Pennzoil Ultra, 5W-20, 3895 Miles, 2002 Accord V6

[ZOMGVTEK]

I'm a bit happier with this sample, even if it was 'fooled' by my Filtermag RA300 trapping some of that ferrous metal.

How is this looking? It's still nothing special, but not horrible at least?

Here is a picture of what the magnet caught... Sure, some or most of this may have been trapped in the filter media normally, but it sure does make it clear whats coming out of the engine.

 

[Donald]

You are using one of the best oils available and going under 4K miles. We would expect close to perfection on an engine with less than 100K.

On the surface it does appear that the magnet is doing some good. Although your iron numbers for your previous sample were higher than normal. Some other non-ferrous metals also dropped with your latest UOA, but not nearly as much as did the iron.

Of course you know you should alternate using and not using the Filtermag (but continue with PU) on oil changes to provide further proof its indeed the Filtermag. And then you need a particle count analysis to see what size iron particles we are talking about. If all the iron particles are 1 micron, then who cares. But I suspect that is not the case.

 

[AccordV6MN]

Originally Posted By: Donald
You are using one of the best oils available and going under 4K miles. We would expect close to perfection on an engine with less than 100K.

On the surface it does appear that the magnet is doing some good. Although your iron numbers for your previous sample were higher than normal. Some other non-ferrous metals also dropped with your latest UOA, but not nearly as much as did the iron.

Of course you know you should alternate using and not using the Filtermag (but continue with PU) on oil changes to provide further proof its indeed the Filtermag. And then you need a particle count analysis to see what size iron particles we are talking about. If all the iron particles are 1 micron, then who cares. But I suspect that is not the case.


Agree on the use of FilterMag. It's not conclusive yet as this on 1 data. Once it's repeatable on the effect of the magnet on larger data set then we can conclude the magnet is worth while.

Hope to see more data in the future. Thanks for the post.

 

[ZOMGVTEK]

The previous UOA with 3,297 miles on it was also with the same oil. They incorrectly assumed 5W-30 oil was used, so the viscosity was flagged. The first UOA was with Eneos 5W-30 synth blend.

I don't plan on doing any more UOA's. The car might end up being electric within a year or two.

 

[fdcg27]

What's the story on this engine?
Iron looks really good on this sample (the magnet), but Cu remains kind of high.
This looks like somewhat heavy wear for a low-miles Honda engine,
especially one using PU on only a 4K drain.
Did something happen to harm this engine earlier in its life?

 

[ZOMGVTEK]

Copied from a post in another thread...

I'm not sure if there is something 'wrong' with my engine, but I'm not terribly worried. It wouldn't be a big deal to just swap it with a $400 junkyard motor.

I tend to drive the car hard, but easy at the same time. I'm not afraid to hit redline, and its somewhat modified. However, I use a block heater often, use good oil, filters, and change them frequently. I try to stay under 2K when the car is cold, and never idle excessively or things like that. I do tow a 1,000-1,500 lb trailer from time to time as well. Most of my drives are 10-15 miles, so the car is up to temp by then.

The engine does make a light ticking sound under very particular circumstances, usually high load and low RPM. It's rare to hear, but it is there. The block appears to be slightly warped from a impact with a tree from a previous owner, as the water pump does not sit flat on the block and needs a touch of silicone to seal. The timing belt is also slack for some reason in one spot, and the tensioner can not extend far enough to take up the slack. I'm assuming the impact has something to do with that.

Around 5+ years ago the car was well abused. Cold starts in freezing temps into WOT was common.

The CU is higher than I might think, compared to other engines. However, its right on with the universal averages, which IIRC is for 6,200 miles. High, but not that terrible. Where would all this CU even be coming from?

 

[fdcg27]

Main bearings worn through to the backing?
Or does this beast have an oil cooler?
If it has a copper oil cooler, then the copper is nothing to worry about at all.

 

[ZOMGVTEK]

I'm fairly sure it does not have any oil cooler.

That'd be some serious wear on the main bearings. I would imagine it would be noticeable in the engines operation.

 

[Merkava_4]

That's not terrible, but I was hoping to see the silicon, copper, and iron numbers lower.

I'm thinking I'd go 5W-30 next time.

 

[Colt45ws]

If all those reports are on synthetic, then its likely you have fuel dilute every time. 1-2% I would guess.
You are getting the engine hot, so I would look for possibly a leaking injector.

 

[ZOMGVTEK]

Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
If all those reports are on synthetic, then its likely you have fuel dilute every time. 1-2% I would guess.
You are getting the engine hot, so I would look for possibly a leaking injector.


What makes you feel this? I'm questioning it since nobody ever mentioned it as a possibility on my previous UOA's. Are you suggesting the fuel is burning off eventually, and thats why Blackstone didn't detect it?

My fuel efficiency has been going up for years. This does not technically dispute this claim, but I would imagine such drastic fuel dilution would cause a impact in this? I'm averaging about 40% above EPA for mixed driving.

I've been considering pulling the injectors to get them cleaned and flow matched. The car has been having a warm start issue for a while now. It appears to be vapor lock. Its semi-common on my engine, but nobody really has any fix, aside from a higher pressure regulator and updated ECU which is >$1K... It starts fine, just occasionally acts like it has air in the rail when cranking, and can take 2-3x longer than a normal start. When its cold outside, its perfect. When its hot, not so much.

I just started running a lower grill block in winter since last year. It really helps keep some heat in the block when its below freezing and the engines shivering.

 

[Colt45ws]

The totally lame way they calculate fuel dilute is what makes me think this. You see the flash point is supposed to be above 355F right? Well, as long as flash is above that, they calculate 0 fuel because every 20F below that is 1%.
Here is my problem with this.
You are running a excellent synthetic which probably closer to 430-440F new. This is why I go by 420F flash as a baseline. You are at 395 on the latest. That is 25F drop. So just over 1% on the latest. 1.75% on the one just prior and slightly over 1% again on the first.
This is just a guess. But not any more than the blackstone 'test' is a guess.
The only real way to find out is to find some one who calculates fuel by FTIR or other method that actually looks at fuel in the oil.