BMW X5 35D high iron in t report.

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Hello friends, Just joined here.Got high iron content of 230 in my used oil analysis report done by CAT/Finning laboratory. Vehicle is 2009 X5 35D diesel with 86000 kms on the odo and this sample was taken after running around 17500 kms on bmw dealer filled oil. Kind of worried. Any suggestions..
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I don't care much for that low SAPS oil. I don't see TBN there, but it may very well be depleted. Change your oil next at 12,000 km and retest.

Oh, and welcome to the site!
 
Originally Posted By: Bandito440
I don't care much for that low SAPS oil. I don't see TBN there, but it may very well be depleted. Change your oil next at 12,000 km and retest.

Oh, and welcome to the site!


thanks Bandito440 for the reply..So does it means something is wearing fast?
 
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Yes, something is wearing more than it should be. Run a significantly shorter interval and retest. Make sure you get TBN with your next analysis report.
 
Thanks everybody for the replies.As per your suggestions,I will run a short OCI for 5000 kms and get it tested at 2 different labs and will see how it goes.
 
My first post was off-base, this really isn't that long an oci since it's km.

Maybe I'm not seeing it, but does this lab not give TBN and/or TAN? Strange considering they tested oxidation and sulfation. Hard to make any analysis without that.

I would send the sample to Wearcheck and request PQ Index. That's the only real way you're going to be able to differentiate mechanical vs corrosive wear on a short-term basis. They test TBN, TAN, Oxidation, Nitration, Soot etc as standard, so only PQ Index needs to be requested as an extra analysis.
 
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Thanks for the suggestion.will try..
Another thing to be noted that when i bought this X5 diesel, it sat for close to 2 months at the dealership because it was lease return and at first they were asking too much for it.
Is corrosion of liners possible? could it be the cause of high iron? thanks.
 
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Was the car test driven by potential buyers during those 2 months? Maybe the extra wear (if it's wear) is from people gunning it on a cold engine? Doubt it though.

I also doubt 2 months would be long enough to generate so much corrosion.
 
I'm unfamiliar with that engine but I have to believe the aluminum and chromium are way high, too. The copper, lead and tin seem fine.

The only time I've seen a report like that was when I put Motorkote in my C15 Cat. All metals were virtually the same as this report. Normally showed 4 ppm of aluminum and 0 ppm of chromium but the oci with the motorkote looked just like this one in every metal.

On the other hand, whenever I've over extended my drains ( low tbn/high acid ) the analysis would show a huge rise in the bearing metals due to corrosion. The al, fe and cr would also be a little elevated but nothing like what we see here.

My thoughts are that maybe someone put in an additive (???). I don't believe you over did it in terms of mileage. I think your tbn/tan was probably ok.

Just throwing my thoughts out there based on my own reports over the years.
 
I have an 09 X5 35d. I'm getting about 80ppm Fe after about the same distance. But I switched to Mobil Delvac 1 LE 5W30 and as a result my TBN after 10500mi (about 17000km) was 4.0 recently, with TAN 3.5. On factory oil I was getting TBNs of 1.5 and slightly higher Fe. My Al and Cr is only slightly lower than yours.
When I can get the ECU modification, I am going to "delete" the emissions. Hopefully dropping the GR will drop wear #s significantly.
Something is wearing faster in your engine with the high Fe number.
I'd suggest you switch to Delvac 1 LE 5W30 or Delo 400 LE Synthetic 5W30. Both are ACEA E6 oils and have much higher TBN than dealer low SAPS oil. Ash is a bit higher at 1.0% but P is limited to 800ppm.
On the 2nd sample Fe is lower even normalizing for distance. I am very surprised TBN is so high!
Getting rid of emissions (if you don't live on the lower mainland) will allow you to use a higher zinc oil like Mobil 1 0W40 and hopefully you'll have less (valvetrain?) wear.
Charlie
 
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Thanks m37charlie for the reply.Actually i ran second sample just after 6300 kms (4000 miles) only.Thats why TBN is still high.

Do you think after 6300 kms, Iron and other elements are normal?Are you getting 80 ppm of iron after 6000 kms or after ~17000kms?

Regarding my first sample, i dont know why iron came too high.Might have been due to some engine work (intake manilfold was removed)done prior to my first sample.Thats why i ran second sample just after 6300 kms to make sure if everything is ok?

You are right about emissions stuff.its soffocating the engine.thanks

Here is my second sample.I didn't attach image correctly in my last post.
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Yes, I had a spike in my Fe to 152 when the EGR cooler blew out. After about 11K mi.
I would just run the standard 16K km and recheck UOA with TBN.

Charlie
 
Yes, all 5 of my UOAs show fuel Again, looking forwards to deleting everything, getting hopefully 5 more mpg and using M1 0W40.

Charlie
 
Like many said, run shorter OCI and see.
Also, try heavier oil. Maybe Pentosin 5W40 which meets BMW LL-04, or Motul X-Clean 5W40 (although pentosin has better pour point, which comes handy in your area).
 
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