Just a check up. Been loosing coolant.. wonder where it's going?
Low vis again, wear looks great. OLM said about 13%.
Low vis again, wear looks great. OLM said about 13%.
Shell 10w30, 7,500 miles, '01 SSEi
- Thread starter Virtuoso
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Nice results! Tell me if Formula Shell conventional or synthetic used for your run?
Thanks for posting.
Thanks for posting.
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Conventional. $2/quart from Menards on sale
$2 QS3387A oil filter. K&N-style rock-catcher fitted to a Thrasher intake.
I was considering replacing the filter with a typical paper media cone but... after these two UOA's I'm not sure I'll bother for a while.
$2 QS3387A oil filter. K&N-style rock-catcher fitted to a Thrasher intake.
I was considering replacing the filter with a typical paper media cone but... after these two UOA's I'm not sure I'll bother for a while.
I think 7-8k OCI with conventional is a good ROI, no need to extend to 9-10k.
Pretty good for the cost. I would have never guessed you had a cheap filter on there with a low efficiency air filter. I think you found your sweet spot.
That's really really good, thanks for posting (I might link to it one day when people talk 10W-30 as obsolete, it's getting the job done.
(BTW, have made a 10W-30(ish) blend for my L67 with Caltex C3 5W-30 syn and Delo Gold Ultra - thinner than anyone I know with an L67 in Oz - a lot more than $2/qt)
(BTW, have made a 10W-30(ish) blend for my L67 with Caltex C3 5W-30 syn and Delo Gold Ultra - thinner than anyone I know with an L67 in Oz - a lot more than $2/qt)
Originally Posted By: Virtuoso
Just a check up. Been loosing coolant.. wonder where it's going?
GM 3.8 = bad upper and lower intake manifold gaskets. If you're truly losing coolant, 90% chacne that's your problem. Common on that engine because of the lousy gaskets GM used until 2005 or so. I had to replace them when I had my 2001 Bonneville a few years ago. I could smell coolant just standing by the car. Plenty of info on this issue on various GM car forums, just do a quick google search on it.
Just a check up. Been loosing coolant.. wonder where it's going?
GM 3.8 = bad upper and lower intake manifold gaskets. If you're truly losing coolant, 90% chacne that's your problem. Common on that engine because of the lousy gaskets GM used until 2005 or so. I had to replace them when I had my 2001 Bonneville a few years ago. I could smell coolant just standing by the car. Plenty of info on this issue on various GM car forums, just do a quick google search on it.
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If he was losing coolant in the oil, hopefully Blackstone would have caught that. Probably one of the various leaking spots on the 3.8.
Yep I was mainly sending this in to make sure those pesky intake gaskets were not leaking into the oil. I did one earlier this year but I figured to play it safe. So far they're not. I'll google up the typical 3.8L external leaks and go from there. Can't see any at the radiator or the easily visible coolant elbow.
The engine burns a little oil (but it's burning less than when I bought it); so that skews results a little I'm sure. Next one I'd like to run the OLM to 0% and run a UOA with TBN just for kicks.
The air filter's pretty caked - it's been in use for a while before I bought it at 148k. A restriction gauge is probably in order.
For an $11 OCI I can't complain.
The engine burns a little oil (but it's burning less than when I bought it); so that skews results a little I'm sure. Next one I'd like to run the OLM to 0% and run a UOA with TBN just for kicks.
The air filter's pretty caked - it's been in use for a while before I bought it at 148k. A restriction gauge is probably in order.
For an $11 OCI I can't complain.
Nice report. I had a '00 Bonneville SSEi and miss the car a lot. It never cared what I used for oil, UOAs were always fantastic. I'd pick the cheapest dino or semi-syn I could find like Citgo, Trop-Artic, 10w-30 HDEO, etc. Always a good result.
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