WalMart Super Tech 10W40, 7,643 mi,04 Chrysler 2.7

[74DartSport]

My engine is tired and noisy, oil pressure at 3,000 rpm hot is 15% below spec so I'm using this to prop it up. I'm sure the quart every thousand miles kept the TBN up. Using a Baldwin B233 filter for a little more capacity without protruding below the oil pan.
Code:
MI on Oil 7,643

MI on Unit 170,460

Sample Date 10/21/13

Make Up Oil Added 7 quarts

Oil Type WM Super Tech 10W40



Universal Avgs

ALUMINUM 3 3

CHROMIUM 1 1

IRON 23 15

COPPER 4 14

LEAD 0 0

TIN 0 1

MOLYBDENUM 30 72

NICKEL 1 0

MANGANESE 1 2

SILVER 0 0

TITANIUM 0 0

POTASSIUM 2 1

BORON 14 59

SILICON 6 10

SODIUM 322 38

CALCIUM 2045 2157

MAGNESIUM 11 72

PHOSPHORUS 847 673

ZINC 924 788

BARIUM 0 0



SUS Viscosity @ 210°F 66.7

cSt Viscosity @ 100°C 12.06

Flashpoint in °F 405

Fuel %
Antifreeze % ?

Water % 0.0

Insolubles 0.2

TBN 2.8

I'm going to try to stop some of the external leaks soon, redoing the valve seals would be nice but not going to happen.

 

[mattwithcats]

Be warned, the 2.7 Crysler "LH" engine is prone to oil sludge....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_LH_engine

 

[dnewton3]

I don't have a lot of data on this engine, but looking at the info you posted shows this is probabaly "average" all around.

The Fe is probably in-line with what can be expected for the miles driven. You're probably 50% over the typical "average" UOA duration, and so your Fe being 50% over is very normal. The Cu, Al and Pb are all really low; no wear there.

If this is a sludger engine, then I'd cut back the OCIs unless you do other checks (visual under valve cover, filter dissection, etc). You can also possibly avoid some sludge formulation by using ARX, but that is not an assurance.

 

[Trav]

This is the sludge engine and no additive i have tried including the one mentioned will prevent it nor will it clean it.
I work on a lot of sludge prone engines and have seen the sludge building faster than the additives can clean it when run on dino oil.

Hot spots in the engine, poorly designed PCV systems and high NOAK oils don't seem to mix well in sludge/deposit prone engines.

Mobil 1 0w40, ESP 5w30, PU, etc does help to keep them clean as does Rotella T6 5w40.
I would probably try the Rotella T6 based on price, it cost only a few dollars more than dino.

 

[CharBaby]

Iron is a bit high and deffinately cut back on the OCI. Sodium is also high. Could be the ST oil! Are you adding coolant regularly?

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Iron is a bit high and deffinately cut back on the OCI. Sodium is also high. Could be the ST oil! Are you adding coolant regularly?



Iron isn't high. Iron accumulates with miles. As Dnewton stated he went 2500 miles over the mileage the averages are factored with so in reality he's pretty much dead on the average,within a few ppm anyways.
Had he used a syn and ran it to 10000 miles the iron would have gotten close to 30 which is double the average based on a 5000 mile drain.

OP. There is of course no better way to stop the leaking than fixing the worn parts however if you want an additive that'll slow the bleeding until you can get it fixed I suggest you try motor oil saver by liqui-moly. It's made from DI-esters and contains boron which should help in the tbn and sludge department as well.
Napa carries it. 6 or 7 bucks. It might help tide you over until you can fix it,or replace it.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Most of the reason they sludge is the internal water pump.

 

[95busa]

If it ain't sludged at 170k whatever you are doing is working A-Ok

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: Miller88
Most of the reason they sludge is the internal water pump.


With water at 0.0%? I have seen these engines with sludge and zero coolant loss. Sure with this type of pump its also a possibility.
We dont even know if his engine is sludged or not. The reply was in regard to the use of an additive IF it was.

 

[rshaw125]

170000 on a Chrysler sludge monster. wow.A complete piece of junk if there ever was one.
By 2004 they had upgraded the PCV system. When I had mine even with 3000 mile oil changes the oil was destroyed. I was never happier to see a car disappear around the corner forever. Now my 3.5 Intrepid was sorely missed.

