1999 7.3 PSD Analysis

[JimT]

1999 F-250 4x4 7.3 Power Stroke Diesel. Switched to AMSOIL 15W40 AME in October 2002 with approx 71,600 miles on truck. Full flow filter AMSOIL SDF99, no By-Pass Filter. Samples taken at 6 month intervals and full flow filter changed. No top off oil used between filter changes. Sample results from Oil Analyzers are as follows:

Date 3/18/03 10/8/03 3/30/04
Miles on Oil 6069 13406 17920
Miles on Eng. 77697 85036 89505

Iron 20 51 59
Chromium 2 1 3
Lead 7 5 10
Copper 3 6 10
Tin 1 0 0
Aluminum 3 4 4
Nickel 0 0 0
Silver 0 0 0
Silicon 5 35 18
Boron 33 17 10
Sodium 3 2 6
Magnesium 27 29 21
Calcium 3451 4224 3822
Barium 0 0 0
Phosphorus 1024 1015 1035
Zinc 1204 1344 1366
Molybdenum 3 0 1
Titanium 0 0 0
Vanadium 0 0 0
Potassium 0 0 0

Fuel % Vis @ 40C cSt N/A N/A N/A
Vis @ 100C cSt 12.91 12.90 13.24
Water % vol 0 0 0
Soot/Solids
% wt 0.1 0.2 0.1
Glycol Neg Neg Neg

TBN 11.63 8.94 9.63
Oxid 3.0 5.0 6.0
Nitr 5.0 5.0 6.0
F-Soot 0.03 0.22 0.01


Not an expert but don't think it looks too bad for an oil that has been in the truck for a year and a half and almost 18,000 miles.

 

[wulimaster]

Excellent! I have a 7.3 powerstroke that I changed over to Amsoil AME in November 2002 and only have 11k miles on it. Looks like I should be able to reach 2 years and maybe 18k miles by then if I try hard and don't drive my gasser. I will try for 20k and two years and do an analysis then. I hope I can last that long as I am looking forward to switching over to Series 3000 and trying that oil. So far I am on the 2nd oil filter and it looks like I will get 20k miles out of a total of 20 qts with 2 of them for filters and 2 consumed in 20k.

 

[JimT]

Wulimaster,
While you can probably make the 2 years without a problem, if you haven't pulled a sample and had it analysed, I'd do it asap. At 18 months into this batch of oil, your well beyond the AMSOIL recommendation of 2 to 3 times the manufacturers recommended change interval or 6 months, whichever comes first.

It took me 25 years of reading about synthetics before I broke out of my 2,000 mile oil and filter change routine and went with AMSOIL products. I have extended them more than double what they recommend for change intervals but I won't do it with out sampling to make sure the oil is still "suitable for continued use." And when I get the report back, if they say the oil is OK but there is something I question, I'll call the lab and ask about specific readings.

In the short run, the oil and sampling can be expensive, but replacing an engine is a lot more expensive.

 

[rossn2]

While you can probably make the 2 years without a problem, if you haven't pulled a sample and had it analysed, I'd do it asap. At 18 months into this batch of oil, your well beyond the AMSOIL recommendation of 2 to 3 times the manufacturers recommended change interval or 6 months, whichever comes first.

And,don't forget he's not covered by AMSOIL on an engine repair....

It doesn't look like he is under the AMSOIL TRIGARD program (Foam Air Filter, By-pass filter, enrolled in program, and using AMSOIL's oil lab) to be covered.

 

[TooSlick]

The next time around, I'd run the Series 3000, 5w-30 in this truck. It works even better than "AME" in the Power Stroke diesel, particularly in a cold climate.

The normal pulsing of the HEUI injectors is significantly reduced with the 5w-30, and fuel efficiency is measurably better. The S3000 is also more shear stable - the HEUI injectors tend to shear most multigrades pretty badly.

For this run, I'd use these condemnation limits:

Iron increases to 100 ppm
The TBN drops to 6.0
The oil thickens out of grade, ie > 16.5 Cst

It's interesting to see they are also using the boron based, friction modifier in this CI-4/SJ formulation ....It looks like most of the boron is depleted, so I'd keep a close eye on the rate of iron wear from here on out.

 

[wulimaster]

Jimt and rossn2,

I appreciate your concern but I have seen enough UOA using AME on the powerstroke and cummins diesels to feel comfortable letting it go the full 2 years. I have a an analysis kit here with me now but I would like to run it out a little longer before checking. I do check the dipstick frequently for unusual problems like antifreeze or level dropping. So far the oil looks like it is aging gracefully and the engine is running smoothly. If you look at the above UOA you will see that is about where mine is at age but not at mileage and it is in excellent shape. I also live in the desert where moisture isn't a real problem for engine oils. Dust is my biggest problem and I am running an Amsoil foam air filter but currently using a Mobil 1 oil filter. The vehicle mostly sits in the driveway collecting dust as it has only 16k miles on it since new in 8/2000. As for warrenty, the UOA I take in November should suffice assuming the oil is still good.

I also want to run the oil longer to help get rid of silicon leaching before switching over to the 5w30.

[ April 16, 2004, 07:29 PM: Message edited by: wulimaster ]

 

[wulimaster]

I couldn't wait until November so I pulled a sample at about 13k miles. I will post it in another posting in this forum.