2013 328i Castrol 0w/40 High Aluminum & Iron

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Concerned about high Iron and Aluminum...

Bought this car a year ago and changed the oil and filter after purchase. This sample is from that first run of Castrol 0w/40, not sure what was in there previously. The car is not driven hard, my wife's daily driver, ten miles each way to work and back plus some weekend drives with the top down (it's the Cabriolet) but nothing hard. Why would there be high aluminum and iron?

The car doesn't have a lot of miles and doesn't look like it was abused, very clean inside and out. It has the N51 engine and the GM 6-speed auto. It does have the extra emissions stuff (SULEV) and was originally sold in California. Runs very smooth and didn't use any oil in the 5k mile run. The only thing I have been concerned about is it seems to make a bit more whirring noise than I'm used to. Sort of sounds like a torque converter low on fluid, that sort of noise. Which is why I did a trans fluid change but it wasn't low and the new trans fluid didn't make it any quieter. So I donno, maybe these engines are just a bit whiny!

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As Blackstone said, you need to try one more UOA, to see if it was a one-time event.
Not only are the AL and FE too high, but the viscosity is at the minimum, flashpoint below min. by quite a bit, plus fuel present. All may be due to fuel.
Some on here say that the fuel % in their reports is not accurate. IDK.
Some others with more tech know how may have a better answer.
 
Guessing 4-7% fuel dilution, based on viscosity drop and flash. Ignore Blackstone fuel number, as Blackstone doesn't actually measure it. As stated above, this may be a contributing factor??

I'd switch to a lab that uses gas chromotagraphy to measure fuel dilutuon next time, so you know for sure whether that's an issue. While high and worthy of being on your radar, wouldnt be too worried at this point about those wear numbers.
 
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Originally Posted by claluja
Guessing 4-7% fuel dilution, based on viscosity drop and flash. Ignore Blackstone fuel number, as Blackstone doesn't actually measure it. As stated above, this may be a contributing factor??

I'd switch to a lab that uses gas chromotagraphy to measure fuel dilutuon next time, so you know for sure whether that's an issue. While high and worthy of being on your radar, wouldnt be too worried at this point about those wear numbers.


This. The implied fuel dilution from visc loss and flashpoint reduction is concerning.
 
Is it possible that the car had a really long oci before you bought it and these are partially residual wear metals from that? That would show up in the next oci as lower wear metals hopefully.
 
I'd do a couple of short OCI's like this one 5K miles and then re-test to make sure it's not an anomaly or like someone else suggested a long OCI before you got the car that is just residuals showing up. The numbers aren't high enough that I would worry about impending failure but you want to monitor at the same time.

I'd use TestOil in Ohio or some other service that has actual fuel dilution numbers that aren't just interpreted for the next analysis.
 
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I also think the issue is way too much fuel in the oil. So much so I'd suspect a mechanical issue that needs addressing, injectors maybe? Fortunately the wear numbers, while an indicator of an issue, and not high enough to be worried over assuming you find the cause of the fuel contamination. JMO.

Was the oil sampled hot?
 
Originally Posted by KCJeep
I also think the issue is way too much fuel in the oil. So much so I'd suspect a mechanical issue that needs addressing, injectors maybe? Fortunately the wear numbers, while an indicator of an issue, and not high enough to be worried over assuming you find the cause of the fuel contamination. JMO.

Was the oil sampled hot?


It wasn't hot but the car had only run enough to drive it up on the ramps for the change. Yeah, I hadn't noticed the really low flash point but that really does speak to fuel dilution doesn't it... As for a long oil change prior, the oil looked pretty clean when I bought the car but it may have been changed by the used car dealer, not real sure. But in that case, it would have had a short flush before I changed it. I can tell you when I look down the fill hole it looks sparkly clean in there!
 
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
I'd definitely want to try a different oil.

It's not oil. This oil is probably best you can get for Euro cars in the US.
 
Originally Posted by Scout1
Originally Posted by KCJeep
I also think the issue is way too much fuel in the oil. So much so I'd suspect a mechanical issue that needs addressing, injectors maybe? Fortunately the wear numbers, while an indicator of an issue, and not high enough to be worried over assuming you find the cause of the fuel contamination. JMO.

Was the oil sampled hot?


It wasn't hot but the car had only run enough to drive it up on the ramps for the change. Yeah, I hadn't noticed the really low flash point but that really does speak to fuel dilution doesn't it... As for a long oil change prior, the oil looked pretty clean when I bought the car but it may have been changed by the used car dealer, not real sure. But in that case, it would have had a short flush before I changed it. I can tell you when I look down the fill hole it looks sparkly clean in there!

I would do 5k OCI and make sure oil is at operating temperature before draining. That is high dilution for N51 engine. Also, do TBN and TAN next time.
 
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this oil has all the right stuff,maybe wifey beats on it a little before it's warmed up good...Hang in there with the Edge for a second OCI.
 
I had similar experiences with M1 0W-40 in my AMG (though not high AL and FE, just that I did not care for the UOA results with it). Conversely, Castrol 0W-40 seems to be a better fit. Unless things have changed in the recent past, Blackstone uses a "flame test" to determine fuel dilution which is subjective versus a lab like Horizon/Polaris who uses gas chromatography along with WI-0086 and ASTM D7593 test methodologies to determine fuel dilution. You may want to consider a different lab if you suspect that fuel dilution is the root cause of the high wear metals.
 
Originally Posted by dblshock
Polaris only measures UP TO 5% if I understand it correctly....BFD.
ASTM D7593 sets the limits not the lab. The ASTM D7593 test method covers a quantitation range up to 10â€% (m/m) for diesel and biodiesel, and up to 5â€% (m/m) for gasoline (https://www.astm.org/Standards/D7593.htm). The fact that Polaris is ISO accredited (https://x4v5f2p4.stackpathcdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2145.02-valid-30JUN20-HOU.pdf) and performs their tests to a repeatable standard speaks louder to me than the limits. Fuel dilution of up to 5% should be an indicator that shorter OCIs may be in order particularly if coupled with higher wear metal trends.
 
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