 

[ledslinger]

Originally Posted By: dnewton3
I don't have a lot of data on this engine, but looking at the info you posted shows this is probabaly "average" all around.

The Fe is probably in-line with what can be expected for the miles driven. You're probably 50% over the typical "average" UOA duration, and so your Fe being 50% over is very normal. The Cu, Al and Pb are all really low; no wear there.

If this is a sludger engine, then I'd cut back the OCIs unless you do other checks (visual under valve cover, filter dissection, etc). You can also possibly avoid some sludge formulation by using ARX, but that is not an assurance.


My 2000 Concorde 2.7 had decent care at the dealer until I got it at 58K miles. Since I've owned it I've done quality synth for 5K miles OCI. Based on filter dissection and oil fill hole view, this has cleaned the engine, which wasn't dirty or sludged when I got it. I did get black carbon grit in the filter for a while, but that is gone and the filter stays clean now.

My PVC system looks pretty sophisticated with some coolant piping running to a chamber that might be to deal with condensation. I assume this is a recall addition. The PCV valve stays clean and gets changed at short intervals.

Since I have observed the cleaning done by the 5K miles synth runs, I wondered if I could go to a normal interval now. I think I will still be on the conservative side of interval, but might stretch a bit if there are lots of highway miles on an OCI.

The 2.7 engine isn't horrible, as long as all is well, and I don't believe the designers were fools or inept. It may have been a case like many, where more torture testing would have revealed bugs such as the water pump gasket and the timing chain tensioner.

Chrysler's reaction to the problem, by internet accounts, was to put the blame mostly on customers, and none on themselves. If I'd had one of these engines fail in warranty with all maintenance followed and they didn't cover it, I'd never buy anything from them again.

When operating properly, which mine has for 100K miles (knock on wood) It is smooth, has adequate power, and is economical. My car is likely in what is considered the full size class, and regularly gets 29-30 MPG on the highway in preferred conditions. It likes summer gas, 65 degrees ambient (no AC on) and running at continuous speed on the highway. Short trips in cold weather on winter gas knocks it down to about 24 MPG. Not horrible.

I had a hot idle light flicker with some Xw-30s and started running 0W-40 and 5W-40s with BMW LL certifications. The heavier viscosity hasn't caused any negatives, and the engine seems good on it. With the OP's consumption, I think Super Tech 10W40 is a good choice. But I'd go to shorter intervals, even though topping off renews additives.

 

[74DartSport]

PCV system on this unit has a heater. I average 25½ MPG, and with the M/T I do wind it up sometimes for fun. I think I'll pull the valve covers and put a 2.7 Stop Block in it for grins.
The limited research I've done points to some bad oil pumps in early 04. Since mine was built in Jan 03 it might be. Next change maybe I'll drop the pan. I was contemplating having a set of rod bearings ready to go when I did that but now I'll just drop the pan and see what's what.

 

[webfors]

valve cover pics FTW!

 

[Norm Olt]

It would seem that many engines, like virtually all the carbon-based life-forms on this, the 3rd planet from the Sun, operate on a BELL-SHAPED CURVE...

In other words, "YOUR RESULTS MAY VARY".

I'd say 170K & 25+ mpg on a 2.7 (or virtually any other engine) is a pretty good run, "sludge-monster" or not. I wouldn't change a thing, except, possibly, the oil & filter a little more often.

My Mom's last car, a RWD '83 DeVille, has the much maligned HT4100 aluminum V8 and the TH-2004R automatic. To my knowledge both engine and transmission have never been "opened-up" (of course, after 30+ years new valve cover gaskets and peripheral parts like water pump, solinoids, etc. have been done), never removed from the car, and it now has 100K+ miles and still gets 23 in town and 29 on the highway. These engines were known to go South very early in their application for Cadillac, but soon morphed into the transverse 4.5 and then 4.9 used in the FWD Caddys until the advent of the NorthStars a decade later!

I'm positive there are many Toyota owners out ther who had absolutely no problems with their "sludge-monster" I-4 & V6's: thousands of Honda owners who never had a single problem with an automatic transmission, etc.

Maybe even 5 or 6 LeCar and Trabant owners...


OOoooopppppps! I guess I lost control there, for a moment!

Cheers!