2006 Duramax, M1 TDT, 15.5Kmi

[DNVDMAX]

Well, I'm not happy with this UOA.

I'm going to pull the tune, run for 5k, dump it, run for 5k and sample w/o changing it, then go from there.

Maybe I should go back to Baldwin filters and RT6.

Filter used: NAPA Platinum
Fuel Additive: Diesel Kleen Silver about every other tank, 8-10 ounces to a 26 gallon tank.

I'll inspect my intake tract and air filter.

I need to find out what is causing the high soot which is likely contributing to the high viscosity @ 100C.

Suggestions?

Code:


MI/HR on Oil 15,592 10,746 21,466 13,893

MI/HR on Unit 143,047 127,455 106,671 85,205

Sample Date 05/03/17 08/10/14 01/13/14 03/05/12

Oil M1 TDT 5W-40 Rotella T5 10w-30 Rotella T6 5w-40 Rotella T6 5w-40



Make Up Oil Added 0 qts 0 qts .5 qts (Filter) 0 qts



ALUMINUM 4 4 6 6

CHROMIUM 2
IRON 47 49 24 34

COPPER 4 3 4 14

LEAD 4 2 1 0

TIN 3 2 2 3

MOLYBDENUM 2 3 67 62

NICKEL 4
MANGANESE Not Tested Not Tested Not Tested 1

SILVER
TITANIUM
POTASSIUM
BORON 43 15 23 38

SILICON 13 11 6 8

SODIUM 8 5 10 4

CALCIUM 1354 2517 860 970

MAGNESIUM 990 50 1171 1258

PHOSPHORUS 1185 1091 1070 1098

ZINC 1385 1254 1312 1309

BARIUM




SUS Viscosity @ 210°F Not Tested Not Tested Not Tested 77.3

cSt Viscosity @ 100°C 17.0 12.7 15.0 14.84

Flashpoint in °F Not Tested Not Tested Not Tested 420

Fuel %
Antifreeze % No No No 0.0

Water %
Insolubles % 1.6 0.5 0.3 0.1

TBN 7.0 6.1 7.2 8.3

 

[Cujet]

3ppm Fe per 1000 miles is completely normal. Especially with a tune. I'd change oil more often than 15K, but the wear numbers are OK.

I don't find it surprising that the soot levels have climbed so high, blow-by increases with age, and increases with the type of use. You have a trend that direction. And, as many have found out, oil filtering and additives affect Insolubles. The solution is easy enough, more frequent oil changes.

 

[dnewton3]

Napa Plat filter is the same as the Wix XP; syn media made for LONG OCIs with a beta not even listed. And the XP/NP efficiency isn't as good on those as their "normal" Wix/NG filters which are at 2/20 = 6/20 (their generic rating).

The soot is likely what is causing higher Fe wear. The wear is not "bad"; it's not atrocious. But it's higher than what you've seen in the past. You went from Fe 1ppm/1k miles in Jan 2014 to now at 3ppm/1k miles. That's a wear shift. Again - not horrible, but also being caused by something.

Stock LBZ engines won't see this, but since you're tuned, and I have no idea how hard you drive it, it's possible that your tuning/use is creating a lot of excess incompletely-burned fuel.

I doubt it's the oil itself; you've used T6, T5 and now M1-TDT. The Fe wear was even higher with the T5, overall.

I'd stay the course, and only change one thing at a time. Change back to the Baldwin if you want, or try a "normal" Wix/MG filter. See what difference that may or may not make. Don't shot-gun this approach; don't change a bunch of stuff all at once. You'll never know what the cause is if you blast away with a bunch of changes all at once. You have several variables you can play with here: tuning, lube, filter, UOA duration. Keep things steady, pick ONE variable to manipulate, then test. Repeat until you find the one variable that has noticeable effect. Once you find the suspected culprit, you should be able to turn the effect on/off by manipulating the input, thereby confirming your diagnosis.

 

[4x4le]

Do you stay in boost by say at least 3psi when traveling at highway speeds? I have seen some tuners have overlooked what the turbo is actually doing at normal highway speeds (50-60) due to what they are having the vane position do for a more controlled launch. My hot tune is somewhat guilty of this but its a good excuse for me to not ride around in it.

I would be curious to see what your boost and fuel rail pressure is at lower load highway driving.

 

[DNVDMAX]

Thanks for the input. All of you really talked me off the ledge, so I didn't take the shotgun approach. I left the tune in it and replaced the NAPA platinum filter with a HM9100 Fram since that is all I had on hand until I visit the local Fleet Pride for some Baldwins. I currently have 800 mi on this oil change. I did some data logging while cruising on level ground.

Rail and boost pressure.

@60
Rail ~9500
Boost 1.0-1.3

@70
Rail ~10500
Boost 1.3-1.5

@80
Rail ~11900
Boost 1.7-1.8

Floored
Rail 28700
Boost 43.2

Parked idle
Rail ~7100
Vac 3.0 in (Don't know if this is normal)

AFE 7-Layer drop-in replacement air filter was really dirty with about a 1/4 inch coat of oil and dirt. The restriction gauge did not indicate a significant restriction. It may be possibly broken.

Turbo is Garrett a Stage 2 4094 Variable Vane drop in.

 

[4x4le]

On most older non vgt turbos you will see 5+ psi at hwy speeds even if you are not hauling. Most vgt equipped vehicles you will see 3-5psi on flat land at 60 mph. I dont know if this is contributing to soot accumulation in your case but it is apparent that either the tuning is calling for less boost at that load or tbe tuni g isn't accounting for the different turbo as well as it could.
Off the top of my head, my lmm is usually about 60% vane position and 5-7 psi @ 60mph. Its hard to have set in stone numbers because it is so hilly here in Tennessee Im usually going up or down.

On my "hot" tune which isnt near as hot as many like (i had some fuel removed from it because i dont care to have the fastest 8000lb truck on the block) the same conditions will produce a vane position in the 20s and 1 psi along with higher egts.
I have left it in that tune for for over 1k miles before but I find i just dont like it for normal driving and I can just flip the switch to it when needed. I havent had elevated soot but most of my driving is not done in that tune.

Vac at idle is normal on your truck. There is a throttle like thing for emissions or something, i think it plays a larger roll on dpf trucks but i think it works with the egr on earlier ones.