Unknown Oil; 2003 Tribute, 3.0 V-6; 6170 miles

Status
Not open for further replies.
A

addyguy

Joined
Sep 8, 2005
Messages
16,037
Location
Canada
1st UOA on my new-to-me 2003 Mazda Tribute.

Vehicle: 2003 Mazda Tribute, 3.0 Duratec DOHC V-6;
Vehicle mileage at oil change: 112,991 miles (180,786km);

Miles on oil: 6,170 miles (9,870km)
Oil brand and grade: Unknown
Oil filter: NAPA ProSelect

Fe 12
Cr 0
Mo 57
Al 2
Cu 3
Pb 0
Sn 0
Ti 1
Ni 0
Ag 1
Si 57
Na 101
K 0
Zn 671
Mg 5
Ph 644
Ba 0

Sulf 27
Oxid 19
Nitr 11

Visc. 8.98cst
TBN 6.50

Fuel, Water, Anti-freeze all 0

Looks good to me. Appears that a 5W-30 was used, not a 5W-20, as after 6k miles, a 5W-30 would shear to about 9cst...also, it appears the vehicle needs a new AF - I haven't even checked it yet!

When I bought the vehicle, the lot claimed they hadn't done an OC on the vehicle, but the oil was literally brand-new when I got it. There is a garage 2 doors down from them that does 'Mobil' oil changes, so my guess is that this is bulk Mobil Clean 5W-30, as Mobil conventional oils use moly and sodium in about these concentrations.
 
Toromont-Cat doesn't test for Boron or Calcium. Price you pay for a $20 UOA. :p
 
This UOA puzzles me a bit, on a couple of fronts.....

TBN is super-high for 6k miles, even though NO top-off was done. About 1k into the interval, I added 1 10-oz can of Wynn's Engine Tune-Up for some cheap cleaning. Oil consumption was maybe 1/4 quart, next to nothing. Driving was a combination of everything - long trips, short trips, idling...etc....

Silicon is super-high, but wear is low. If this was abrasive dirt, you'd expect wear to be higher. Only other explanation is if a gasket or seal was replaced, but no real evidence that was done.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy


Looks good to me. Appears that a 5W-30 was used, not a 5W-20, as after 6k miles, a 5W-30 would shear to about 9cst...




It's possible they used Castrol GTX 5w20 (GTX is a popular bulk oil up here) though, as my ex wife's Civic's UOAs would show GTX 5w20 finishing up close to 9 cst after 5-6k runs.
 
Possible, except GTX doesn't use moly, and I added the Wynn's engine Tune-Up, which is a very, very thin oil additive.

A thin oil additive, plus 6k of driving would not a leave a 9.0 cst oil at 8.98 cst....it just wouldn't.

But I AM suprised a 5W-30 was used - most dealerships, and QL's up here are absolutely ANAL about putting the oil grade in that is on the cap, and nothing else.
 
was the engine detailed before you bought the car? If so, wonder if that could be the source of the silicone--a detailing product maybe??
 
Not that I know of, but it had been oil-sprayed at some time recently, and there is fresh undercoating in the engine bay and underneath.

As wear is low, I'm not too worried about it - I will be replacing the air filter soon, whether it needs it or not to start fresh with that, and we'll see if that helps.
 
Originally Posted By: addyguy
Possible, except GTX doesn't use moly, and I added the Wynn's engine Tune-Up, which is a very, very thin oil additive.

A thin oil additive, plus 6k of driving would not a leave a 9.0 cst oil at 8.98 cst....it just wouldn't.



You never know, it could have thinned out to 8cst at the halfway point of the interval and has been thickening up from that point on.

As far as the moly goes, I didn't realize GTX had now removed it from it's latest formula, but it's also possible that the moly was leftover from the previous oil before that.
 
It's possible the dealership did not change the oil, but topped it off with their bulk oil... Or perhaps the previous owner topped it off in fear that they would check the dipstick when they traded it in and they wanted the oil to look fresh. This could explain the high TBN from a fresh quart or two.
 
The oil in this vehicle was definetly not topped-off old oil.

When I test-drove it, I checked the oil - it was was almsot completely clear, not a hint of colour or debris in it.

I asked the salesguy if they had changed the oil, to find out what they used. He said they hadn't changed it, they only change oil on a car if it is really dirty - they just check to make sure the level is right.

With how new the oil was, AND looking at the add pack, I'm betting one of his associates took the car when they got it to the garage next door, and got a el-cheapo Mobil bulk oil change, so the car would have fresh oil in it, and just didn't tell the guy I dealt with.

IF the oil had been dark or dirty at all when I got this car, I would have changed it right away and started fresh. The only reason I left it for 6k is I had absolutely no doubt that the oil in the engine was brand-new.
 
I don't know how you felt comfortable leaving an oil of unknown quality in your new-to-you car for 6,000 miles. I would have made a mess in my pants by then.
grin.gif
 
Easily. I was 100% it was brand-new oil, there was no way it had any miles on it, and ANY modern SM/SN oil is good for 5-6k easily.

I did keep a close eye on it, and if it had turned really dark or black a little while after I bought it, I would have changed it. But it stayed a nice clear gold colour for the whole interval, and was only dark at change time.

Heck, I almost feeld bad for changing an oil that still had 6.5 TBN! First thought was 'darn, I could have run that longer!

:p
 
I guess I think differently, with the last two used cars I have bought, my Corvette and the Civic, I changed the oil within the first 24 hours of owning them, even though I knew for sure the oil in both cases was completely fresh.

But I was just too anxious to start using my own oils and begin the process of doing UOAs with these new (to me) vehicles. And in the case of the Corvette, I also wasn't confident that the Infiniti/Nissan dealer I bought it from was going to spend the higher $$$ to put synthetic oil in there, they most likely just used their own bulk dino to save money, so I had to make sure my LS1 had the right oil in it.
 
Duratecs are really easy on oil. Worst case scenario, this is something like bulk SJ-spec 10W-30 - it will STILL do 5k, in the summer, in this engine with ease.

I had NO worries, and I had no reason to!
 
Originally Posted By: Patman
I guess I think differently, with the last two used cars I have bought, my Corvette and the Civic, I changed the oil within the first 24 hours of owning them, even though I knew for sure the oil in both cases was completely fresh.

But I was just too anxious to start using my own oils and begin the process of doing UOAs with these new (to me) vehicles. And in the case of the Corvette, I also wasn't confident that the Infiniti/Nissan dealer I bought it from was going to spend the higher $$$ to put synthetic oil in there, they most likely just used their own bulk dino to save money, so I had to make sure my LS1 had the right oil in it.


ahem.. was it the PATMAN FLUSH?
lol.gif
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

J
Mobil1 Euro FS 0w-40 SP, 5100 miles, 02 C5
Replies
4
Views
2K
jetman
Emperors6
Mobil 1 0W-40, 8.4k mi OCI, 144k mi, 2013 Cadillac CTS-V
2
Replies
21
Views
3K
Emperors6
W
Mazda 2.5T Oil Selection
Replies
2
Views
446
drtyler
C
VW VR6 3.6 502.00 v. 504.00
2
Replies
27
Views
2K
SureshR
Mewbs
STP S2808XL - Cut open - Unknown miles - 1 Year.
Replies
13
Views
1K
fantastic
Back
Top