Amsoil Series 3000 5W-30, 12229 mi, 2001 Isuzu Trooper

[Bobby Johnson]

Amsoil Series 3000 5W-30
Oil filters: EaO15 & EaBP90
Installation date for Oil and Filters: 2/20/06
Oil added: Approx. 24 oz
Trooper mileage at time of test: 89358
Amount of miles on oil: 12229
Analyzed by: OAI
Fuel Additives: FP60 added at every fillup.

Iron 9
Chromium 1
Lead 1
Copper 51
Tin 0
Aluminum 4
Nickel 0
Silver 0
Silicon 0
Boron 4
Sodium 9
Magnesium 21
Calcium 2465
Barium 0
Phosphorus 1012
Zinc 1294
Molybdenum 27
Titanium 0
Vanadium 0
Potassium 0

Fuel %VOL VIS @ 100 C cSt 10.38
Water %VOL 0
Soot/Solids N/A
Coolant NO
TBN 2.54
Nitration 26
Oxidation 25

OAI recommendation: Total Base Number is low. Change oil and filters. If not done when sampled resample at next regular interval.

My comments: Prior to using this oil, I was using Amsoil's Series 2000 0W-30 with Lube Control's LC20 added every 1000 miles. I did not like how the Series 2000 seemed to deteriorate so quickly so I ran an Auto-Rx cleaning and rinse cycle. I then installed the Series 3000 and had just topped 12000 miles at the time of the oil analysis.
The first 3200 miles of the Series 3000 accumulated on a trip to Denver, CO. in late Feb. of this year. Once I returned I had to add 24 oz. of oil to bring the oil level back up to the full mark on the dipstick. For some reason I had lost the oil on my trip. The Trooper did not consume oil after this time period.
Upon looking at the analysis, the TBN and copper levels are the only ones that seem really out of whack. My main question about this oil is why is it depleted after just over 4 months and 12000 miles of use? I would have thought that it would have lasted a little bit longer, at least meeting Amsoil's Severe Sevice recommendation. What do you all think about this analysis?

Bobby Johnson

 

[Pablo]

Si = 0? Well that's a good thing.

I would venture to guess that you still have some cleaning going on (consumption) and perhaps you have a crankcase breathing issue (diagnose), or you engine is somehow making a lot of acidic products (high copper and lowered TBN).

I say that contacting Terry Dyson would be good, and stick with the same oil a couple intervals to see if Cu goes down and TBN stays up.

 

[Bobby Johnson]

Pablo,
Sorry for the mistake. The silicon actually had a value of 10. I was glancing at the report while typing and thought the silver's value was also the silicon's as well.

Let me also clarify a certain point while I am on the board. While I did "dope" the Series 2000 with LC20, the Series 3000 did not have LC20 added to it at any point.

 

[dkryan]

I'm wondering if the copper level is due to the Auto-Rx? I've used Frank's product for a "wash and rinse" and continue to use it as a maintenance dose. But, after having rinsed my '01 I30, I sampled that rinse oil (P-zoil dino 5w30) and while my lead levels had dropped noticeably (hooray!), my copper had spiked.

What's your oil sump capacity?

 

[ARB1977]

Ill be courious what kind of numbers i get when its time to analyize my Series 3000 in my 2002 Tacoma. I havent hit 1000 miles yet but plan on doing a uoa at the 10K mark. This will be my first so well see.

 

[Bobby Johnson]

dkryan,
My oil sump capacity is about 7 qts.

TRDUSA2002,
From what I have seen of other Toyota engines on this forum, you should be very happy with results. Since I don't see too many Series 3000 analysis reports on this board, I would be interested in seeing yours. Another thing is that I don't think I have ever seen a Series 3000 report with a Toyota engine. Please consider sharing your report when it becomes available.

Thanks,
Bobby

 

[Brons2]

This seems like a very good report, other than the copper being high. Iron and lead wear are very, very low for 12K miles. If you get get the copper under control and some TBN retention...go farther!

 

[ARB1977]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Bobby Johnson:
dkryan,
My oil sump capacity is about 7 qts.

TRDUSA2002,
From what I have seen of other Toyota engines on this forum, you should be very happy with results. Since I don't see too many Series 3000 analysis reports on this board, I would be interested in seeing yours. Another thing is that I don't think I have ever seen a Series 3000 report with a Toyota engine. Please consider sharing your report when it becomes available.

Thanks,
Bobby

---

Absolutly bobby no sweat. Ive been using it now for the last 15K or so. During that time my truck was under warrenty so i was changing it every 5K and now that ive moved from califonia to texas i felt the need to change it with only 5K on the oil. Now that im here i plan on going 10K on this batch...so well see.

 

[TooSlick]

All your UOA's are showing fairly rapid oil degradation. So I suspect this rate of oil contamination is simply characteristic for this engine, under the conditions. I'd still check to make sure the plugs and air filter are in good shape and that the PCV and EGR valves are functioning normally. But I wouldn't expect a dramatic increase in service intervals.

The copper is most likely leaching or some chemical interaction with the ARX. It could also be elevated from first time use of this particular formulation.

I'd run the same oil again and test it after 10k-12k miles and see if the results are consistent. This oil does seem be maintaining a more stable viscosity than the older Series 2000 formulation did, so it's probably the better choice here.

