Motorcraft 5W20 Oil Analysis

[Roger]

Here is a recent analysis I had done by Blackstone on some Motortcraft 5W20 oil after 3,300 miles. Much highway driving, but not all of it. The silicon element was the only one that exceeded Blackstone's universal average (22 vs 16) but they made no mention of it in their comentary. The viscosity reading also came back low versus the 54-60 range. The Escape had 10K total miles and is one year old.

Elements My Car
Aluminum 3
Chromium 1
Iron 12
Copper 8
Lead 1
Tin 0
Molybdenum 4
Nickel 0
Manganese 0
Silver 0
Titanium 0
Potassium 1
Boron 30
Silicon 22
Sodium 3
Calcium 1064
Magnesium 436
Phosphorus 643
Zinc 760
Barium 1


SUS Visc. @210 F 51.9
Flashpoint F 410
Fuel % Antifreeze % 0.0
Water % 0.0
Insolubles % 0.3

Comments: “Nothing too unusual showed up in this sample from your Ford 3.0L. All wear read at or below averages for this type of engine, which is a very good indication of normal wearing parts. Universal averages show normal wear after about 6,000 miles on the oil. The viscosity was light for a 5W/20, but the flashpoint was good so we don’t suspect you are getting any fuel dilution. The TBN read 4.5. This is a normal reading for a used engine oil, and shows that there is active additive left in the oil. At 10,000 total miles, this engine appears to past wear-in and doing well.”

 

[GeorgeCLS]

I like to see single digit silicon (dirt). I would suggest checking the induction system, air filter for possible air leak/unfiltered air ingestion. Also, how was the sample taken? We always want a 'mid-stream/hot oil' sample. If the sample was improperly taken the results can be skewed, showing high dirt, etc. We want a mid-stream sample taken. i.e. remove the drain plug, let a quart or so run, then put the bottle in stream to capture. We want to see what the engine is seeing, not the first or last oil out of the engine and definately not the oil filter oil..
Suggest re-sampling this engine at next oil change and checking the induction system very closely for possible leaks and replacing the air filter if that has not already been done.

 

[jjbula]

Nice oil analysis

Motorcraft 5w20 is supposed to have Mo, right?

Looks like all of it was used up in 3K

Should the Zinc be higher too for 3K?

TBN is the kicker, 4.5. It starts at 7-9?
I wouldn't want it left unchanged more than 1K longer.

My untrained eye tells me the oil is done.

 

[Patman]

I'm surprised the wear numbers are as good as they are, I suspect this vehicle is not driven very hard. How else can a thin oil with very low amounts of antiwear additives protect this engine? If it was driven hard there would be not much protection there, as that thin oil would shear back and there isn't much barrier protection to fall back on.

 

[Spector]

I would not be concerned about the 22 ppm of silicon. This engine is still breaking in, especially the seals etc. Further you nor Blackstone do not know if it was used as an additive in the oil. 22 is not really high, I have one car where this reading has been in the 20s since birth and it now has 146,000 miles on it. Remember, this is trend analyis.

 

[bill99gxe]

quote:

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Originally posted by Patman:
I'm surprised the wear numbers are as good as they are, I suspect this vehicle is not driven very hard. How else can a thin oil with very low amounts of antiwear additives protect this engine? If it was driven hard there would be not much protection there, as that thin oil would shear back and there isn't much barrier protection to fall back on.

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Roger's Escape is part of the Maxima.org spreadsheet. His driving conditions are mentioned in there.

Silicon here is break-in/need for a new air filter. He still had the OEM filter in it at the time of analysis.