LE8531 - 5,072 mi; 2009 Tacoma 1GR-FE #1 UOA

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Here is the #1 UOA results for Lubrication Engineers LE8531, 5w30 Monolec Tetra-Syn
VOA numbers are the first set, the sodium I hope is from a previous diet of Valvoline SynPower, I am not loosing any coolant, opinions on the copper? Experts please comment - what do you think? Filter was a Pure One PL 10241, 45,113 miles on engine & truck, 5,072 miles on OCI.

Lab comment - "Base Number is SIGNIFICANTLY LOW. Sodium is at a MINOR LEVEL; Sodium sources: coolant (antifreeze), lube additive or supplement, and/or environmental contaminant. Lubricant and filter change acknowledged."

WEAR METALS (ppm)
Iron - 1,12
Chromium - 0,0
Nickel - 0,0
Aluminum - 1,4
Copper - 0,19
Lead - 1,0
Tin - 0,0
Cadmium - 0,0
Silver - 0,0
Vanadium - 0,0

CONTAMINANT METALS (ppm)
Silicon - 3,16
Sodium - 0,101
Potassium - 1,0

MULTI-SOURCE METALS (ppm)
Titanium - 0,0
Moly - 54,49
Antimony - 0,0
Manganese - 0,0
Lithium - 0,0
Boron - 1,0

ADDITIVE METALS (ppm)
Magnesium - 10,12
Calcium - 2190,2174
Barium - 0,0
Phosphorus - 771,711
Zinc - 849,923

Water - < .1 - Hotplate, Viscosity @ 100 C - 10.4,10.0
Base Number - 7.29 mg KOH/g,2.18
Fuel dilution - 1.2% GC
 
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After reading through hundreds of UOA's over several months, a TBN of 2 shouldn't be considered significantly low. Is a viscosity change of 10.4 to 10.0 anything to be concerned about? I am a little disappointed that the TBN depleted in a little over 5K miles though. I t looks like the additives held up well. Maybe this engine and oil combo are not suited well for each other. Any thoughts?
 
Originally Posted By: 86cutlass307
After reading through hundreds of UOA's over several months, a TBN of 2 shouldn't be considered significantly low. Is a viscosity change of 10.4 to 10.0 anything to be concerned about? I am a little disappointed that the TBN depleted in a little over 5K miles though. I t looks like the additives held up well. Maybe this engine and oil combo are not suited well for each other. Any thoughts?


Tbn depletion isn't linear so its possible for the tbn to drop sharply in a short time and level off requiring 1000s of miles to deplete the remaining tbn a point at a time.

Originally Posted By: INDYMAC
My Cu was 38ppm at 10k on a 12 4Runner with the 1GR-FE. Toyota 0w-20 was used for 5k OCI.


5000 miles on tgmo? That oils proven in various different applications to be a 10000+ mile oil.
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Tbn depletion isn't linear so its possible for the tbn to drop sharply in a short time and level off requiring 1000s of miles to deplete the remaining tbn a point at a time.

So are you suggesting that this LE8531 will hold onto the TBN level of 2.16 for the next 5k miles , or even longer... ???

Originally Posted By: INDYMAC
My Cu was 38ppm at 10k on a 12 4Runner with the 1GR-FE. Toyota 0w-20 was used for 5k OCI.
Originally Posted By: Clevy
5000 miles on tgmo? That oils proven in various different applications to be a 10000+ mile oil.

Does this result show that the 0w-20 tgmo is worse at controlling wear when compared with the 5w-30 LE8531, or something else ?
In your expert opinion can the OP safely expect to go up to 10k or 15k miles OCI with this LE8531?
 
Originally Posted By: 86cutlass307
After reading through hundreds of UOA's over several months, a TBN of 2 shouldn't be considered significantly low. Is a viscosity change of 10.4 to 10.0 anything to be concerned about? I am a little disappointed that the TBN depleted in a little over 5K miles though. I t looks like the additives held up well. Maybe this engine and oil combo are not suited well for each other. Any thoughts?

Not really. Just look at the low wear numbers and what conclusion can you draw... in fact if the test result of this UOA are accurate (correct) than Magnesium and Calcium additives are nearly fully intact and the viscosity is holding up at original VOA level.

What makes you think the oil and engine combo may not be well suited ?
Are you getting any engine noise or fuel efficiency or other troubles at all ?
 
I'm not a tribologist, so take this with a grain of salt.
Monitor your coolant level. Do another fill of LE with a UOA. See if Na levels drop. The Na is either from previous Valvoline use, or a coolant contamination issue. A 1.2% GC fuel isn't to bad IMO.

Finding out where the Na is coming from would be a big help.
 
Thanks for the comments. I am about 1/2 way through another run of LE 8531 and I thought about having a UOA done but decided to wait until the normal OCI to do one. This upcoming UOA (#2) I hope shows a reduction in sodium. Valvoline SynPower has a lot in its ad pack I saw and my coolant has been steady for a very long time. I'm not familiar with Toyota's SLLC 2 Pink coolant for chemistry. I guess I'm old school when it comes to copper in an oil sample; that used to mean bearing/bushing problems but there was no elevations in other corresponding metals. I will post another batch of numbers pretty soon, thanks again.
 
Originally Posted By: 86cutlass307
Thanks for the comments. I am about 1/2 way through another run of LE 8531 and I thought about having a UOA done but decided to wait until the normal OCI to do one. This upcoming UOA (#2) I hope shows a reduction in sodium.

hello! did you have any top-off oil added in the 1st run and now during this 2nd run so far ?
 
No make up oil was added in the first run, and none so far in the 2nd. The motor seems to have sealed up well after break-in and its first 47K of life. I don't have any compression numbers to add to the mix and my engine doesn't seem to make any unusual noises...either at start up or after warm up. There is some overhead cam valve train noise but it is minor and from all my research seems to be native to this engine series. Valve adjustments seem to be an enormous undertaking with this V6, cams have to come out and the shims are a machined part of the valve bucket and the entire piece has to be replace to change clearance. In a way it sounds a little like my Kawasaki 750 back in the mid 80's
 
Originally Posted By: 86cutlass307
No make up oil was added in the first run, and none so far in the 2nd. ... and my engine doesn't seem to make any unusual noises...either at start up or after warm up.

Zero make up oil in both runs so far is a good indicator the oil is holding up well in your Tacoma. "Sounds within normal range for this engine series" with this oil is another healthy sign!

see below...

Originally Posted By: INDYMAC
Monitor your coolant level. Do another fill of LE with a UOA. See if Na levels drop. The Na is either from previous Valvoline use, or a coolant contamination issue. A 1.2% GC fuel isn't to bad IMO.

Finding out where the Na is coming from would be a big help.

+1. yes i agree too that identifying source of Na it most critical. 1.2% GC fuel should not be the cause of this TBN drop.
As you change to a new oil brand , 2 runs are usually required for the oil to stabilize within the engine, but not more than 3 runs.
It may well be true that a minor coolant leak is the cause of fast TBN depletion, so it is an excellent idea to do a the UOA with your 2nd fill of LE8531 at 5k miles interval and not later.
Share the UOA results and then decide next action (continue running or go for a 3rd run or change to a different brand oil!).
Hope this helps and keep positing your findings and conclusions here, thanks!
 
Originally Posted By: 86cutlass307
No make up oil was added in the first run, and none so far in the 2nd.

hi, are you still using the monolec 8351 ? any more uoa done ?
 
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