2023 5.0 Used Oil Analysis

[djw.pro]

This UOA was performed at 7700 miles on the truck. Oil was in the engine from 4700 - 7600, roughly 2900 miles on the oil. Keep in mind some wear metals are still there because of the break-in. It takes a while to flush it all out. Many say upwards of 20k miles.

Iron is a little higher than I expected, but this is hard to tell if this has anything to do with wear vs normal break-in. Viscosity held up very well. Right on the edge of being a 30 grade after 3k miles. 0 fuel dilution and additive packs look really good at this mileage. The manganese is coming from a fuel additive most likely. Anyway, I wanted to share these results from my first UOA. I have an engineering background and I've built / balanced a few motors in my life. Always nice to see things wearing in properly and actual data.

I am OZ tuned and I consistently run E40 - E50 fuel. If anyone is interested in doing one of their own, these guys are really good. Lake Speed Jr is a legend in the industry.

https://www.speediagnostix.com/shop...MI8tjcmMHQiAMVTFxHAR30PwhpEAAYASAAEgIJ1PD_BwE


Viscosity chart :
xw-20 = 6.9-9.2 cSt
xw-30 = 9.3-12.4 cSt
xw-40 = 12.5-16.2 cSt
xw-50 = 16.3-21.8 cSt

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[HammaMan]

He's got a great channel full of endless useful info

 

[Mailman]

So, for those results to have any real-world usefulness, wouldn't you have to send in a sample of your oil, fresh from the can, along with the used sample? Otherwise wouldn't you just be looking at series of numbers with no base info? Just asking.................

 

[Samson16]

Likely it’s 3rd oil change in 7600mi, and only 2900 miles on that oil sample. It could have been peanut oil and received a good score.

 

[Samson16]

Is the 40w because you intend to race it?
Do you think I should run the same oil in my 3.5? Is it just better than the OEM recommended viscosity?

 

[djw.pro]

So, for those results to have any real-world usefulness, wouldn't you have to send in a sample of your oil, fresh from the can, along with the used sample? Otherwise wouldn't you just be looking at series of numbers with no base info? Just asking.................

No, but it is important to learn to read the data. Base oil is not going to contain metal, viscosity ranges are already known, as well as fuel dilution or the lack there of, and a general idea of the additive packs. The main purpose of a UOA is looking at the metals that indicate wear. Viscosity and fuel are obviously important as they affect this as well, but for the most part a VOA, or virgin oil analysis is not particularly useful unless you studying a specific oil and want to know the chemistry of that oil. It’s usually pretty easy to find online as well.

Ideally you want to stay under 5 ppm per 1k miles on iron, and 2 - 3 on the other metals. I’m a little higher than that on iron but this is normal on a new engine as it takes some time for it to flush out. Dropping one grade of viscosity is normal too. You want to avoid it getting too thin. Going from a 40 to a 20 is generally not very good and indicates lot of shearing and / or fuel dilution.

Again, the number one concern you are looking at is metals and if the metals are high there are usually other issues such as low viscosity / high dilution that coincide. Also, it’s nice to see the silicon and if there is any coolant present as this can indicate a head gasket issue or an air filtration issue in regards to silicon.

 

[blazef150]

UOA is deffinitely good if your in for the long run too. My work has some very expensive gensets surprisingly they were not doing this along with the other fluids. A 27000 radiator failure changed their mind. 27000 for the radiator only not the labor or extra parts.

 

[djw.pro]

You will probably find this interesting and helpful. The metal in the coolant is creating ground and your are measuring the strength, essentially.

 

[Gros Ventre]

My experience with analysis on a PowerBoost is that Boron & TBN are the elements that deplete the fastest. Fe & other wear products seem to remain fairly constant. Adding a bypass filter has helped with wear products.

 

[SilverSpur]

Back in the day to clear our motors we would warm them up. Drain the oil. Fill with kerosene. Start the motor. Let run for 15 seconds. Then drain the again. We would do a normal oil change 2 more times in that first week. it was done to remove all the sludge. The oils way back then, were not near as good as they are today. We had detergent and non-detergent oil. Cost was big factor. Buying used cars all the time you never knew what oil was used in it.

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

My experience with analysis on a PowerBoost is that Boron & TBN are the elements that deplete the fastest. Fe & other wear products seem to remain fairly constant. Adding a bypass filter has helped with wear products.

Which bypass kit are you running?

 

[Gros Ventre]

Which bypass kit are you running?

Didn't use a kit. Will go take some pictures and show what I did..

 

[Gros Ventre]

Which bypass kit are you running?

Here is my setup. I used a Canton Racing Products in-line fuel filter with 1µ filtration. I asked them if it would work with oil in a bypass arrangement. They said no sweat. I plumbed it with 1/4" hose & -4 AN fittings. I setup a takeoff at a remote filter base I installed and used an orifice (-04AN x 1/8" NPT Thread: Jegs Item Number 231-10289 ). I used that restrictor to reduce flow and to limit the pressure in the lines to the filter. Restricting flow & prssure turnes out to be a good idea since oil system pressure is as high as 100psi.

The return to system setup is a standpipe from a Escape Hybrid oil filler. They have the same "threads" (not really threading but they fit together properly).

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

Here is my setup. I used a Canton Racing Products in-line fuel filter with 1µ filtration. I asked them if it would work with oil in a bypass arrangement. They said no sweat. I plumbed it with 1/4" hose & -4 AN fittings. I setup a takeoff at a remote filter base I installed and used an orifice (-04AN x 1/8" NPT Thread: Jegs Item Number 231-10289 ). I used that restrictor to reduce flow and to limit the pressure in the lines to the filter. Restricting flow & prssure turnes out to be a good idea since oil system pressure is as high as 100psi.

The return to system setup is a standpipe from a Escape Hybrid oil filler. They have the same "threads" (not really threading but they fit together properly).

I’ll give you points for creativity!

How much do you have invested in that setup?

I was looking at the Amsoil kit, but it is $300 on their website (I get preferred pricing since I’m retired military). I’d like to piece a kit from Napa together and just run a 5 micron Wix filter so I can pull a $10-15 filter every 5000 miles and call it good. Fuel dilution worries me…….I have a decent fuel smell in my oil at the 4600 mile mark. I’m installing a dual JLT catch can setup to help, but I’m sure there will still be some fuel in the oil that a bypass kit would definitely help with.

of course this is all just based on my nose, and is almost completely useless without actually having an oil analysis done.

 

[Gros Ventre]

As to the fuel odor... do an oil analysis sample. Fuel dilution is a routine part of that analysis. Sampling and analysis is also part of the method to my madness. There are good systems out there. I do not like the ones where the bypass and main filter are in the same unit, but there is no reason they cannot work properly. I use AmsOil in my truck, so I suppose their system is likely a good one. One reason I use the separate filter setup is I looked and researched filters to find one that was down to 1µ. That led me to the Canton Racing Products filters and housings. This setup also provides me with a good tap off point for oil analysis sampling. I think cost was less than $100 (Precovid) as I've done bypass filtration for 25 years on my engines.

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