'05 PSD 6.0 Excursion 124k - 15w-40 Motorcraft

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I had this UOA run not so much to validate the oil or extended oil change, but to check the health of the engine. Having bought the truck early last summer, I had made up my mind that given the PSD 6.0 problems out there, if this one had antifreeze or excess fuel in the oil, it would be getting traded the next day. Seems like my results were pretty decent.

The oil was changed at the Ford dealership before I bought it and they had put in the standard Motorcraft 15w-40 Diesel oil and Motorcraft filter and changed the fuel filters and flushed the cooling system. I boost the Cetane on each tank of fuel and my original post can be found here:

Help me Choose an Oil

I had planned on sticking with a good Dino oil at this change. But, a friend of mine hooked me up with some free Amsoil, so we'll se how that goes for the next 7500 miles.

Oil%252520Analysis%252520124735%252520miles.jpg
 
Wow!

A 6.0 PSD with 7.4k miles on dino 15w-40, and it could certainly have gone 9k as they suggest. If you push it that far, I'd suggest a TBN next time for confirmaion. The wear metals are at or below average with greater than average exposure.

Look at the vis; no shearing even after 7.4k miles. Where does that leave the "PSD shear monster" pundints?

Free oil is a good thing these days, but I'd really question how any oil, (regardless of it's base stock and brand), could beat a report like this!

I'm jealous; love those Excursions with a diesel, especially one with an engine as good as this! Do whatever necessary to keep it in good shape. Consider a EGR upgrade from Bulletproof and a coolant filter, and that thing ought to last forever.
 
Originally Posted By: dnewton3

Look at the vis; no shearing even after 7.4k miles. Where does that leave the "PSD shear monster" pundints?



Wait a second!
100C vis = 11.65 is NOT normal for a 15W40. The official range is 12.5 to 16.3, but what we see for average dino 15W40s is 14.0-15.5, isn't it?
I think this oil has been sheared.
Not that it matters all that much, since 15W30 is within mfg parameters. Unless HTHS has fallen below 3.7, then it does matter. My 5W30 Delvac 1 LE has a 100C vis of 12.3.

Charlie
 
Originally Posted By: m37charlie
Originally Posted By: dnewton3

Look at the vis; no shearing even after 7.4k miles. Where does that leave the "PSD shear monster" pundints?



Wait a second!
100C vis = 11.65 is NOT normal for a 15W40. The official range is 12.5 to 16.3, but what we see for average dino 15W40s is 14.0-15.5, isn't it?
I think this oil has been sheared.
Not that it matters all that much, since 15W30 is within mfg parameters. Unless HTHS has fallen below 3.7, then it does matter. My 5W30 Delvac 1 LE has a 100C vis of 12.3.

Charlie


You are correct sir, this is the reason for me now running 10w-30 in my 6,0.

Quite honestly this is a very good looking report, wear metals wise. If wear metals were to stay in check I don't see a problem using this oil to 9,000mi. as suggested.
30wt. @100cst goes down to 9.5.

The three times I spent extra money on 5w-40 UOA's came back sheared into mid 30wt., and wear metals increased vs. the 15w-40 I was using. I made the switch to 10w-30 and it doesn't shear as badly as the 5w-40 did(the 5w-40 viscosity was actually lower than the 10w-30), its only half of the price, and UOA's all come back excellent.

Without looking it up my 10w-30 comes back at between 11 and 10.5 cst@100c after a 7,500mi. OCI, and that was with an CI-4 formulation, John Deere Plus 50. My current fill is with thier CJ-4 Plus 50 II.

Motorcraft oils seem to hold up quite well and can go the 7,500mi recommended in the owners manual. On a side note my dealer along with several others are using 10w-30 not only in the 6.0's, but also in the 7.3's, 6.4's, and the new 6.7 specs 10w-30.
 
Originally Posted By: m37charlie
Originally Posted By: dnewton3

Look at the vis; no shearing even after 7.4k miles. Where does that leave the "PSD shear monster" pundints?



Wait a second!
100C vis = 11.65 is NOT normal for a 15W40. The official range is 12.5 to 16.3, but what we see for average dino 15W40s is 14.0-15.5, isn't it?
I think this oil has been sheared.
Not that it matters all that much, since 15W30 is within mfg parameters. Unless HTHS has fallen below 3.7, then it does matter. My 5W30 Delvac 1 LE has a 100C vis of 12.3.

