Originally Posted By: Boatowner
I don't get why someone would pay around $ 40,000 for a pickup and then decide oil changes were not necessary. Ford says the engine is sludged. That wouldn't happen with Delo or Rotella 15w-40 changed at the recommended intervals, allowing for severe duty service. I can't see where you have a complaint against Ford since you abused your engine and violated the warranty conditions. Even a synthetic usually has some dino carriers in it that could be subject to sludging from overuse and overheating.
Let me explain, the oil changes are necessary if you do not perform UOA, otherwise stick to the FORD OCI.
In my case I used UOA to determine oil condition before a change, the sludge that is present in my engine is not from cooked oil! it is smooth like jello, not your traditional gritty caked on sludge, it actually washes right off, the FORD mechanic showed me how easily it washed off.
The sludge is from coolant entering the engine oil plain and simple.
Quote:
When a sudden increase in sodium is observed, the analyst needs to be aware of other common sources. These include: salt and saltwater, grease, dirt, fly ash, sodium hydroxide, etc. For this reason, other members of the coolant additive family may be needed to confirm the contaminant is antifreeze, such as boron, potassium, silicon and phosphorous, bearing in mind that some of these elements may also be oil additives
My sodium is significant 424PPM
Quote:
In general, glycol above 200 ppm in most cases is considered reportable. Levels greater than 400 ppm should be regarded as significant and levels as high as 1,000 ppm flagged as critical.
2 weeks before my truck turbo failed I had to add 2 gallons of coolant, no external leak found.
Quote:
Quoting again from the report by the Fleetguard division of Cummins Engine, “Oil samples will sometimes have several hundreds parts per million sodium, yet there will be no moisture or glycol present. The amount of sodium indicates that at least a gallon of coolant has leaked into the crankcase, but there is no sign of it (other than the sodium).” Cummins summarizes by saying, “Our experience is that the most reliable indicator of coolant leakage is the sodium level of the filter paper ash followed by the level of the sodium in the oil.” Due to the loss of sodium from oil consumption or by insoluble sodium captured by the oil filter (80 to 90 percent of the total sodium that has leaked into the crankcase in some instances), an increase in sodium in the oil by as little as 50 ppm can mean as much as one gallon of coolant has leaked into a 10 gallon (38 L) lube oil system.