Mobil 1 5W30 after 12,500 miles in Ranger 4.0 sohc

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After all the to-do about Mobil 1 formulations, etc. etc. I decided to do another analysis of my oil (haven't done an analysis of M1 for a number of years, since they've always been very good even at extended drain intervals in my experience). This truck has 90k miles on it now, and has had M1 since around 10k miles. Typical oci has always been 12k-13k miles. I do NOT change filters mid-change. As typical for this engine, this oil has had no makeup oil, and it was down maybe 1/2 qt at the time of the change. Air filters are changed every 10k miles - a new air filter was installed approx 3k miles into this oil, and it was almost time to change it again when the oil was changed out.


Blackstone analysis of (regular) Mobil 1 5W30 after 12,500 miles in 4.0 sohc Ranger.

Aluminum 15
Chromium 4
Iron 44
Copper 12
Lead 0
Tin 2
Molybdenum 88
Nickel 1
Manganese 1
Silver 0
Titanium 0
Potassium 1
Boron 53
Silicon 14
Sodium 22
Calcium 2424
Magnesium 16
Phosphorus 650
Zinc 798
Barium 0

TBN 3.4

SUS visc 59.2
Flashpt 400
Fuel < 0.5
Antifreeze 0
Water 0
Insolubles 0.3

Blackstone comments:
Al, Ch, Cu were all out of line in the sample. Universal averages show typical wear from this type of engine after about 4800 miles use on the oil. This oil was run longer, so we expected to see iron read high, though the other metals should have all read lower. Iron is the only metal that should increase when an oil is run longer, so we think 12,500 miles may have been too long for this engine. The TBN was okay at 3.4, so the oil has some active additive left. Try dropping back to a 10,000 mile oil use to see if wear improves.

Any other comments?
 
I would have to agree that this OCI was too long. I would try dropping back to 7500 miles. Also, what type of oil filter was used?
 
Oil filter is Motorcraft, as always used on this truck.

Blackstone reported these averages:
Al 4
Ch 1
Fe 15
Cu 6
 
12500/4800= 2.6
2.6*4= 10.4 for Al
2.6*1= 2.6 for Cr
2.6*6= 15.6 for Cu
2.6*15= 39 for Fe

Based on the adjustment for mileage. Just another way to look at it.
dunno.gif
 
Thanks, Tempest - good to hear from you, too.

4esorselrahc - A couple of questions that I have:
1. According to Blackstone, the metals other than Fe should not go up as the oil is used longer (although why is not clear to me). Is it okay if they go up with time or not?
2. If the M1 at 12,500 miles still had correct viscosity and still had additives, why would changing it sooner impact wear in a positive way?
 
I'm just saying the averages perhaps can't be applied here since the averages are for 4800 miles. The accumulating metals tend to feed the wear cycle and make it worse over time. Maybe that is why they want you to cut back to 10k? But only take my comments with a grain of salt please. I am merely speculating. It does appear that there is a nearly linear relationship here though between milege and wear which I thought was interesting.
 
In the interest of full disclosure, I should probably add that the truck was on the dyno 3 different times with this oil, the last time was about 2 weeks before I changed the oil. Plus another dozen full throttle runs to the redline on the road while dialing in the tune for the blower. It may be that the 'hard duty' has more to do with the amount of metals in the oil than the oil itself does.
 
The SM Mobil-1 does not have the strong add-pack of your older UOA containing SL Mobil-1 -- plus more Group III presence is suspected here. The days of this oil going 10K for you appear to over. Perhaps switch to EP if you still like the oil brand. I would suggest trying something else... like much cheaper Quaker State QTorque Power/Pennzoil Platinum.
 
Quote:


The SM Mobil-1 does not have the strong add-pack of your older UOA containing SL Mobil-1 -- plus more Group III presence is suspected here. The days of this oil going 10K for you appear to over. Perhaps switch to EP if you still like the oil brand. I would suggest trying something else... like much cheaper Quaker State QTorque Power/Pennzoil Platinum.




TBN of 3.4 and Insolubles of 0.3%. The oil itself still had life left in it at 12.5k miles. So the comment about the days of >10k mile intervals with this oil is off the mark. The wear metals ARE on the high side. I strongly suspect a dirt ingestion problem. Terry could say for sure. Even without his advice, I'd get the best air filter I could and search for leaks just to be safe. Then do another UOA with same oil type and OCI.
 
I've been using Fram Tough Guard air filters (pre-oiled paper), since wally world sells them for less than regular Fram paper filters. However, I just put in a regular Fram Extra-Life air filter because that was all they had available the day I was buying it.

When I pulled off the intake manifold to install the blower ~3k miles ago, there was some indication of a slight intake leak on the #1 cylinder. If it was leaking, it wasn't leaking much, since it was not enough to result in a 'check engine' light coming on due to running lean during closed loop. How much of a leak does it need to cause the metals to increase? (Keep in mind that its dry and dusty here much of the time.)

Its got M1 5W30 in it again, I'm just toying with the idea of shortening the oci anyway due to having the supercharger. Part of it is the convenience issue - I drive 25k miles per year, so I can change oil spring and fall w/ ~12k miles per change. If I do it shorter intervals, then I'm doing it in the winter...

Thanks for your inputs.
 
I don't know how much of a leak it takes but it looks like your leak may have be enough to increase wear metals. Of course since it's dusty there and you used an oiled FRAM, some extra dirt probably got in from there too. The one thing a shorter OCI will buy you is getting the ingested dirt out of the oil sooner. But I'd go with preventing it from getting in as best as possible so you can keep the convenience of your oil changes. I put a register filter (for floor vents in houses) at the beginning of my intake to act as a pre-filter. It gets quite dirty and I hand wash it every 15k miles or so. Water turns black from it.
 
With 25K a year and a super under the hood, I would give the Amsoil HDD 5W30 a close look. It's designed to be beat up, so it might be the ticket for your truck. Redline is worth a try as well.

I just checked and Amsoil makes one of their EaA air filters for your truck as well. I've been running one for the last year on my stock Ranger here in Vegas and the inside of the intake was spotless. The filter was full of dirt, though, as was the catch.

And no, I'm not an Amosil dealer, just trying to give some alternatives.
smile.gif
 
TBN is just one additive.

I would think that your AW/EP additives are spent with the amount of wear you are showing. I haven't seen too many UOAs providing 'other active additive' levels.

Because of the high wear, you are simply pushing the oil too long. Change it out more frequently. And, don't be afraid to top off the oil by a few ounces when needed.
 
Spent AW additives? Not in 12.5K miles. That's a close to standard OCI for many engines in Europe. Honda has 10k mile OCI on dino oil in some of their cars. VW 503.01 and MB 229.5 are very long drain gas oil specs. etc, etc...
 
TBN shows decent amount of life left in the oil. You have some dirt getting through. Al/Cr/Tin give that away. IMO. Not many oils would still be a 30wt oil after 12.5k miles and not many would have a TBN of 3.4 after that.
 
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