Mobil 1 EP 5w30, 6,282 miles, '19 Subaru Outback.

[GRWLEX]

2019 Subaru Outback 3.6R. 6200 miles. Mobli 1 EP 5w-30. Garaged vehicle. Daily driving in town 2x a day, 5 days a week, but most miles were put on long trips +200-500 miles every few weekends.

Blackstone suggests that there has been work done as an explanation for the copper. The engine has never seen the shop. Only basic maintenance at home.

 

[edyvw]

Hmmm, that is not good. Does this engine have any particular weak spots like bearings etc?
Do UOA again and see a trend in coper.

 

[fantastic]

That is some elevated Copper. Keep testing to establish the trend. Need to see if it's going up, down, or staying flat.

 

[BISCUT]

Mobil 1 5-30 has done well in my 17 3.6. Wondering if the high copper is an anomaly?? I have a few OUA's on my 3.6 attached. I'm going to do another one at my next OCI (167k).

 

[Trav]

This engine AFAIK uses a copper plated oil cooler. The plating wears off slowly over time and is a possible cause for the elevated copper readings. It wears away slowly for a very long time but does not flake off.

 

[dkryan]

The overall oil properties at the bottom of the report look good.

That said, if you have abnormal wear at the bearings or elsewhere, would you not expect to see certain other elements elevated, as well?

I know it would likely depend on what part (if any) was wearing abnormally, but in this case I’m inclined to believe it’s the oil cooler Trav cites above.

 

[dkryan]

2022 Subaru WRX HPL PCMO 5w-30 5000 miles

Hello, Attached is a UOA from Oil Analyzers for my 2022 WRX. I dropped the factory fill right at 1000 miles around May of 2023 and ran HPL PCMO as per recommendation from HPL themselves. It rolled over 5000 miles just before Thanksgiving and right around when I usually start driving my...

bobistheoilguy.com

I saw this thread immediately after posting above.

Note O/A’s comments in the narrative re: copper and the oil cooler.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

This engine AFAIK uses a copper plated oil cooler. The plating wears off slowly over time and is a possible cause for the elevated copper readings. It wears away slowly for a very long time but does not flake off.

View attachment 196233

Do they sell a-lot of these in parts rooms? It looks like something two people would smoke from.

Glad to read his Subie is likely safe from copper overdose. These M-I UOAs lately remind me of the Pennzoil Platinums low additives counts.

But as long as the analysis never cites additives included like Mylanta's Simethicone, then all this Natural Gas base should keep the engine healthy and non-farting.

 

[Trav]

The overall oil properties at the bottom of the report look good.

That said, if you have abnormal wear at the bearings or elsewhere, would you not expect to see certain other elements elevated, as well?

I know it would likely depend on what part (if any) was wearing abnormally, but in this case I’m inclined to believe it’s the oil cooler Trav cites above.

Elevated copper is common in Subaru engines that use a plated oil cooler, some other like some years of the Chrysler 3.6 and others show the same.
If the engine were using bi/tri metal bearings the copper is after the lead so if the high copper reading was coming from a bearing you would expect super high lead readings before you get down to the copper, a good example is some BMW S54 and M engines.
Some engines use aluminum bearings so you would not see any copper from them but severely elevated aluminum.

The guides are iron, the only place in the engine with bronze are the piston pin bushings but those are very durable, I have seen them with well over 200K on the EZ engines with no abnormal wear issues. Regular PCV valve replacement is a must with these engines, if neglected they will leak oil, 50K would be my limit, it is a very easy and inexpensive job.

This old thread shows what failing tri metal bearings UOA looks like.

46PPM lead and 21PPM Copper in S54 BMW

My Oil analysis from 2002 BMW M Coupe with the dreaded rod bearing worry has me very NERVOUS! BMW changed out the rod bearings on M3s with this motor but not the M Coupes. 46PPM Lead is HIGH...am I close to failure now at 60,000 miles? Always ran TWS 10W-60 with annual changes and I drive...

bobistheoilguy.com