I've been running CJ-4 Rotella since it came on the market. Been doing more/less consistent UOAs right along. The truck is a 2004 Dodge CTD, and is mechanically sound.
My first let down was after lugging my camper and small trailer from PA to UT/CO/AZ and back. I thought the less than stellar UOA might have been from a failing injector/worn injectors, however now I'm not so sure. I had seen pulling temps on the pyro nearing 1300*F, sometimes spiking to over 1500*F.
My oil typically stays a clear black color if that makes an sense...the color is black, but it is still clear on the dipstick. After the UT trip, the oil was sludge-like and a UOA confirmed it was unlike any previous UOA (viscocity increased significantly). Again, I attributed that to the bad injector(s) and moderately heavy towing. Solids came back at 0.3%
Fast forward to this weekend...trip from Washington to PA (empty). Oil has approximately 12k on 3 gallons, and 3k on 1.5 gallons of makeup oil (and a UOA confirmed the oil was in excellent shape at around 9k miles)...I have a GulfCoast bypass. The oil was the typical clear black color leaving Washington. However, one stretch of road I ran nearly a constant 80mph and was pushing 3k RPM for well over 100 miles trying to distance some storms...during this time, I averaged exhaust temps nearing 1000*F. The very next stop for fuel indicated the oil had indeed suffered the same change in visual characteristics, sludge-like black...no longer clear.
The previous UOA indicated the SUS increased from a normal 75 to almost 83, and the cSt increased from a normal 14.4 to 16.2. Flashpoint also decreased from a typical 430-450 to 405, but fuel was only 0.5%. All but the fuel were flagged as abnormal, but I assumed bad injectors and heavy towing caused it. All wear metals were low/normal except lead at 9ppm (again, towing related) and the additive-metals were very similar to normal UOAs.
Any comments would be welcomed, I'm considering trying Royal Purple or Schaeffers the next OCI. I will probably run a UOA on this oil in a couple weeks, and dump it if the UOA indicates.
My first let down was after lugging my camper and small trailer from PA to UT/CO/AZ and back. I thought the less than stellar UOA might have been from a failing injector/worn injectors, however now I'm not so sure. I had seen pulling temps on the pyro nearing 1300*F, sometimes spiking to over 1500*F.
My oil typically stays a clear black color if that makes an sense...the color is black, but it is still clear on the dipstick. After the UT trip, the oil was sludge-like and a UOA confirmed it was unlike any previous UOA (viscocity increased significantly). Again, I attributed that to the bad injector(s) and moderately heavy towing. Solids came back at 0.3%
Fast forward to this weekend...trip from Washington to PA (empty). Oil has approximately 12k on 3 gallons, and 3k on 1.5 gallons of makeup oil (and a UOA confirmed the oil was in excellent shape at around 9k miles)...I have a GulfCoast bypass. The oil was the typical clear black color leaving Washington. However, one stretch of road I ran nearly a constant 80mph and was pushing 3k RPM for well over 100 miles trying to distance some storms...during this time, I averaged exhaust temps nearing 1000*F. The very next stop for fuel indicated the oil had indeed suffered the same change in visual characteristics, sludge-like black...no longer clear.
The previous UOA indicated the SUS increased from a normal 75 to almost 83, and the cSt increased from a normal 14.4 to 16.2. Flashpoint also decreased from a typical 430-450 to 405, but fuel was only 0.5%. All but the fuel were flagged as abnormal, but I assumed bad injectors and heavy towing caused it. All wear metals were low/normal except lead at 9ppm (again, towing related) and the additive-metals were very similar to normal UOAs.
Any comments would be welcomed, I'm considering trying Royal Purple or Schaeffers the next OCI. I will probably run a UOA on this oil in a couple weeks, and dump it if the UOA indicates.
