks again! Loved your report.

 

[901Memphis]

Probably just Ashland leftovers. Run some 3k cheap Dino runs to wash it out.

 

[GMZ]

Guys thank you for the feedback. I heard occasionally XXX lab is better than XXX lab so I thought it would be interesting to do as objective a test as I could. I drained the samples into a larger sample bottle that looks like a clear plastic catsup bottle then dispensed that into the smaller bottles. Thats the method I use at work when taking a sample of hydraulic fluid on a major caliber gun mount.

When I changed the oil the first time it was obviously very fresh, the oil looked new so the dealership probably changed it around 40k. So assuming that it was a fresh fill of Valvoline or other such oil that with an essentially un used addpack could be a likely source of the sodium. My plan was originally to do 2 5k runs of MC5K to clean all the old stuff out but I had just gotten back from one deployment and ended up going on another one so I never got the chance.

Now I just have to watch and wait. I should have sampled the oil without changing it as I now have a sump full of M1 EP that I am not too keen on dropping at 5k if I dont have to.

 

[Boss302fan]

Just keep using Mobil 1 EP and retest at 10K... Keep a close eye on your coolant levels.