05 Duramax high copper UOA

[White_Buffalo]

Here is the UOA results on a '05 Duramax. The truck belongs to a close friend of mine and he just switched over to Schaeffer's 15W-40 series 7000 after taking the sample for this UOA. This UOA is not from Schaeffer oil but whatever brand the chevy dealer used when he took it in (I know - first mistake). Anyhow, this was the first time towing a 10K 5th wheel from Missouri to San Antonio thi summer and the truck only has 31K on it. I am assuming the high copper is from the engine still breaking in, but I need your input/advice. The oil was changed to Schaeffer's after the sample was taken and waiting to hit 3K before taking another sample.


copper 256
iron 21
chrome 0
alum 2
lead 3

moly 6
phos 1632
zinc 1745
mag 440
calc 3507

anti freeze .0
fuel dil negative
%h2o .0
silicone 11

visc 14.25
sulfer 9
oxid 2
nitrat 7
soot 0


All the numbers look great but what could be the high copper at 31K total miles and 8K on the oil?

 

[D-Roc]

Whatever they used it sure has a decent shot of zddp- check those numbers.
High copper seems to be a common thing with some of the Duramax diesels- I have read of people on thedieselplace.com with similar experience.

 

[allan5oh]

Do those units have an oil cooler?

Next time he does an oil change, look for copper at the bottom of the drain pan.

 

[dnewton3]

The truck has 31K on it, right? By now, I would have thought the copper would have started to come down some. And WOW, that's higher than ususal for copper, even in a newer Duramax. 8K miles on oil is not that much for a Dmax.

I'd keep a close eye on it. Next time take 2 samples, and send to 2 different labs? Sometimes, a second opinion is worth it.

 

[White_Buffalo]

Thaks for the advice guys - will do.

dnewton3 - He said the truck has 31K total miles, but I will make sure...

 

[Bill Plock]

As D-Roc pointed out high copper is not uncommon for a Duramax UOA and is usually attributed to the copper oil cooler. Your other wear metals and Si are normal so need to be concerned (IMHO).

Copper levels in my 03 Duramax didn’t drop to single digits until 54kmi… all other wear metals were consistently low. Also, at 9.4 kmi I sent two samples each to different labs .. Cu was 964 ppm on one,

but 30ppm on the other.. ??? Click on UOA in my signature for the complete history.

 

[dnewton3]

The high Cu of 256 seems abnormally high for even a new Dmax. My Dmax has a whopping 10k miles on it, and it's not anywhere that high. From my little oil study for filtration, the mean of Cu for Dmax was 26 at 10K miles. The standard deviation was not that large for Cu at that milage; around 19%. This guy's friend has nearly TEN TIMES the average Cu at only 31K miles. Something's askew.

I just thought that perhaps a second lab opinion was due. Or at the very least, contact the lab about the first reading and have them explain why the Cu reading. Although unlikely, it is concieveable that an abnormal wear pattern due to a manufacturing defect is making itself known. The whole reason to do UOA's is to check for abnormal patterns. Guys, this high of a Cu reading after 31k miles is not normal, even for a Dmax.



I think that I'd do two things:
a) try a couple different labs to confirm readings
b) sample more often until a satisfactory answer can explain the high Cu.