Syntec 5W30 14114km, 2005 Grand Caravan 3.3L

[zero10]

I haven't posted my last few UOAs but I figure it's time for an update. So far this engine is really showing it likes the 5W30 syntec and is behaving well. Oil changes aren't planned to be at 14000km though they keep working out to be very close to that. Basically I have another car that is still under warranty and so every second oil change for it I do the van at the same time. I've posted my last few UOAs below in case anybody is curious about how the engine is aging, most recent sample is the far right.

Code

Lab Number              TC7023        TK3272        UI3688            VG5932         WJ8251        XH6809          YJ2917
Date                    2/1/2013      10/26/2013    09/04/2014        07/17/2015     08/22/2016    08/01/2017      09/23/2018
Unit                    124800        136250        149595            162321         176515        190708          204822
Oil                     10800         11450         13345             12726          14194         14193           14114
Type                    Syntec 5W30   Syntec 5W30   Rotella T6 5W40   Pennzoil 5W20  Mobil 1 5W20  Castrol E 5W30  Castrol E 5W30
Tin                     0             0             0                 0              0             0               0
Lead                    1             2             1                 1              1             1               1
Copper                  0.2           0.7           0.6               0.6            0.6           0.3             0.5
Aluminum                1             1             1                 4              3             4               4
Silicon                 45            18            21                22             18            56              29
Iron                    12            10            18                19             28            17              22
Chromium                1             0.6           1                 0.9            1             0.6             0.7
Silver                  0             0             0                 0              0             0               0
Zinc                    800           724           1300              1000           721           768             781
Magnesium               950           1000          1200              206            693           152             226
Nickel                  0.7           0.8           0                 1              1             1               1
Barium                  0             0             0                 0              0             0               0
Sodium                  111           70            24                3              23            16              17
Calcum                  1150          784           883               2000+          1150          1900            2000+
Vanadium                0             0             0                 0              0             0               0
Phosphorus              615           533           1000              757            602           634             608
Molybdenum              60            63            77                63             76            73              60
Boron                   16            19            19                42             38            111             21
Manganese               0.9           0             0.8               0.9            0.8           0.7             0.8
Viscosity(D445)@100*C   10.02         9.263         15.16             9.834          8.299         11.63           11.21
Water(D4007) (%v/v)     0             0             0                 0              0             0               0
Solids(D4007) (%v/v)    <0.1          0             <0.1              0              <0.1          <0.1            0
Glycol                  No            No            No                No             No            No              No
Fuel Dilution           No            No            No                No             No            No              No
Oil Changed?            Yes           Yes           Yes               Yes            Yes           Yes             Yes

Their comments on this sample are: YJ2917 - Tests DO NOT indicate an immediate need for an oil change. Silicones (B). Send in New Oil for Reference. Maintain routine sampling.

 

[JLTD]

MY EYES! Please fix the formatting...

 

[StevieC]

Thanks for posting.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Can't get much better than that. Funny how that lab gave Cu values in fractions of 1 ppm. I don't know what "Castrol E 5w30" is, but its not the old Castrol Syntec, since calcium is too high to be a dexos1 Gen2 oil.

 

[Spector]

my thinking has the silicon and iron a tad high but it has been that way early on but in the last three samples the iron is increasing??? Silicon and iron can mean air filtration but could also be normal for this engine, I don't know.

 

[JLTD]

Originally Posted by JLTD

MY EYES! Please fix the formatting...

Thanks for fixing! Nice results. Looks like the Syntec might be the best oil overall for this engine.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted by oil_film_movies

Can't get much better than that. Funny how that lab gave Cu values in fractions of 1 ppm.

Must be Wearcheck, they have always given the numbers to the tenth of a decimal point if it's under 10ppm.

 

[zero10]

Originally Posted by oil_film_movies

Can't get much better than that. Funny how that lab gave Cu values in fractions of 1 ppm. I don't know what "Castrol E 5w30" is, but its not the old Castrol Syntec, since calcium is too high to be a dexos1 Gen2 oil.

It's a shortened version of "Castrol Edge 5W30" since their column is apparently too small - old school systems I guess? I could check which version it was but I believe it's the A3/B4 one that I am using

 

[zero10]

Originally Posted by JLTD

Originally Posted by JLTD

MY EYES! Please fix the formatting...

Thanks for fixing! Nice results. Looks like the Syntec might be the best oil overall for this engine.

Sorry if things were messed up - I checked when you posted and everything looked properly formatted to me at the time, I was going to reply but work got in the way. Glad to hear things look right now! I agree this engine really rewards Syntec, I tried throwing a couple oils at it in a very non-scientific way just to see how it did and much to my surprise, the cheapest "good" oil I can buy works the best. I'm happy with that! I should mention, this last sample includes a week of -35*C cold starts without being plugged in, then 6 months later, a 1200km trip towing a trailer, over half of which were spent at nearly full throttle and continual 4500-5500RPM - it was a brutal slog into a heavy head wind. I couldn't believe it didn't throw a rod or something, I gave it proper [censored], and yet the UOA came back just like the others. Unbelievable!

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted by zero10

I could check which version it was but I believe it's the A3/B4 one that I am using

I would expect the A3/B4 version to have higher phosphorus than what the analysis indicates.

 

[oil_film_movies]

Originally Posted by zero10

I should mention, this last sample includes a week of -35*C cold starts without being plugged in, then 6 months later, a 1200km trip towing a trailer, over half of which were spent at nearly full throttle and continual 4500-5500RPM - it was a brutal slog into a heavy head wind. I couldn't believe it didn't throw a rod or something, I gave it proper [censored], and yet the UOA came back just like the others. Unbelievable!

Wow, -35C = -31F in the U.S. Could have really used a 0w20 in that weather. There is a good case for using a 0w20 in the winter, and a 5w30 or 5w40 in the summer in that engine.

 

[zero10]

Originally Posted by oil_film_movies

Originally Posted by zero10

I should mention, this last sample includes a week of -35*C cold starts without being plugged in, then 6 months later, a 1200km trip towing a trailer, over half of which were spent at nearly full throttle and continual 4500-5500RPM - it was a brutal slog into a heavy head wind. I couldn't believe it didn't throw a rod or something, I gave it proper [censored], and yet the UOA came back just like the others. Unbelievable!

Wow, -35C = -31F in the U.S. Could have really used a 0w20 in that weather. There is a good case for using a 0w20 in the winter, and a 5w30 or 5w40 in the summer in that engine.

Maybe - but keep in mind that in the past I've seen pretty poor results using the 20 weight oils in this van so I'd basically be trading hot wear for cold start wear... Plus right now I'm only doing yearly oil changes as we only drive about 14,000km/year so I'd therefore be running the lighter weight oil year-round. Basically, I guess no matter what I do it's a compromise. It was a bit of a fluke that we couldn't plug the van in for that super cold week but we were visiting family and our lodging arrangements got changed so we ended up parked somewhere we couldn't use the block heater. Worse than the engine, was how the transmission fared though, when cold it would grab reverse right away but engaging drive after backing out of our spot took 10-15 seconds After we got back it hasn't given us any troubles though, but I did do a fluid change thinking it perhaps the aged fluid was more prone to thickening in the cold. The climate where the van currently lives consists of warm weather all summer (highs of 35-40*C and lows of 15-25*C aren't unusual for the summer months) and during the winter we get above freezing every couple of weeks with the nighttime lows generally never falling below -20*C. I think 5W30 synthetic is appropriate for our current uses. On our next Christmas trip to the north pole Calgary we will hopefully be able to plug in the van in and won't have to put it through the same suffering.