ofelas

Thought this might be interesting - proof that our old engines don't need ultra modern gizmos to run clean & strong -

Truck was run on 15w40 all its life.

Motor, turbo & injectors/injector pump were disassembled, cleaned and put back together at 83k miles along with a frame up restoration, tranny, transfer case, axles, brakes, cooling system etc.

Now has Amsoil HDD 5W30 with Amsoil EaO80 filter & Donaldson air filter for about 5k miles. No make up oil was used.

MILES ON SAMPLE: 5122
MILES ON TRUCK: 88484
IRON: 11
CHROMIUM: 1
NICKEL: 0
ALUMINUM: 2
COPPER: 8
LEAD: 5
TIN: 0
CADMIUM: 0
SILICON: 4
SODIUM: 0
POTASSIUM: 2
MOLYBDENUM: 0
BORON: 0
MAGNESIUM: 29
CALCIUM: 3865
PHOSPHORUS: 1234
ZINC: 1508
FUEL: .2%
VIS @ 100 C, cSt 11.59
WATER: 0
TBN: 10.42
OXID: 7.0
NITR: 6.0
SOOT: .1%
_________________________
81 W150-318 TBI/9.5:1/pure 91/ZRT/EaO42
01 Ram-360 Kenne Bell/pure 91/ATM/EaO42
91 W250-CTD/HDD/EaO80
62 Savoy LW-413 MW-SS/13.5:1/VP110/RD30/EaO15

Mike L

Hi! I'm not terribly up to speed on interpreting oil analysis so please forgive me. Clearly some of these numbers like soot, water, fuel are self explanatory and they look really good. Could you elaborate though on some of the others for me such as:
MAGNESIUM: 29
CALCIUM: 3865
PHOSPHORUS: 1234
ZINC: 1508

These numbers are good too? Do they represent relative wear on the internal engine parts? Any illumination that you could provide for me, the not so smart one, would be appreciated!

Cheers!

Mike

ofelas

Hi Mike,

This is my first oil analysis - I'm more of a "rebuild a worn engine" guy.

I think the Calcium, Phosphorous & Zinc are flat tappet anti wear & cleaning agents in CI+4 diesel engine oil, so high levels = good quality oil.

I do know that the soot, water (coolant) and fuel values are quite low which is a good thing.

Was hoping someone more knowledgable with the results could interpret.

Rick 12v CTD

most of that stuff is in PPM

silicon is indicative of air contaminants. that low of a silicon is REALLY good for that analysis after 5k miles.

high aluminum will show rod or main bearing wear. High iron will show cylinder or cam journal wear

If I'm underatanding the quantities right, the antiwear in that oil (zinc especially) is a quality amount.

That oil doesn't even need to be changed.

No idea what magnesium is about.

It's always a good idea to send away 2 samples for oil analysis. One of new, clean oil that you're running, and one sample of the used oil with the mileage. that way you know what the exact amounts of each element/compound are in the oil by itself. It helps determine if an issue is present. As we know, not all oils are created equal. That oil has a 4PPM silicon which is really low, especially after being run for 5000 miles. While some oils right off the shelf might have 15 or 20PPM silicon. With the oil that has a naturally higher silicon # you might get your oil analysis back and it's at 20PPM and you're thinking it's time to change your oil and your filter, but what you didn't know is that it had 17PPM silicon right off the shelf. It can be misleading at times. a 3PPM silicon contamination is absolutely nothing to worry about.

NISMOramAE86

whats the cost to run an oil sample?

ofelas

Thx Rick.

Oram - I believe its between $10-$20 but I'm not sure, as my buddy had an oil sample prepaid kit that he gave me.

This was my first oil sample, I generally build carefully & monitor fluids. All because I hammer the skinny pedal :-D

bigragu

Contact Blackstone Labs. Their tests are $20 and they send you by mail and email the results of your sample, with comparisons of yours to what they deem as normal readings. They even comment on what they feel may be the cause for above average readings, should you have any. Last time I sent in my oil and ATF samples and they said that they hoped I treated my spouse as good as I do my truck!!! You can request a 4 pack of test kits- free and free delivery. Just $20 per sample to test

MrFusion

I agree with Bigragu. I sent a sample to them and they sent me a detailed analysis with their interpretation of what the numbers mean. Pretty quick turn around too.

ofelas

Here's a minor update - finally got around to installing an oil pressure gauge on this motor.

I have been told that a 5W30 is way too thin to run year round in a Cummins, but I hear the 5W30 HDD is a well thought of 100% synthetic CI+4 diesel oil.

Cold idle - 65 psi

Hot idle - 32 psi

Hot cruise - 50 psi

Numbers look good to me even though the oil pours & drains pretty thin.

j_martin

What's your idle RPM?

ofelas

770 in drive

oliver foster

I love the very specific RPM number.

The '62 Savoy with the 413 big block with 13.5 to 1 compression in your signature caught my eye as well.

jimbo486

32psi of oil pressure at hot idle? I'd be a little concerned. Even though Cummins spec says a minimum of 30psi, that's teetering.

High aluminum would indicate piston wear. Not so much as rod or main bearing wear as Cummins rod and main bearings are typically a tri-metal bearing made up of copper sandwiched between a steel backing and a babbit coating on the wear surface.

As noted in the comments of my oil analysis, silicon can also be indicitive of the presence of coolant. It could be from a silicon sealant used somewhere that sloughed off. However, in my case, potassium levels were low, so the possibility of coolant in my sample was very low. Potassium is another indicator of coolant.

Here are the results from the latest oil analysis for my pile. Mileage is estimated. It could be 500k+, I really have no idea. All I know is that my grandfather, the PO, drove it a lot!

I have another sample from last week's oil change, ready to send off. We'll see what's change, if anything.

j_martin

I've seen minimum at idle spec'd at 10 - 13 psi, and full speed minimum at 30 psi. That is, of course, end of life minimums indicating maintenance is needed. (assuming 15W-40 oil)

Of more concern is film strength when hot. If a film failure occurs, it's all over but the shouting in short order.

Amazing things can be had in synthetics. For instance Alisyn makes a 0 weight gear lube that has a higher film strength than 75W fluids, and the same Alisyn fluid is canned as 0-20 engine oil. The gear lube in the LU of a Mercury Outboard racing engine is almost required to win any races. LU's under extreme stress with Alisyn lube in them are as reliable as LU's with Mercury Synthetic heavy stuff.

One of the major functions for oil in the Cummins BT engines is piston cooling. The extremely low viscosity would put that function on steroids.

jimbo486

Maybe high speed is what I was thinking of. I'll have to glance at my Shop Manual again.