Lead Issue: Durablend 10w40 SL, 126,200 miles, 4.9L F150

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1995 F150, 4.9L inline six, 126,200 miles with 10w40 SL Valvoline Durablend 5.5 qts and 15 oz Valvoline Synpower Oil Treatment for 3000 miles (oil is still in truck with 3450 miles now). Since I had sky high lead the last OCI I have included the numbers from the previous OCI in parenthesis for comparison (* is less than 1 ppm).

The issue is that in the previous OCI the PCV breather hose was sitting unhooked from its filter and sucking raw air while I blithely drove 20 miles per day of construction zone. Lot of sand in the air box, so I figure sand went in the breather hose too.

Lead has dropped significantly from 476 ppm to 114 ppm. That lead is still high may be due to the breather hose still being unhooked for the first 250 miles of the current OCI. Copper, tin, and iron are much lower too, so I figure the lead is residual and the next OCI should be close to normal.

What bugs me is the viscosity. I don’t doubt the viscosity of the previous OCI because I was running a thick 10w30, but the current OCI was 10w40 plus VSOT and should have been 13.9 cSt plus the VSOT. My oil pressure gauge also supports the thicker oil. (BTW, the previous OCI viscosity is slightly different from that reported in the linked VOA thread but is what is printed in the comparison on the current oil report.)

So finally, what to do? Since lead already in the oil is not going to harm the engine (hey, might help lubricate, no?), it seems reasonable to take this OCI out to 5000 miles. Or would it be wise to change it now and get a clean fill? Should I run a quick rinse with some cheap oil and a quart or two of Marvel Mystery Oil? Don’t say AutoRx because it had a double treatment and rinse already prior to the previous OCI. Prior to the AutoRx my lead was 4 ppm.

K = * (*)
V = * (*)
Moly = 202 (268) ppm
Magnesium = 129 (?) ppm
Calcium = 1665 (1681) ppm
Phosphorus = 862 (888) ppm
Zinc = 1068 (1002) ppm
Sb = * (*)
Titanium = * (*)
Silver = * (*)
Copper = 8 (13) ppm
Lead = 114 (476) ppm
Tin = 1 (12) ppm
Aluminum = 3 (6) ppm
Nickel = * (1) ppm
Iron = 8 (14) ppm
Chromium = * (1) pm
Cd = * (*)
Sodium = 14 (13) ppm
Boron = 32 (32) ppm
Silicon = 9 (12) ppm
Water = less than .05 % vol (less than .05)
Soot = less than 0.2 (0.6) %
Glycol = N (N)
Fuel = less than 0.5 (less than 0.5)
100C vis cSt = 12.61 (12.76)
_________________________
* = less than 1 ppm
 
What is the K level?
Is 14 ppm Na native?

Maybe a oxidation/nitration number would be good to tell you if you have something wrong with your smog breathing system.

It doesn't seem like a 40.

I would dump this oil and try something besides a dino 10W-40.
 
K came out as less than 1 ppm.
Don't know on the sodium.
No it does not seem like a 40, but my oil pressure gauge indicates in the range I get for a 40.
It is a blend, supposedly 30% Group III.
My linked pre AutoRx UOA of 10w40 Maxlife did fine with only 4 sodium and held viscosity.
 
I would dump it since this fill also had the breather hose disconnected for a short while (250 miles). It looks like its trending down, so like you said, lead will start to normalize in the next couple OCI's.
 
Well, Bobert, I think you are right. Probably not the best time for me to work on extending my OCI.
 
I'm going to change it tonight. Going to put in 5w20 and run a couple hundred miles then change again. Probably should have rinsed it before as Gary advised after the first high lead run.
 
I just cut the filter open from this OCI. When I held a section of the media spread out up to a fluroescent light, I could not see any light through it. It was 100% pitch black.

Most of my filters will show some amount of light from half the element being black to some I have had 80 to 90 % black (on OCIs ranging from 2000 to 5000 miles).

The 100% black makes me thing this filter was spent. Was it because it is the Maxlife filter and, since it is made by Purolator, does it have the Pure One element. The box says "Special filter media removes more sludge."

Can't understand how the filter got that dirty in 3500 miles when I had run two AutoRx treatment and rinse cycles on it through last spring.
 
Just because you ran 2 AutoRX treatments does NOT mean your engine was totally clean. Did you take a peak inside? Maybe there is still junk in there?
 
It definitely still had junk in there. Frankly I don't see much difference from the AutoRx. Even the blotters are as bad as before, though the worst blotters were during the AutoRx.
 
TallPaul,

Is it possible that the VSOT is causing the higher lead?
dunno.gif
Maybe too much of a good thing (VSOT) is bad.
 
Well the previous OCI had MLEP (MaxLife Engine Protector). I don't know and since there were no OCIs for a while before that, who knows if the lead is a washout from the AutoRx treatments. The sequence was:

AutoRx
Rinse
AutoRx
Rinse
Short Neutra rinse
OCI with 476 ppm lead
OCI with 114 ppm lead

Now, would lead resuspended from deposits during hte AutoRx treatment and rinse cycles remain after the Neutra Rinse (which was a fresh batch of oil and filter after the AutoRx rinse)? I kind of doubt it. The ingested sand seems the obvious solution but then silicon was not high, so maybe that was not it. Could the Group III NAPA oil and then the Group II/III Durablend have kept cleaning out in a sort of AutoRx extended rinse? But where would so much lead have collected up from anyway unless someone before I owned the truck used a lead engine oil additive that gummed up the engine. I am at a loss. Just glad it has come down.
 
You're probably still leeching from the scored bearing surfaces. That was some severe ingestion of dirt and surely multiple bearing streaks occured. The VSOT, if anything, is probably accellerating the process by plating out the gouged regions ..kicking out some of the residents in the process.

Just one imagined possibility
dunno.gif
Like others have said, you're trending way down. As long as the count decays at this rate ..you'll be down to normal in a few OCI's. I wouldn't expect it to snap back to normal over a short span, even with the agents that you've introduced.
 
Yep Gary, I think you got it. I felt the VSOT was a good idea to thicken things so the little buggers would be less likely to do damage (thicker oil film passes larger particles). Also felt the thicker oil would viscously drag the suckers out of the system.

Now on FLASH's advice (FordTruck site) I am running the 5w20 (but added 6 oz Neutra for a good cleansing) for a couple hundred miles.

I really thought this guy (post on themotoroilsite.com hit it right:
quote:

Your engine is in good shape . Just look at the copper . If it had been damaged severely the copper/tin would have risen .

It will just take time for the rod bearings to smooth back up and as long as the copper/tin remains low and trends down your in good shape .

I would though get the engine oil to full operating temperature and use some of the Gunk or other over the counter flush and use it to remove any build up be it ingested dirt or other abrasive wear metals .

They can be located in the bearing shelf where the halves meet and in the heat activated additives that are bonded to the internals of your engine . Just call it bump starting the healing process by giving it a cleaning .

Yeah, ha ha, I sure shotgunned this analysis. Four sites (Noria is the fourth), but felt it had educational value for everyone too.

Bottom line, it's going down and I am not worried.
 
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