UOA analysis
2006 LBZ Duramax
20k miles total on vehicle; approx. 50% heavy towing at highway speeds
6k miles and 1 year on OCI; Rotella 10w-30 CJ-4; Wix/Napa 57202 filter
All readings zero if not noted
1 quart make up oil around 5k miles. (didn't need it; just a top off)
TBN not tested as oil dumped at 6k miles (1 year interval).
This is the first UOA on vehicle.

Attribute.......Unit reading...........Univ Avg
Al..............3.......................9
Fe..............10......................12
Cu..............5.......................10
Pb..............2.......................3
Tn..............1.......................1
MOLYB...........2.......................29
Potas...........13......................3
Boron...........24.......................54
Silicon.........11.......................9
Calcium.........2358...................2661
Magnes..........10.....................229
Phos............1001..................1090
Zn...............1201......................1290


SUS@210f...........72.5........range 59-65
cSt@100c..........13.6...........range 9.9-11.9
Flashpoint............425
No fuel
No water
No coolant
Insolubles @ .3%

Blackstone Comments:
“The Isuzu 6.6L is one of the best wearing diesel engines that we see samples from and yours is no exception. You noted that about half of the miles on this fill were put on while towing a heavy load but if you hadn’t told us that, we never would have guessed. Wear looks great here and the only things that kept this from being a perfect report was the high viscosity. It read in the 15w-40 range, which is fine for this type engine. We found no harmful contaminants in the sample. At 20,000 smiles, we have no problems to report.”

I have no idea how the vis go so high, except that maybe (because the engine is 100% stock and uses EGR) the soot may have thickened it up a bit? But if so, it didn’t seem to hurt the insolubles at all, nor cause wear. Vis can climb when the fluid is greatly heated (oxidation) but, again, didn’t seem to hurt anything at all.

I tow heavy 50% of the total vehicle use. In summer heat, pulling travel trailer; it's all I do with the truck. (I'm not aggressive, but I certainly don't baby it), and the other 50% of vehicle use is a mix of driving styles, primarily in winter for 4x4 driving.

I am very pleased with the CJ-4 Rotella 10w-30. People often don’t consider the lighter grades, but certainly this one held its own. For $8.99/gallon last fall when I bought it, I cannot complain.

Just filled with Delvac 1300 15w-40. Why? Right now, you can score it for $12.99 for TWO gallons! (BOGOF). Not that I expect it will do much “better” than the results my Rotella just posted.

I am really becoming acutely aware that modern diesel engines and CJ-4 dino fluids are just hard to beat, no matter the brand of engine or lube.

Those are AWESOME wear #s for towing in summer heat, w/a 10W30 dino oil-if they ever get the injector problem solved-those Dmaxes might last forever! 10 Fe for 6K working it hard is almost unbelievable!

"I am really becoming acutely aware that modern diesel engines and CJ-4 dino fluids are just hard to beat, no matter the brand of engine or lube."


Yeah, I think all the naysayers just like to think that CI4+ is better because it has more ZDDP. At least here on BITOG we have more of an indifferent opinion. Some of the diesel forums, people are just not even considering CJ4, based on what others have "reported" or their opinion.

Are you crazy Dave?!! A synthetic would have done so much better than the Dino crud you chose...and not even the right weight??!!!! For shame!!!!!! But seriously, what a fantastic UOA as usual from a Dmax. Virtually no wear on a very reputable and affordable oil. I am sure, beyond any doubt, the Delvac will be pleasing to you as well. Again and again my decisions to change over and break the "drug " habit are validated. Thanks for posting!! Don't forget the "other" places to post as well. I hope it may help the doubters at least begin to acknowledge what the truth is.

I recall about two years ago, someone had a small but significant quote from Terry Dyson that the Rotella 10w-30 was a sleeper product; "nearly synthetic in performance" was his comment, as I recall. That prompted me to consider the use of 10w-30 HDEO. I can say without hesitation that I must concur. Stellar performance given the severity load, all for $8.99/gallon.

I almost feel guilty in moving to the Delvac 1300 15w-40, but I simply cannot turn away from $6.50/gallon (BOGOF)! Not that I don't expect awesome results there as well; a VERY proven product in CJ-4. But somehow I enjoyed being "different" in using the 10w-30, just to poke the eye of the beast in the "lighter grades are inferior" argument.

I COMPLETELY understand how you feel on that sentiment. I always find myself shying away from the "norm" and taking a chance with the "naysyaer" side. i may just find some 10w-30 myself though enjoying my Delvac run. Hmmmmm, something to think about.

I would have to say that the top HDEOS have been "nearly synthetic in performance" Especially Chevron DELO since the early 1990s and Delvac 1300 as well.

Agreed Steve S.

My point to those that would listen is that when you compare (find similarities) and contast (find differences), you'll not see a lot of variances in today's UOAs for dino HDEOs, when "used as directed".

Take some of the recent Delvac 1300 15w-40 UOAs (stellar resutls) and compare/contrast those to my Rotella 10w-30 UOA (again, awesome results, especially given the severity of use). The concept to embrace is that the brand and grade didn't make much difference. The overall effect is very good from both products. The same can be said of Delo and other quality brands like Castrol.