Charlie



Good catch, Charlie. Caught up in my own haste and made a mistake. I looked at the numbers on the UOA and took them at face value, without stopping to think of the "normal 15w-40" range. It did indeed shear. Of course, that (in and of itself) simply is "normal" for a PSD. And it also goes to show that not all shearing is detrimental, as evidenced by the good wear numbers.

For reference, as long as lube does not move out of it's stated grade, I tend to accept that it didn't shear enough to really make any difference. With the "12.5 - 16.3" range for 15w-40, as long as it's in there somewhere, I don't really get excited. We cannot know for sure if it shears unles we have a VOA to match up with the UOA from each sump or batch load.

Regardless, I was too careless in my quick view and made an incorrect statement. This oil did indeed shear as it went out of grade for a 40.
 
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Originally Posted By: dnewton3

I'm jealous; love those Excursions with a diesel, especially one with an engine as good as this! Do whatever necessary to keep it in good shape. Consider a EGR upgrade from Bulletproof and a coolant filter, and that thing ought to last forever.

Thanks... Definitely in love with it. The prior owner was an older woman that was the sister of the Ford dealer owner. Every maintenance schedule is up to date on it. Her husband towed their dragster now and then, but being garage kept it looks like it has about 30k miles on it.

The EGR upgrades and coolant filters are on the list of upgrades. Otherwise, it is bone stock running 285 tires and still impresses me performance-wise when I lay down on it pretty good.

Drove the truck about 330 miles last night up I-95 (flat ground) with the cruise set on 75 and it still managed to pull down 19.2 mpg.

I'd always heard that a good synthetic oil quiets down these 6.0 PSD's. I put in the Amsoil and after a little bit I could definitely tell some of the chatter was gone. The turbo still screams like there's an air-raid coming, but the truck is quieter. Now I tend to overanalyze things, so I asked the wife if she noticed anything different, and without a hint she said, "yeah...the beast is quieter...but still noisy!"
 
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The 7.3 and 6.0 PSD's are noisy, period. Especially on cold starts. I mean NOISY! How noisy? Well, my neighbor stared his 6.0L in the barn, and we about went deaf. I started my GM right after he started his truck. He didn't even realize my Dmax was running, until he shut his truck off. The sound difference was that significant. And the colder it gets, the greater the difference.

Noise abatement in a PSD is a subjective matter. If you believe the Amsoil makes a difference, that's all that's important; you need to be happy with your choices. I find the topic a bit moot, as the 6.0L is flat loud no matter what oil is in it. When you're hit on the finger with a hammer, does it really matter if the hammer is a 5lb or 6lb hammer? They both hurt really bad. Same goes for oil in a PSD with respect to noise. It's going to be loud no matter what you put in it.


Regardless, nice UOA on what must be a very nice Excursion! And I'm still jealous.
 
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Originally Posted By: dnewton3
The 7.3 and 6.0 PSD's are noisy, period. Especially on cold starts. I mean NOISY! How noisy? Well, my neighbor stared his 6.0L in the barn, and we about went deaf. I started my GM right after he started his truck. He didn't even realize my Dmax was running, until he shut his truck off. The sound difference was that significant. And the colder it gets, the greater the difference.


Some of the later 7.3s (02-03.25) are a little quieter with the long lead injectors. Not Dmax creepy quiet(ah the joys of a Common Rail and multiple injection events) but not as loud as the 94-01 7.3s or any 6.0...my God those are loud!

Back to topic, great looking UOA!
 
You guys want a quiet diesel, you should hear my Farmall (Neuss D358). When it's warmed up, it sounds like a gas engine idling. DIrected injected but barely a 15:1 CR (whatever is left of that after 8300+ hours).
 
To the polar opposite, my 1987 diesel Escort was unconsciounably LOUD when started cold (if it started at all below 20F). Sounded like midgets pounding away with ball-peen hammers in a cast iron casket when that thing started up. Imagine a 6.0L PSD with 1/2 the cylinders, only about 12" in front of your feet in a little tin-can of a car.

Sorry - I digressed. Gettin' misty about the good ol' days.

That's the trade off with technology. Newer diesels with CR and such start easy, run quite (most of them anyway) and are efficient with great power density.

OTOH, the old IDI mechanically injected stuff was nearly impossible to kill, didn't need a computer to tell it how to run, and was stupid-simple to work on.
 
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