2015 Ford Focus 1.5TDCi

[Bailes1992]

Got an oil anaylisys done. 50k on the car and just 5,200miles on the oil. It was actually Castrol Edge A5/B5 0w30 oil.



It's actually wanked after just 5,200 miles, how Ford expect the oil to last 12k I have no idea and just proves to myself that it's not in my head when I hear the engine getting noiser after 4,000miles on an oil.

Speaking to Miller Oils the biggest issue is fuel dilution. 2% dilution is 'cautionary' and 4% dilution is 'critical'. That means this oil is borderline at 3%. Not only that the fuel dilution has caused the oil to water down from a SAE 30 at 100°c to an SAE 20.

It's almost certain to me that this is caused by regeneration of the DPF. Anyone who's read any of my posts knows I've had use issues with the EGR calibration on this car which Ford can't fix leaving me with no other option but to remove it once the car is out of warranty. This test now means I will probably end up removing the DPF too for the sake of the engine. Shame.

I am however going to have another test done in 6k to see if that's any better. I am sort of hoping the fuel dilution was maybe due to just one bad regen? I can hope.

 

[Jetronic]

see how the Total does now. I think you got Total Energy 0W30 now? In any event, 3% fuel dilution won't be critical to the viscosity, and since PSA uses mid-saps oils you won't have to worry about additive dilution either. The total has 10-20% more of AW/detergent than the typical mid-saps oil.

 

[m37charlie]

I'm not at all sure it is wanked.
For a given viscosity group (like 0W30) an A5/B5 oil will be thinner than an A3/B4. For the former HTHS needs to be 2.93.5. You are only slightly below the bottom of the 30 range which is at 9.30.
The TBN is incredibly high (9.8) and it is usually EGR that knocks that down. I hate EGR but you shouldn't objectively condemn it unless you see soot level or wear metals are very high, which they aren't.
Regarding the fuel %, what is your driving pattern? How many miles per drive typically? If you drive at least 35 mi/drive, doubtful in the UK, that can evaporate the fuel out of the oil.
I'm not against "deleting" but won't that give you MOT problems?

Charlie

 

[Bailes1992]

Originally Posted By: m37charlie
I'm not at all sure it is wanked.
For a given viscosity group (like 0W30) an A5/B5 oil will be thinner than an A3/B4. For the former HTHS needs to be 2.93.5. You are only slightly below the bottom of the 30 range which is at 9.30.
The TBN is incredibly high (9.8) and it is usually EGR that knocks that down. I hate EGR but you shouldn't objectively condemn it unless you see soot level or wear metals are very high, which they aren't.
Regarding the fuel %, what is your driving pattern? How many miles per drive typically? If you drive at least 35 mi/drive, doubtful in the UK, that can evaporate the fuel out of the oil.
I'm not against "deleting" but won't that give you MOT problems?

Charlie


I'm unsure I'm comfortable having an oil that thin in my engine. When Peugeot/Citroen first released my engine it used a 5w40 oil. 15 years later and I feel the only reason Ford and PSA suggest a *w30 is for fuel economy and emmisions. I certainly don't think I would ever run a 20 weight oil.

As for the fuel dilution, I drive mainly motorway and fast A/B roads. I usually do 250-300miles a week. I was doing closer to 600miles a week until 6 weeks ago but recently changed my job to a much lesser commute.

The car has a horrendous bogging down/hesitation issue. Something which after 38 visits to Ford dealers over the 2 years I've owned the car has still yet to be fixed. The cause is an EGR calibration issue and I see no other option but to remove the EGR once it's out of warranty however this one issue coupled with the disgusting customer service I have received from Ford will be the reason I NEVER own another Ford.

The graph shows in order of top to bottom...
Throttle Position (%) in RED
Engine Speed (RPM) in GREEN
Road Speed (KPH) in LIGHT BLUE
Fuel Delivery/Flow (L/H) in PINK
Fuel Desired (MM³) in YELLOW
Fuel Rail Pressure (Volts) in BLUE
Inlet Manifold Pressure (kpa) in PINK
Mass Airflow (g/sec) in ORANGE
EGR Position (Volts) in RED
ECU Volts in GREEN.


At 1549.06s (about a third of the way across from the left) you can see on the top red line I have increased my throttle position. At which point the bottom red line shows the EGR opening, fuel delivery (PINK) and the Fuel Desired (YELLOW) both nosedived to nearly zero before the EGR shuts again the fuel starts to increase. You can also see where my RPM (GREEN) dropped slightly as a result.
This is the cutting out/bogging down/hesitation I'm feeling.
I'm 100% sure this is a calibration issue as all the sensors are still reporting perfectly acceptable readings.

And again at 1858.88 (half way)...


If I am suffering fuel dilution issues due to the DPF (we will see in the next analysis) then the DPF will have to go along with the EGR.

Originally Posted By: Jetronic
see how the Total does now. I think you got Total Energy 0W30 now? In any event, 3% fuel dilution won't be critical to the viscosity, and since PSA uses mid-saps oils you won't have to worry about additive dilution either. The total has 10-20% more of AW/detergent than the typical mid-saps oil.


I'm on the Total now. It's also a very stout 30 weight from what I remember so hoping it will stay in spec even if it does suffer the same sort of fuel dilution. I'm really happy with it considering it's an A3/B4 oil with a sulphated ash of just 0.9% and a HTHS of 3.6.

If the DPF does end up going it'll be nice to have a much better range of oils. I still really like the look of Mobil1 Turbo Diesel 0w40.

 

[Olas]

Gut & reinstall the case, and map out the regen function.

 

[digireg]

Can it be a leaky injector?