2002 VW TDI, elevated lead

[sfhgolftdi]

Hi, I'd appreciate any insights into my last two oil analyses. Copper slightly elevated, and lead went up significantly this last time. Any idea what could be going on and what steps I should take to head it off?

More info here:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=4772383&postcount=3274

 

[Boomer]

Well, just some thoughts from a TDI driver. Biodiesel over 5% in VW diesels has been shown, in at least the more recent ones, to slowly dilute the fuel. You can tell this is happening as the oil level on the dipstick slowly increases. Once biodiesel is in the oil, wear starts to increase significantly. This may be what you are seeing.

Also, with a "tune" you might be putting more pressure on the bearings during the power stroke of the piston and this could cause an increase of lead in your oil analysis.

 

[FowVay]

Twelve ppm's is not anything to concern yourself with. Try changing the oil and sample again at 10,000. See if you do indeed have a trend or if this is just typical Blackstone noise.

 

[sfhgolftdi]

Thanks guys. Boomer, FYI, the ALH and before engines are fine with biodiesel, even at high blends. Oil dilution is not an issue with these older engines, and I have never seen a hint of it on my dipstick or my oil analyses.

Interesting point about the tune, especially since I did run lots of WOT runs for some logs to fine tune the tune and turbo.

 

[sfhgolftdi]

Update: I ran another analysis ~2500 miles after and here is what it showed. Nothing conclusive, but it didn't increase enough to indicate a real problem, and blackstone said 1ppm was basically within the margin of error, so it may just be noise:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=4840986&postcount=25

I'll retest on this new oil after 10k miles and see what its doing then.