Hello, new guy here.....

[BigRigExpediter]

Hi, I am an expediter and live 10 months out of the year on the road. I have a 2004 Freightliner Columbia with a Mercedes MBE 4000 motor that has 96,000 miles/3,523 hours on a rebuild. I broke the motor in on Conventional oil for 50,000 miles at 10,000 mile oil change intervals. At 50,000 miles I put Amsoil 15W40 in it for around 20,000 miles and changed it. Currently I have Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck in it and have 25,474 miles/ 793 hours on the oil. I have had this oil analyzed 3 times at SpeedCo and they do not have Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck in there machine so I tell them that it is Mobil Delvac 1. My first question is, I have read they are the same oil in a different bottle. Is this true for the sake of the oil analysis test because they have to put what type of oil it is in there machine? That being said, my most recent oil analysis came back as follows:

Aluminum:4,Chromium:A due to being synthetic),Visc@100:14.5,Fuel:span>
Does this look good for an oil analysis? - Analyzed at 24,614 Mi./763 hr. on oil. -

The truck has an oil capacity of 12 gallons or 48 quarts. I changed the oil filter at 21,318 miles/619 hours. SpeedCo says my oil is good for continued use. As stated, while I sit in my truck and type this I have 25,470 miles/793 hours on the oil and I was going to do another analysis at 30,000 miles or 900 hours, whichever comes first. I am new to the oil analysis and quite honestly I am slightly worried that I am getting too many hours on the oil, but I am a firm believer in synthetic. From what I have read, Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck/Mobil Delvac 1 is a group IV synthetic, which to my understanding is supposed to be the best. It costs me between $500 and $600 to change my oil so changing it too soon is throwing money out the window, but in turn I spent $16,000 to rebuild this motor. Just tell me whatever you guys think if you dont mind. Thanks.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Wear metal is very low for 24.5k miles of use and TBN at 8.0 is very good for continue use. I would do another oil analysis at 35-40k miles to see if you can continue using the current fill. But I would change the oil filter(s) in about 8-10k miles or at 32-35k miles.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
BigRigExpeditor - Welcome to BITOG - we do have a Truckers Forum too - you should perhaps be "consulting" there too

I used Delvac 1 5W-40 in various forms for many years (millions of Kms) in my 500hp Series 60 Detroits. I averaged 90kkms OCIs or around two OCs per year. My main criteria via UOAs for an OC was either Iron (150ppm) or Soot (around 4%) levels. The viscosity was always within Grade and the TAN/TBN levels were in order

My youngest Son (CAT, DD-MBE and MAN qualified) tells me that the latest Detroit engines (MBE Series) allow up to 40kkms OCIs here on a Approved mineral lubricant

I don't normally comment on UOAs but I would be happy with yours - and for continued use of the lubricant

Delvac 1 5W-40 is an excellent lubricant (in any form) but extended OCIs need to be arrived at via a UOA programme - as you are already doing

The latest Warning Levels List I have for the MBE4000 engines is:

100C Vis Max = 20cSt
100C Vis Min = 12.5cSt
Soot = 3%
TBN D4739 Min = 50% new oil
Glycol Max = 0.07
Water Max = 0.3%
Fuel Dilution Max - 7%
Iron Max = 200ppm
Copper Max = 20ppm
Lead Max = 20ppm

I hope this helps

 

[oggb]

Love the UOAs on big truck engines. Makes me want to buy a diesel, for whatever reason.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Now PM Pablo.

 

[tinmanSC]

Max Fuel Dilution 7%???

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
tinmanSC - Yes, correct at 7% (D3524) and Fe @ 200ppm.

And many people here on BITOG worry over Fe movements of 5ppm or so in single pass UOAs?

 

[Rob_Roy]

Originally Posted By: Doug Hillary


And many people here on BITOG worry over Fe movements of 5ppm or so in single pass UOAs?



Most of the folks that measure "wear" 1 ppm at a time have little experience with commercial diesel engines. The OEM's such as MB are quite clear about which levels are significant.

To the original poster, your UOA looks excellent to me, and I agree with your plan to resample...pull a sample at 950-1000 hrs and see how it looks. If you haven't already, consider installing a sample port so you can take "live samples".

 

[Brons2]

14PPM iron after 25,000 miles? That is pretty stellar! Wish my car did that well.

 

[Gene K]

Originally Posted By: BigRigExpediter
The truck has an oil capacity of 12 gallons or 48 quarts. I changed the oil filter at 21,318 miles/619 hours. SpeedCo says my oil is good for continued use. As stated, while I sit in my truck and type this I have 25,470 miles/793 hours on the oil and I was going to do another analysis at 30,000 miles or 900 hours, whichever comes first. I am new to the oil analysis and quite honestly I am slightly worried that I am getting too many hours on the oil, but I am a firm believer in synthetic. From what I have read, Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck/Mobil Delvac 1 is a group IV synthetic, which to my understanding is supposed to be the best. It costs me between $500 and $600 to change my oil so changing it too soon is throwing money out the window, but in turn I spent $16,000 to rebuild this motor. Just tell me whatever you guys think if you dont mind. Thanks.


25,000 miles is the standard interval for OTR Operation on ULSD with PGOS approved Conventional and based on 6.0 mpg or every 4167 gallons of fuel.

My guess is in Expedited Operation you are closer to 7.5 mpg which is over 30,000 miles with conventional. That would be my baseline. I would change filters at 30,000 miles and shoot for at least 60,000 miles with synthetic or it isnt cost effective. Oil analysis should tell you if this is doable.

Many fleets are going 60,000 miles on 10W40 Synthetic Blend without bypass filters. 100,000+ miles on Full Synthetic with a Spinner II bypass filter isnt unusual. A side benefit of the bypass is full flow filter change intervals can usually be extended.

The info I have (January, 2010) list the MBE4000 at Warning Levels Soot 4.5 and TBN 30% of Virgin or 3.0 if no Virgin reference (http://www.ddcsn.com/cps/rde/xbcr/ddcsn/DDC-SVC-BRO-0001.pdf) . Soot at those levels makes me nervous so I dont like to go over 2.0 Conventional and 3.0 Synthetic although I have absolutely no evidence to prove abrasive wear increases above that level.

Dont forget to keep the chassis lubricated. Every 15,000 miles would likely work well with 30,000 filter changes and 60,000 oil changes.

PS All the above assumes you are not voiding a warranty on the rebuild by extending.

 

[BigRigExpediter]

Thanks for the Info everyone! All your replies are appreciated. As far as the Speedco UOA, they test the oil on a desktop machine. I know that it is not as good as a lab like blackstone but would yall trust it enough to base extreme oil change intervals like I am trying to achieve? I'm not looking for perfect just " good enough ". Thanks.