Valvoline MaxLife 10w30 - 92 Jeep Cherokee

[ThatEvoGuy]

Looking for comments. I have used Maxlife for the last 3 oil changes.

Here are the results from my 1st oil analysis. The Jeep is an inline 6, and at the time of the test I had 143k miles total, and 3,351 miles on the oil, with no make up oil added:

I left out the item with 0ppm.

Aluminum 3
Iorn 26
Copper 3
Lead 1
Tin 1
Molybdenum 12
Silicon 12
Sodium 7
Calcium 2300
Magnesium 17
Phosphorus 709
Zinc 885

Sus Viscosity @ 210 = 59.1
Flashpoint 375
Fuel% Insolubles 0.6

Blackstones comments:

We see a lot of Jeep engine samples, but the wear from your engine is about as good as it gets.
Try 4,000 miles for the next sample. The TBN was 2.8.

 

[haley10]

The insolubles being at .6 is a concern. What oil filter were you using? The insolubles are too high for this interval. I don't agree to go further until this is diagnosed.

 

[ThatEvoGuy]

haley10:
Honestly, I don't remember what filter I used. I'm pretty sure it was Fram (I know, I know). This time I'm using a Bosch filter.

sbc350gearhead:
This was my first oil sample ever. What is LC and FP?

Thanks folks!

 

[sbc350gearhead]

LC (lube control) is a type of solvent that is used in small doses in your motor oil. It has powerful antioxidant and detergency abilities, which allow it to help maintain engine cleanliness, and extend the useable life of your oil. FP (fuel power) is made by the same company, and is similar to LC, but is used in fuel. FP adds BTU's to gasoline, and allows better gas mileage in a great deal of engines, and well as cleaning the entire fuel system. There has been much testing with the products, and they have proven themselves to be work wonders in many applications.

 

[Bror Jace]

This looks like a pretty good result overall ... but it's what you'd expect with a 3,350 mile interval and a moder oil. Lead looks great, though.

The iron looks high to me but these stovebolt 6s often show a lot of lead. Do a search using "Jeep" or "4.0" in the used oil analysis subsection to compare with other engines of the same type.

Odd to see a molybdenum of 12. Too high for ring wear, too low for an additive. Probably leftover additive from past batches of Max-Life 1-2 years ago when this stuff was loaded with it.

I'd love to see if another brand of high-mileage oil (like Pennzoil) could bring that iron count down.

--- Bror Jace

 

[sbc350gearhead]

I would run another 3-4k on the next batch and resample. The flashpoint is low, but there doesn't appear to be any fuel dilution. Is this the first run with this oil? Maybe LC and FP would help with the insolubles.

[ April 24, 2004, 12:13 PM: Message edited by: sbc350gearhead ]

 

[Last_Z]

I think you need to move to a 40W oil in this engine! I bet will remain the same, while the other metals will come down.

Rick

 

[haley10]

Seems like the Maxlife did ok.

I still don't know why the insolubles are this high, even though no major fuel dilution.

I'm wondering when the plugs and wires were last changed and the state of the fuel filter.

The report is good, but something is not right with combustion efficiency.

Indulge me.

Maxlife looks fine, but some sort of tune -up necessary (pcv valve)

.6 ain't right for insolubles.

 

[MNgopher]

No PCV valve on the 4.0l (or the 2.5l for that matter) in the Cherokees.

They use a CCV system that uses a small orifice to meter flow. Problem is often that the CCV tubes clog up. A sure sign of that happening is blowing a bit of oil back onto the air filter (well, more than usual anyways

) This is often confused for blowby on these motors, when often the real cause is a clogged CCV tube or orifice. If this is the case, the easy fix is cleaning the tube or buying a new one. The harder one to get at is if the orifice is clogged in the valve cover - that requires popping the cover off and doing some cleaning. The CCV tube is the one on the back half of the valve cover to the air box. If it seems clogged, go see your friendly stealership and ask for the CCV kit - they'll know right away what you are after!