2005 Chevy Malbu 3.5L MaxLife 5w30 4,200 miles

[Points]

Summary
Engine: GM 3.5L V6
Filter: ST 3387
Oil : MaxLife 5W30

Miles Total: 34,800 miles
Oil Interval: 4,200 miles
Duration: 9/2005-11/2005 (less than 2 months)
Filter Change: 4,500 miles
Make-up Oil: 0 Quarts
Blackstone Labs


Aluminum 5
Chromium 0
Iron 5
Copper 25
Lead 4
Tin 1
Molybdenum 250
Nickel 0
Mangenese 0
Silver 0
Titanium 0
Potassium 2
Boron 12
Silicon 9
Sodium 21
Calcium 1923
Magnesium 9
Phosphorus 583
Zinc 682
Barium 0

TBN: 3.0
Viscosity 57.9 SUS @210F (in range)
Flashpoint 355F (in range)
Fuel 0.5
Antifreeze ??
Water 0
Insolubles 0.2%


Universal averages show typical wear metals for this type of engine after 2,000 miles run
on the oil. Your oil was in use 4,200 miles, and we found all wear at around average levels and in thecorrect balance to show normal mechanical parts inside. The high sodium is either an extra additive in the MaxLife or it's a sign of anti-freeze in the oil. Send us a virgin MaxLife sample and we'll test it at no charge to find out. Air and oil filtration appear normal. No fuel or moisture found. TBN was 3.0
------------------------

Do you guys think I have a Anti-freeze leak? My warranty is up in 500 miles so what should I do?? Also, I use my remote start alot. I let it warm up couple minutes before I get in when its cold... Help me!

 

[Cutehumor]

Do a search in the VOA forum for maxlife 5w30 SM to see if sodium is an add, off the top of my head I don't believe NA is an additive. I would take blackstone up on their offer and send a virgin sample. You could also send this report to Terry at dyson analysis to get a pro to interpret your results. btw, Doesn't GMs have 5 yr/60k powertrain warranties? Thanks for posting, I was looking at a few GM vehicles to purchase and the G6 has this engine.

 

[Al]

I would go to them and give them the report with the questioning of the sodium. I don't see sodium in any of MaxLife's samples. Pretty nice of them to run the VOA for free. Is this Blackstone?

Based on your numbers I don't see much of a definite case for a leak that they will fix.

It might be worth your while to get Terry Dyson to do a writeup.

 

[Cutehumor]

I heard this engine was a stroked out version of 3.4L, the 3.4L was a notorious leaker

 

[Points]

Could road salt do this to my Sodium numbers? I think i drove though 2 snow falls and I drive 175 miles a day round trip. What do you think?

 

[Pablo]

Road salt can and does add Na to a UOA. Mostly because the Na+ in H20 mist makes it through the AF into your intake.

Do you have coolant ingress into your oil system?

Yes - I cannot say that this engine is HG special or not...but ?? usually means coolant.

No - I assume factory Dex cool - doesn't DexCool have a butt load of K rather than Na???

 

[T-Keith]

" Cutehumor - I heard this engine was a stroked out version of 3.4L, the 3.4L was a notorious leaker"

Actually it is a quite throughly redesigned and bored 3.4.

Check your coolant level and inquire at the dealer as to if they are seeing coolant problems with this engine. Wear does look OK.

-T

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Putting Maxlife in a 2005 model?

If you like Valvoline products, I would suggest Durablend. Running a high mileage oil for a vehicle's entire lifetime may shorten gasket life in a couple of engine applications.

 

[Points]

I put MaxLife in because I needed to use it up. I just bought this car couple months back and wanted to do a quick flush but I changed jobs and put more miles on than I thought. 175+ miles a day will add up. Thats Almost 1000 miles a week. I think the Sodium is from the dealership oil which is a Mobil Oil, I think...

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Driving with salt on the roads will skew the results. I wouldn't be too worried about coolant leaks just yet. A UOA or two more with trended analysis will tell the tale.

 

[Points]

Thanks for the advice... I'll do another UOA after winter it see how my Sodium is doing. I'm hopeing the Dealership used a Mobil dino that had Sodium as part of its Add Pack.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Was this Maxlife Dino or Syn?

Does the dino Maxlife have that much MOLY?

 

[Dominic]

Triple_Se7en - Maxlife is fine in new cars - read the back of the bottle sometime. It will most definitely not shorten seal life or anything of the sort.

 

[m2200b]

Have you lost coolant or added. It doesn't look like dexcool signature leak.

Havoline would be a better choice than maxlife
if you just want the moly at a lower WM price - usually about $8.70 vs $11.70

 

[Slick17601]

Why is it so impossible for GM to produce a V6 without a leaking intake gasket??

 

[Zaedock]

Here's the UOA from my '04 Maxx.
http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=003343

Lots O'copper from these 3.5L's. Have you been able to complete another UOA? I'm very curious to see how you made out.

 

[Points]

Ok guys... The 175 mile drive will be coming to an end. I'm building a house so my new drive will be 90 miles or so.

My coolant looks fine and wasn't went down. I have over 10,000 miles on GC Gold now. I will change GC in 3 or 4 weeks or so after I move. That would be 15,000 miles by then.

Turns out that the dealership put in Mobil dino 5w30 so I hope thats my source of Sodium in my MaxLife dino sample.

 

[terminaldegree]

I'm certainly no expert, but I'd attribute that to the previous Mobil dino too. It's not as easy as simply bashing GM this time...

I'd do a shortish oci [3,000], watch the coolant level, and sample it again.