The worst UOA in BITOG history!

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my 18 yr old nephew who has had three total accidents, well my sister bought him this 96 Ford Explorer XLT EB edition off of craigslist for $800 around Thanksgiving 2008. 5.0 V-8 engine with 139,634 miles. When I was there visiting for the holidays, I changed the oil for him which was black and grabbed a sample. The coolant reservoir and radiator were empty!
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I put Prestone in there and filled engine with havoline 5w30. It took 4.5 months to get these results back. Longest ever. Here they are:

Iron 252
Chromium 6
Lead 88
Copper 10
Tin 36
Aluminum 16
Nickel 0
Moly 83
Titanium 0
Maganese 0
Vandium 21
Silcon 6
Boron 9
Magnesium 42
Calcium 2603
Barium 8
Phosphorus 672
Zinc 1446
Sodium Potassium

water oxidation 25.3
V 100C >25
Fuel TBN < 3.0
Nitration 21.8
SAE 40

The oil change sticker on the windshield, at the time, was 2 years old.
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Not the worst we've seen, but certainly close!

Even with all the wear, that's a pretty stout oil in there - Ca of 2600, Zinc 1446...wonder what oil it was? Or maybe it had a bunch of STP thrown into it?

At least it WAS topped off. Iron is high, but considering the miles, the other wear metals aren't THAT bad. Looks like you don't have any coolant leaks into the engine to worry about.

5.0 Fords are tough engines - this one will most likely keep going for a while! Have you heard how its doing since you did the service on it?
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
I am impressed with the silicon that low. Even the TBN is not too bad.

What lab took 4.5 months?



Yeah, the silicon is low, must be an air intake leak somewhere. I'm definitily going to have to check it out. I'm surprised about no coolant leak since the coolant reservoir and radiator were empty! Wasn't totally empty, since it only took 3 quarts to fill. Lubetrak did the report. I emailed the lab every two weeks for two months, they said they never received my sample. I figured it was lost in the mail, but now I believe the post office held the package hostage. I just got an email an hour ago with the PDF report.

It's my nephew's lucky day, I had already planned to go back home to visit my family this sunday for Easter. I'm off on vacation the entire next week. I haven't been back there in three months. If I never got the report, I would have never checked his car for an intake leak.
 
If coolant was in the motor oil the UOA would look worse. It is bad compared to BITOG standards.
 
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Iron 252
Lead 88

I wonder if this is a case of dino oil being in there for 20,000 miles.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Not the worst we've seen, but certainly close!

Even with all the wear, that's a pretty stout oil in there - Ca of 2600, Zinc 1446...wonder what oil it was? Or maybe it had a bunch of STP thrown into it?

At least it WAS topped off. Iron is high, but considering the miles, the other wear metals aren't THAT bad. Looks like you don't have any coolant leaks into the engine to worry about.

5.0 Fords are tough engines - this one will most likely keep going for a while! Have you heard how its doing since you did the service on it?


he's not driving that much since he now has a restricted license. After his license got restricted by the state, $300/month for liability for him only. he can only drive to work and school, that's it. My sister is making him not drive that much because the car insurance said if he has another accident. her, my brother in law, and him will be cancelled. I'll know for sure how many miles he has driven when I look at his odometer. he is complaining about his brakes though.
 
Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
Originally Posted By: Donald
I am impressed with the silicon that low. Even the TBN is not too bad.

What lab took 4.5 months?



Yeah, the silicon is low, must be an air intake leak somewhere. I'm definitily going to have to check it out...... haven't been back there in three months. If I never got the report, I would have never checked his car for an intake leak.


What Donald is saying is that silicon is low and that's a GOOD thing indicating that there is NOT any sort of intake leak and air filtration is good. High silicon would indicate that dirty air is getting into the engine since the damaging component of dirt is slica (sand). Just wanted to clear this up before you spend time chasing problems that don't exist!
 
Sounds like he needs a bicycle. IF I had a kid that was about to get my Insurance cancelled. He would be riding a bus or bike, he wouldn't be driving.

Back on topic.
The UOA isn't bad considering the neglect. As for dissapearing coolant, Check the radiator for cracks and the water pump area.
 
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Really not that bad considering, though I'd be worried about two things:

1. The engine has a warped head (not supported by the analysis) due to an overheating event.

2. Where did that coolant go?

3. The engine was probably running very hot, and you've got long overdue oil in there. I'd be worried about sludge build-up.

Honestly, not that bad. I think I've seen worse with people who have head gasket failures.
 
Originally Posted By: OrdnanceMarine



What Donald is saying is that silicon is low and that's a GOOD thing indicating that there is NOT any sort of intake leak and air filtration is good. High silicon would indicate that dirty air is getting into the engine since the damaging component of dirt is slica (sand). Just wanted to clear this up before you spend time chasing problems that don't exist! [/quote]

maybe. but my sister told me when they bought the vehicle, the engine compartment was full of dirt and so was the interior. the vehicle sat for 6 months when they bought it. it was cleaned before I got to it though.
 
I'd be less concerned with the engine and more concerned that he has had 3 accidents and is driving a full size 5.0L V8.

Glad I don't live near you.
 
Originally Posted By: Bryanccfshr
Sounds like he needs a bicycle. IF I had a kid that was about to get my Insurance cancelled. He would be riding a bus or bike, he wouldn't be driving.

Back on topic.
The UOA isn't bad considering the neglect. As for dissapearing coolant, Check the radiator for cracks and the water pump area.


I told my sister the same thing. She won't hear of it. She spoils him. She nags him to not drive except for school and working at Papa Johns. He graduates high school next month
 
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At least if he wrecks it it's no loss-I'd be scared of losing my insurance, though-sounds like it's time for Safe Auto or Titan or some other generic auto insurance co.!
 
1. Was it low on oil?

2. I wonder how much make up oil was put in it over that time frame?
 
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Sounds like letting the engine blow would be a public service to the rest of us.

Still don't think you understand me regarding the silicon numbers but since we're on different wavelengths I'll leave it to someone else to explain it to you.
 
4.5 months to get results???? What lab did you use. With service like that I wonder if it is even the right sample tested.?

Also you wrote TBN <3.0, why is everyone saying TBN is good?
 
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