Have had this vehicle since 2003, purchased from CarMax with 246 miles (first car after college), so someone else took the hit on the initial depreciation.
Learned early on, post purchase, of 'issues' with this particular platform.
As such, consulted with a Chrysler fleet mechanic friend who advised to keep unit on a strictly synthetic oil regimen.
Mobil 1 EP 5W-30 used from 2003 to 2015.
In addition, also learned that platform was essentially built around the cooling system.
Hence coolant used was always 'Mopar 5 Year Antifreeze', and always diluted 50/50 with distilled water.
Drained and filled coolant every 2 to 3 years, more often as the car aged.
In Sep 2014, all valve cover seals were replaced owing to some very minor seepage I was starting to see.
While I had the top-end apart, I also took the opportunity to replace all the intake manifold seals.
This was done because when I would wash the engine, I would noticed it idling rougher when water was sprayed around the manifold.
This went away with the new seals, and torquing to service manual specifications.
Hence the bump in Silicon in the testing history.
I skipped the last years test as a 'wash-out / control' period to eliminate contaminants from the test results.
Since 2015 switched to Mobil 1 HM 5W-30, mostly to keep seals throughout happy.
Interestingly, some small variances in wear appear at the 2015 vs. 2014 junction.
Wondering if these are indicative of the different oil formulations used, or within statistical tolerances.
Very few issues with this car honestly, it's been the family workhorse (even AC still works very well).
With little kids, there's a certain freedom to having an older car.
I'm fully aware of the 'sketchiness' of the 2.7L, and actively try to stay ahead of it.
Compared to my first car, an 82 Buick Regal that required an engine replacement at ~50k mi, and had an apparent biodegradable cooling system, this car has been a night vs. day improvement.
Now that I'm nearing 80k mi, I realize that I'm nearing the statistical death zone of the water pump.
The car has a little rust, owing to Chicago winters, but nothing earth shattering.
My hope would be to keep it through next year, possibly a little longer (wife allowing), then gift it to some school age family member and trade up to a 18 or 19 Hybrid Acura MDX.
From these results, does anyone see any red-flags with respect to wear:
Most recent Blackstone comments:
Replacing the valve cover seals and intake manifold gaskets would certainly account for the high silicon in the last report. Silicon dropped way down to 19 ppm , so we don't have any concerns about dirt infiltration. Sodium also came down to a normal level so that last reading was just an anomaly and not due to a coolant leak. Wear is in great shape, with metals holding steady. The TBN is still good at 2.5, so try 8,000 miles next. We haven't seen that specific Acura model yet, but if the engine is like the 3.5L Earth Dreams (plus hybrid), it should be a good one.
Code:
MI/HR on Oil 6,199 UNIT / LOCATION AVERAGES 6,304 4,129 MI/HR on Unit 78,895 67,194 60,890 UNIVERSAL AVERAGES Sample Date 8/7/2017 6/1/2015 4/26/2014 Make Up Oil Added 1.25 qts 1 qt 1 qt ALUMINUM 8 5 4 3 3 CHROMIUM 1 1 1 1 0 IRON 22 20 23 15 15 COPPER 14 14 14 13 13 LEAD 0 0 0 0 0 TIN 0 0 0 0 1 MOLYBDENUM 92 87 86 83 74 NICKEL 1 1 1 0 0 MANGANESE 3 2 1 1 3 SILVER 0 0 0 0 0 TITANIUM 0 0 0 0 0 POTASSIUM 1 2 4 0 2 BORON 43 37 31 38 54 SILICON 19 48 113 11 11 SODIUM 12 13 26 2 47 CALCIUM 1092 1070 1011 1106 2030 MAGNESIUM 856 784 729 768 145 PHOSPHORUS 904 758 666 704 693 ZINC 1117 925 839 818 807 BARIUM 0 0 0 0 1
Code:
8/7/2017 Values Should Be* 6/1/2015 4/26/2014 SUS Viscosity @ 210°F 63.7 56-63 59.1 56.2 cSt Viscosity @ 100°C 11.25 9.1-11.3 9.96 9.11 Flashpoint in °F 410 >365 395 435 Fuel % <0.5 <2.0 <0.5 <0.5 Antifreeze % 0.0 0.0 ? 0.0 Water % 0.0 <0.1 0.0 0.0 Insolubles % 0.2 <0.6 0.1 0.3 TBN 2.5 >1.0 3.2
