Mobil 1 EP 5w-30 @ 13k mi; GM 5.3L 238k mi

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Dec 2, 2019
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FL. USA
I have had two UOA done by Blackstone on my Suburban and wanted to hear what you guys think about the results.

Let me start by giving you the details.

Truck is a 2008 Chevy Suburban 1500 2wd with the 5.3L LMG (flex fuel) engine with 4L60E (4 speed) transmission and 3:73 gears. I have it custom tuned for 89 octane fuel. 245k miles.

This whole thing got started when I was an over the road truck driver and I was away from home for long periods of time. I don't like/trust oil change places and I have always done my own maintenance. I ended up installing a dual remote mount oil filter setup and running over size oil filters and an aftermarket oil cooler. The 2 oversized filters are equivalent volume to 4.5 of the factory size oil filter. I run Mobil 1 extended performance (15k mile) oil and 2 Mobil 1 extended performance oil filters. I usually run 13k - 15k mile OCIs.


As you can see Blackstone says the lead is high. I know under normal circumstances this could indicate bearing wear/failure.

I have trouble believing that this is the case as I have no noises from the engine. Oil pressure is fantastic, I replaced the oil pump, timing chain, etc. as preventative maintenance at about 185k miles.

I do suspect that perhaps the cheap Chinese aftermarket engine oil cooler I bought may be leaching lead into the oil system. Any thoughts on that???

Other than that the lab reports seem pretty good to me for running such long intervals. Interested to here what the experts here have to say.

Now for the reports... there are 2 in the picture...

I just sent them the 6k mile sample they requested today. I will report the findings when I get them back.

Do you think the aftermarket cooler could be leaching lead from the solder it was manufactured with and if so do you think it would eventually stop doing that or not? I also run crimped hydraulic lines for all of the hoses between the engine and remote mount filter housing and cooler.

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Doubt it's from bearings as well. I'd bypass the un-necessary cooler for an OCI and see if that changes things.


Your setup while extravagant is simply not necessary for the ocis your running. Just being honest but I'd have rather run 13k on the stock filtration and oiling system with that oil. If for no other reason than it would make the data more meaningful
 
I understand it would certainly be easier to compare to a vehicle running the same oil filtration system but I already have the bigger system and it makes the oil changes alot easier having the filters out where you can get to them.

I wish bypassing the oil cooler was a simple thing to do... I would certainly give it a shot if it were.

I forgot to mention that the truck from the factory holds 6 quarts of oil. With my setup it holds approximately 9 quarts... it takes about 8 quarts for an oil change. The other quart is retained in the oil cooler and hoses etc.
 
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If not for those ugly lead/copper numbers, 15k mi OCI's probably would work out just fine. The lead/copper is most likely from an added cooler.

Top-up oil could be one grade down, to fight the viscosity thickening. ie: instead of 5W-30, try 5W-20. Or just accept that there will be a slight fuel burn penalty with the long OCI.
 
My
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The test results show there is nothing wrong with the oil in those two samples. Silicon is not high, so air filter should be a non-issue. Only things left would be the aftermarket oil cooler, or maybe the auxiliary oil filter housings.

We've run quite a few LS engines out to 200k+ miles at work. Only issue I've seen with them was some piston slap noise.
 
It was installed the same time as the remote mount kit.

I have thought about doing just that, one full flow and one bypass filter.

I did a little research and remember reading something about needing a restrictor or something in order to make it work correctly.

Any info on what would be needed would be appreciated.

My remote mount kit takes M1- 301A filters so 3/4 - 16 threaded filters.
 
Have you used any anti seize lately that could have made it's way into the system? (lead can be found in anti seize) Your other wear metals are low for a 13k mile run, I would think copper would be higher if it were the bearings.

I'd bet it's leeching from the solder used on the cooler tubes. If that's the case I would think it'd go down over time. Is it not practical to bypass the new cooler for an oci??

Edit: and because I have to ask, you're not using a fuel additive that contains lead are you?
 
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Originally Posted by Kbuskill
I have thought about doing just that, one full flow and one bypass filter. I did a little research and remember reading something about needing a restrictor or something in order to make it work correctly.
Any info on what would be needed would be appreciated.
My remote mount kit takes M1- 301A filters so 3/4 - 16 threaded filters.

The easy thing to do is to install 2 Fram Ultra oil filters. They filter better than the Mobil1 filters.
Fram Ultra does 80% of 5 micron dirt (4548-12 tests) using the double layer of synthetic fibers. A Mobil1 oil filter is a single layer of paper filter with I think some glass fibers or resin to enhance it some, but it doesn't perform near as well in the small sized crud area like Fram Ultra. (Ultra does 99.5% 20 microns too.)

In a parallel flow arrangement like that, the pressure drop on both filters is the same, and an Amsoil Bypass Oil Filter would flow less at the same pressure drop anyway, with higher resistance as it is. I'd guess you would get 1/4 flow thru the bypass, and 3/4 thru a Fram Ultra side-by-side the way you have it.
A restrictor on the bypass oil filter side would mean you could get that to 1/10 flow thru the bypass, something like that.

I think you could skip the restrictor. Sure you'd get more flow thru the bypass oil filter without a restrictor, but it would still filter well. Pick up more of the 2 micron stuff quicker. The fear is it would get plugged up early though. Even if it plugs all the way up, you would still have the full flow Fram Ultra next to it always doing its job, so I say No Restrictor.
 
Originally Posted by Kbuskill
It was installed the same time as the remote mount kit.

I have thought about doing just that, one full flow and one bypass filter.

I did a little research and remember reading something about needing a restrictor or something in order to make it work correctly.

Any info on what would be needed would be appreciated.

