1994 Pontiac Grand Am 3.1L V6 AMSOIL 0W30 18,331 miles

[benjamming]

1994 Pontiac Grand Am 3.1L V6 automatic
AMSOIL Series 2000 0W30
2/3 Highway driving
SDF-29 oil filter
AMSOIL TS110 air filter
Sample taken Apr-9-2004
Added 1 quart of S2k 0W30 at filter change - 12,487 miles into OCI. I had to add 1 qt b/c took old filter off & had the wrong filter in the trunk of my car. Put old filter back on, go back home, get correct filter, change filter again.
18,331 miles on oil - 8 months
132,694 miles on car
Oil Analyzers, Inc.

Iron - 44
Chromium - 3
Lead - 23
Copper - 17
Tin - 0
Aluminum - 12
Nickel - 0
Silver - 0
Silicon - 144 abnormal
Boron - 25
Sodium - 74 abnormal
Magnesium - 457
Calcium - 1796
Barium - 0
Phosphorus - 882
Zinc - 1268
Molybdenum - 13
Titanium - 0
Vanadium - 0
Potassium - 55 abnormal
Fuel 16.80 cSt - abnormal
Water = 0%
Soot/solids - N/A
Glycol - NEG
TBN - 3.02
Oxidation - 14.0
Nitration - 12.0

Oil was drained & oil filter changed when sample was taken.

Changed fuel filter @ 118,536 miles. Changed ATF at 128,610 miles. Added 1 bottle -12 oz. - of Chevron Techron at 129,686 & 130,030 miles. Cleaned throttle body with BG Products at 132,353 miles. It had never been cleaned before, & it was bad.

My mpg had been suffering which I usually have with winter gas. However, it had never picked back up which I think is due to the low 50W oil in the crankcase! My iron was 2.4/1000 miles.

I believe my silicon is from cleaning the throttle body. Or at least from the process of cleaning TB. Maybe it's from the intake manifold gasket replacement ~ 114k miles.

Has the previous coolant contamination simply not gotten out of the system yet? Or do I have yet another coolant leak? Did I get a bad intake manifold gasket again?

UOA history: newest to oldest
AMSOIL http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001380
Castrol GTX http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001379
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=001378#000002
http://theoildrop.server101.com/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=3&t=001377#000000

Comments?

 

[sbc350gearhead]

I would switch to short runs on dino, till you get the coolant issue figured out.

 

[Gary Allan]

Athough you've got "issues"

..I admire your commitment to extended OCI

 

[TooSlick]

The silicon, sodium and potassium are coolant residues, which are causing the oil to thicken excessively and depleting the TBN. You'll note that oxidation and nitration are quite low and the TBN should be much higher ....

I'd flush the engine with the Amsoil engine flush for 30 minutes, which will clean out most of the sludge deposits caused by coolant contamination. They I'd put in a fresh batch of the Amsoil 10w-30 and test it after say 5000-7000 miles to see if the system is clean.

The most direct impact from coolant contamination is corrosive bearing wear - this is why your lead levels are so elevated. Bearing wear should be < 1 ppm/1000 miles of oil use.

Older GM engines are NOT the best candidates for extended drains - I've seen too many issues with coolant leaks and faulty fuel injectors. If this was my car, I'd stick with the less expensive Amsoil 10w-30 and change the oil and filter every 10,000 miles. I believe that will get you better long term results, even if you have some coolant and/or fuel contamination that is difficult to solve.

It's a local call if you'd like to discuss this situation further ....

Tooslick
Dixie Synthetics
882-0768