I like to try "different" stuff to see how much mythology I can break through. I would love to try some of Warren's "Lubriguard" in 15w-40; it's $8.99/gallon. But when I can get Delvac BOGOF, my wallet over-rides my curiosity ...

I'm more convinced each day that for us "normal" folks, you can make an engine last nearly forever, with just quality dino fluids and decent filters. Extended OCIs will require synthetics and perhaps bypass filtration. But if equipment longevity is your goal, and you are not into long OCIs for whatever the reason, just about any brand name lube/filter combination will get you where you want to go, with confidence.

Let us know how that Delvac 1300 works for you-I may return my stash of Delvac 1 & use that in my Cummins instead!

It will be another year before I UOA; only do about 6k miles per year. If you want good info before that, there are plenty of Delvac 1300 UOAs on this site. Honestly, I probably won't even spend the money on the UOA next year. Why? Because I've already seen many others that show great wear from a Dmax using Delvac 1300. The only reason I would do it would be to compare my results to those of my Rotella, and I'd have to still wait a couple years, because to make a "fair" comparison, I need to run/flush with Delvac a time or two before the UOA. I have run Rotella 10w-30 for a few OCIs; the engine/lube got a change to "normalize" before I did this UOA.

Regarding your Delvac 1, all the prominent PAO products (Amsoil, Delvac 1, etc) are really good stuff. The question for me is: do you get your money's worth? Are the costs of PAOs equaled by the results? If you spend 4x the money (a fair estimate for high-end PAOs), do you either get 4x less wear for the same OCI (doubtful!), or can you get 4x the OCI for the same wear level (quite possible!)? I OCI only once a year. Got super results from white-bottle Rotella 10w-30. How much "better" was PAO going to do in my case? Probably not better at all, in regard to wear, over such a short OCI. Especially given the severity of use I put it through.

My MAIN thrust in this recent quest was to prove that dino HDEO oil, in a lighter grade, is perfectly acceptable to run, even under heavy load conditions. I certainly think this UOA proves that point.

Hear, hear!

Dave,

Are you following the OLM or a "one year" length of service for your OCI?

I bought a case of Delo 10w-30 and I wonder how it'll compare to the Rotella. Unfortunately, HDEO 10w30 is hard to come by here in Boise and the nearest Shell distributor is 50 miles away...

Thanks,

Rob

Rob - I follow the "or one year" as mandated by the Dmax warranty. Not that I don't believe the oil could go further; I just don't want to risk warranty denial over $25 of oil. The OLM is reset each year, so I'll likely never get to the point where it trips. And I have a basic k-3500 Silverado, (not SLT or LTZ) so I don't have the steering wheel controls to bring up the remaining % readings.

I would be very interested to hear how the Delo 10w-30 does for you. The Rotella is the only 10w-30 dino HDEO I've actually seen on the retail shelf around the midwest. I know that both Delo and Delvac offer the lighter grade, but I've never seen it where I could put my hands on it. If the Delo 10w-30 is anything like it's 15w-40 bretheren, I suspect you'll fair very well.

I am currently running Schaeffer 151 CI4+ 15w40 until the OLM says to change. Then I will do a UOA on the Schaeffer and change to the Delo 10w30. I'll be sure to post the UOA's as I proceed.

Dave... I used to be an "Oil Snob" until I started to follow your lead. Thank you for the "wake-up" call...

Rob

I have considered using 10w30 in my wifes Powerstroke because the heaviest weight being towed is probably no more than 6,000 lbs and is properly operated but when I consider the price [I have to get the 10w-30 HDEO from the local oil jobber] the 15w/40 from any of the discount places or on sale makes the choice any major brand 15w-40 easy. The temps where I live or go so far never gets below where 15w-40 works.

These CJ-4 oils still have high Zinc and Phosphour ?

I was trying to make a point!!! I have seen the results of Delo 400 in long use term starting in 1982 untill 2000 in Gasoline,diesel and propane engines in trucks forklifts and cars and odds and end equipment . There is really no reason to use syn oil unless you really need the syn basestocks.

They aren't as limited as SM.

Nice report!

I envy you the LBZ engine. Must be nice to have no DPF.

I lost 17% on my OLM in one day 44kms driving during a DPF regen. That's a new record. It was a day of short trips at around freezing. It shows how hard GM thinks the regen is on the oil. I'll be sampling at -7% OLM shortly and we'll see about fuel dilute. You're lucky you don't have this to contend with.

Is your EGR blocked or stock?

ps. I enjoyed your transfer case fluid article over at dieselplace forums.

Jim 5 -

Yes, truck is stock, other than as noted at DP. EGR is intact. Just goes to show how well CJ-4 fluids can handle soot. I use a fair amount of throttle when pulling so hard and hot, and yet the soot stayed in control, and the wear was very low.

The vis likely climbed from the oxidation of the lighter grade oil, but obviously, there was no detrimental effect in regard to wear.

Very nice!

Sorry to burst you bubble dnewton3 but you could run have run Redline or Amsoil and gotten the same results!!!

Not that it matters, but I don't see Redline making a CJ-4 in 10w30. (regular SM oil $39 or so a gallon). Amsoil 10w30 is $31 or so a gallon. If the Shell works just as well, why spend the xtra?

I believe that comment is tongue-in-cheek.

Yes, I believe Steve S was poking jest at me with a pinch of sarcasim, and I took it as such!

I get it now, a little slow here.