TS

 

[Bobby Johnson]

TooSlick,
Thanks for the information. I will be changing out the oil tomorrow and plan to use the Series 3000 again. I made the decision to try the HDD when somebody on this board made a convincing argument about how the HDD was a better choice for severe service over the S2000. After one service interval, I do prefer the S3000 over the S2000.

The plugs, air filter, PCV, and EGR valves were all checked by me prior to the Series 3000 being installed in the engine. If the results are the same after this second run on the Series 3000, I will look more closely at the possibilty that rapid oil degredation is normal for my vehicle and driving conditions. (On a side note, my Trooper is rated by the EPA at 15 mpg city and 19 mpg highway. My driving conditions consist of about 25% city and 75% rural with AC on 95%-98% of the time. My fuel economy for the last two tanks came in at 20.2 mpg and 20.8 mpg.)

I can deal with and be happy using the Series 3000 over the 10k-12k mile interval as long there is nothing mechanically wrong my vehicle. With my fuel economy as strong as it is, I am not inclined to think that the oil degradation is related to mechanical issues at this point.

I will consider Pablo's suggestion about using Terry Dyson's services sometime during the next 10k-12k miles while on the second S3000 interval.

Thank you to all who responded with your thoughts and suggestions. I appreciated hearing from you.

Till the next report,
Bobby

 

[TooSlick]

Bobby,

You mentioned that the engine pings consistently. This can increase bearing wear, since the fuel is igniting too early during the compression stroke and driving loads into the main & rod bearings.

Pinging can also be the result of very high cylinder head temps. Elevated combustion temps would increase the formation of NOx in the exhaust which would degrade the oil more rapidly through nitration, ie the formation of nitric acid.

TS

 

[Bobby Johnson]

TooSlick,
Good to hear from you again. Yes, the engine would ping quite a bit. And yes, the engine did ping over all three analysis reports that I posted here. I did not like it, however, the owner's manual said light pinging should be considered normal engine operation.

On a very interesting side note, I was on a road trip the other day and had to fill up my vehicle with BP premium. Now, this was unusual because I have been a loyal Shell fan ever since I started driving about ten years ago. I was also using Shell's V-Power since that was the octane that my Trooper pinged the least on.

Imagine my surprise when almost immediately I noticed that my Trooper no longer pinged. I stomped on the accelerator many times during the trip home in order to try and make the Trooper ping. I was unable to make it ping one time.

Upon arriving home I was so excited about this newest development that I posted the following topic over in the additives section: Amsoil, fuel brand, and engine pinging

Please take a look at it if you have a minute. I think you partially answered my questions with your most recent response to this topic.

Thanks again,
Bobby Johnson

 

[Geoff]

We have a Trooper as well ('99). The EGR and PCV system is pretty susceptible to clogging in my experience. I remove the EGR and spray Sea Foam, a great de-carbonizer, down the pipes. The EGR is at the back of the engine mounted vertically behind the intake manifold and fastened with two bolts.

Taking the front of the intake plenum off where the throttle butterfly is will expose the other end of the EGR tube. It is about 1/4" and clogs easily. Cleaning it out might help your pinging.

 

[Patman]

quote:

---

Originally posted by TooSlick:
Bobby,

You mentioned that the engine pings consistently. This can increase bearing wear, since the fuel is igniting too early during the compression stroke and driving loads into the main & rod bearings.

---

It doesn't seem to be hurting the bearings in this report.

 

[427Z06]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Patman:
It doesn't seem to be hurting the bearings in this report.

---

Without knowing the composition of the bearings, that may be a premature conclusion.

 

[427Z06]

That still doesn't change the fact that this is a DOHC V6 with several other bearings besides the main and con rod bearings. No telling where any of the lead is coming from until you know the composition of all the bearings.

 

[TooSlick]

The previous UOA of this engine showed 14 ppm of Pb and 23 ppm of Cu after 6200 miles - roughly 50% of the interval here and also with the bypass filter installed.

The elevated Pb is not longer present in this analysis, but the rate of Cu wear is about the same.

Bobby,

Does this engine have a conventional oil cooler?


TS

 

[TooSlick]

If you go back to the original posts, you'll see this engine had a coolant leakage issue. Those early tests showed evidience of high bearing wear and deposits within the engine. Fixing the leak and using ARX seems to have cleaned this engine up nicely.

I'd look at other UOAs of this engine, take into account the number of miles on them and see if this Cu level is out of line, given the metallurgy of this motor.

TS

 

[427Z06]

quote:

---

Originally posted by TooSlick:
The previous UOA of this engine showed 14 ppm of Pb and 23 ppm of Cu after 6200 miles - roughly 50% of the interval here and also with the bypass filter installed.

The elevated Pb is not longer present in this analysis, but the rate of Cu wear is about the same.

---

So? You still don't know where the lead came from.

 

[TooSlick]

Pb in this type of situation is typically from the babbit overlay material on the main/rod bearings. These are easily damaged from the acidic sludge caused when EG combines chemically with engine oil.

Of course, excessive use of fuel additives can also cause elevated Pb levels, but there's no reason to believe that's the case here.

TS