My remote mount kit takes M1- 301A filters so 3/4 - 16 threaded filters.


I was asking at what mileage. Your lead significantly increased from the 225K oil change to the 238K oil change.

Typically with a bypass filter setup you have a restrictor so only a small amount of oil goes through the bypass. You do not depend upon the bypass filter itself (which is a low flow filter) to be the restrictor.
 
No it not practical to by pass. The hydraulic lines I had made up specifically for where everything is located and they are very stiff so you can't just move them around anywhere you want them unfortunately.

No I don't run any kind of additive usually. I run 89 octane Mobil 1 fuel.
 
Like it or not, you're going to have to eliminate the potential of causes to understand the Pb and Cu levels, if you want to know for sure.
Take that oil cooler off, do a couple of really short OFCIs to flush the engine or residual metals, and the do a "normal" run with UOA.
 
Good info.

I haven't researched oil filters in a while but I remember that Fram used to be garbage (cardboard end caps, etc.). Mobil 1 says their extended performance filters have a "synthetic blend" filter media.

Last time I checked the K&N, Mobil1 EP, and Wix gold were some of the better filters... as far as build quality was concerned (metal end caps, more pleats, better media).

But I'm willing to learn.

As far as running the bypass filter is concerned. How would I know when to change it?

I know the safe bet would be every oil change but would I be throwing away a half used oil filter at that point?

I know that is a hypothetical question and there is no good answer. I'm just looking for a generalization.

Aside from touching the filter after the engine is up to operating temperature... I'm assuming if the filter was plugged oil wouldn't be flowing through it... and seeing if it was cool to the touch, I wouldn't know how to check it.
 
I installed the whole setup, cooler and remote mount kit, before I ever did any oil samples unfortunately. The UOA was kind of an after thought. I had installed all this stuff and then it got me to thinking, I wonder if any of this works... lol

Kind of backwards thinking I know. I wish I had done atleast 1 UOA before all of this so I had something to compare it too.


This is what I was reading before, which is why I never did anything with a bypass filter because I wasn't sure how it would work without modifying my current setup.
 
Hi Ken, you know me from the Tahoe/Yukon forum(donjetman).

Your copper and lead counts are NOT good. Everything else is good. dnewton3 is spot on.

I don't know if your remote oil filters are in series or parallel to one another?? If the filters are in series you can't run a bypass filter or you will starve the engine of oil volume and pressure. If they're parallel, you can run a bypass filter in one of the filter positions. Ideally, install a restrictor plug in either the inlet or outlet(has the same effect) of only the filer head that the bypass filter element is on. Drill a hole in the plug no larger that .100". You'll know when the bypass needs changing by keeping an eye on the temp differential between the 2 filter elements with an IR temp gun(Harbor Frt)

What brand and weight oil are you running?

Fram Ultra filters(XG) are of the highest quality, especially for xOCIs.

I understand you wanting more sump capacity.The larger the sump, the longer between changes. For that I would add a remote tank with a fill cap and drain cock, not two oil filters. Your engine as zero need for all that full flow filtering capacity. The stock full flow position can accommodate a larger than stock(4.9" tall vs stock 3.3") Wix 57045 or 57045XP or Baldwin B7444 or NAPA 7045. The tallest XG Fram that I can find that will fit the 22mm x 1.5 threads is a XG10575(4.1" tall).

I run a engine oil bypass setup on my 07 6.2L Yukon. I am using a remote filter head that accepts a Amsoil EaBP90 spin on filter element. The thread is 1" x 12. I got my filter head yrs ago from www.paretopoint.com. Amsoil sells these filter and/or head. Adds about 3/4 qt to the sump capacity. My remote bypass filter setup is plumbed into the pad where the oil cooler ports are. I do NOT run an oil cooler. If I were to put one on it would be the Tru-Cool H7B engine oil cooler with their 708-4739 cold wx bypass.

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Hey, good to see you over here. I have been a lurker over here for quite some time, finally decided to join.

My filters are in parallel.

I know the threaded nipple that the oil filters screw onto can be changed out for different thread pitches. Does anyone sell a new nipple that has a restrictor built into it???

I run Mobil 1 EP 15k mile 5w30.

My oil cooler is plumbed inline after my remote mount filters and before it goes back to the engine.

Adding the bypass filter to the factory oil cooler port is a good idea. I might look into that if adding the bypass filter to my current remote mount ends up being to much work.

About how often do you have to change the bypass filter???
 
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Found some Wix filters that appear to already have the restrictor built in.

What say you?

Obviously this filter won't screw onto my remote mount kit because it's the wrong thread pitch.

From what I have read all the bypass filters run an "odd" thread pitch to keep people from accidentally installing them in a full flow location.

Any idea where I can get a nipple that will screw into my Derale mount that fits a bypass filter?

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Originally Posted by Kbuskill
... What say you?

I'd say you're more fixated on filtration than finding the source of the Pb and Cu ... And that's fine by me; do what you want to do - nothing wrong with that.
But you came and asked a question about your UOA data, and yet you're all about "more" of everything (more filters, more oil volume, more gadgets). Everything but more logic. No filter is going to solve your wear metal conundrum.
 
Originally Posted by dnewton3
Originally Posted by Kbuskill
... What say you?

I'd say you're more fixated on filtration than finding the source of the Pb and Cu ... And that's fine by me; do what you want to do - nothing wrong with that.
But you came and asked a question about your UOA data, and yet you're all about "more" of everything (more filters, more oil volume, more gadgets). Everything but more logic. No filter is going to solve your wear metal conundrum.


This is true. The wear is still there, all the filter/filters are doing is filtering out the wear metals. It isn't going stop, slow, or reduce it. I'd be looking for the problem.
 
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