Oil was used for 16 months although 4 months the motorhome was in storage. I"ve since changed the oil to Pennzoil PP and a frame synthetic filter.
Any insight into the lead amount?
Any insight into the lead amount?
08 Chevy Express, 5w-30 M1 AP, 10,148
- Thread starter sipinkoolaid
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Oof, you may have a problem here...
Very surprising for only 50k overall.
Very surprising for only 50k overall.
If you were in my shoes what would be your next step?
Thanks
Thanks
I would try to get the lead concentration per mile down. V8 GM engines do tend to have high lead and/or copper so it may not be possible to get your lead concentration per mile down to what many other engines have. Do you have an oil temp. gauge? If so, how hot does it get? How hard is the engine worked?
It will probably take until the end of the summer to rack up that many miles. We only have 3 weeks worth of trips planned....
Originally Posted by buster
I'd take another sample around 3k miles or so.
Was the car not driven for those 4 months? If so it could be corrosion.
No, it wasn't driven for 4 months while in heated, indoor storage for the winter.
I'd take another sample around 3k miles or so.
Was the car not driven for those 4 months? If so it could be corrosion.
No, it wasn't driven for 4 months while in heated, indoor storage for the winter.
Originally Posted by JAG
I would try to get the lead concentration per mile down. V8 GM engines do tend to have high lead and/or copper so it may not be possible to get your lead concentration per mile down to what many other engines have. Do you have an oil temp. gauge? If so, how hot does it get? How hard is the engine worked?
It does not have an oil temp gauge. I would say it was worked very hard as it was fully loaded, traveled in it for straight year as our only transportation and climbed dozens of high mountain passes while driving all over the whole country. Could this type of severe duty cause this ?
Thanks
I would try to get the lead concentration per mile down. V8 GM engines do tend to have high lead and/or copper so it may not be possible to get your lead concentration per mile down to what many other engines have. Do you have an oil temp. gauge? If so, how hot does it get? How hard is the engine worked?
It does not have an oil temp gauge. I would say it was worked very hard as it was fully loaded, traveled in it for straight year as our only transportation and climbed dozens of high mountain passes while driving all over the whole country. Could this type of severe duty cause this ?
Thanks
Anecdotal, but the motorhomes I've seen here for UOAs often show a bit higher than "normal" numbers. Someone like Dave Newton would have much more insight into that. We don't have any trending here, so there's not much that can really be done except monitor things. Viscometrically, there's nothing about the lube itself worthy of condemnation.
Originally Posted by sipinkoolaid
Originally Posted by JAG
I would try to get the lead concentration per mile down. V8 GM engines do tend to have high lead and/or copper so it may not be possible to get your lead concentration per mile down to what many other engines have. Do you have an oil temp. gauge? If so, how hot does it get? How hard is the engine worked?
It does not have an oil temp gauge. I would say it was worked very hard as it was fully loaded, traveled in it for straight year as our only transportation and climbed dozens of high mountain passes while driving all over the whole country. Could this type of severe duty cause this ?
Thanks
I've seen UOAs of other gasoline engines whose purpose is to pull heavy loads and those UOAs also had higher than usual "wear rates" (PPM per mile), so I think there is a correlation. I agree with Garak that Dave Newton might have some good insights or advice. I would make some kind of change. Maybe I would try an oil with a higher HTHS viscosity of around 3.5 to 4.0 cP and/or one meeting the latest HDEO specs and/or add an oil temp. gauge. If you get a gauge and it shows high oil temps, adding or improving a/the oil cooler might help.
Originally Posted by JAG
I would try to get the lead concentration per mile down. V8 GM engines do tend to have high lead and/or copper so it may not be possible to get your lead concentration per mile down to what many other engines have. Do you have an oil temp. gauge? If so, how hot does it get? How hard is the engine worked?
It does not have an oil temp gauge. I would say it was worked very hard as it was fully loaded, traveled in it for straight year as our only transportation and climbed dozens of high mountain passes while driving all over the whole country. Could this type of severe duty cause this ?
Thanks
I've seen UOAs of other gasoline engines whose purpose is to pull heavy loads and those UOAs also had higher than usual "wear rates" (PPM per mile), so I think there is a correlation. I agree with Garak that Dave Newton might have some good insights or advice. I would make some kind of change. Maybe I would try an oil with a higher HTHS viscosity of around 3.5 to 4.0 cP and/or one meeting the latest HDEO specs and/or add an oil temp. gauge. If you get a gauge and it shows high oil temps, adding or improving a/the oil cooler might help.
Check that engine
Originally Posted by JAG
Originally Posted by sipinkoolaid
Originally Posted by JAG
I would try to get the lead concentration per mile down. V8 GM engines do tend to have high lead and/or copper so it may not be possible to get your lead concentration per mile down to what many other engines have. Do you have an oil temp. gauge? If so, how hot does it get? How hard is the engine worked?
It does not have an oil temp gauge. I would say it was worked very hard as it was fully loaded, traveled in it for straight year as our only transportation and climbed dozens of high mountain passes while driving all over the whole country. Could this type of severe duty cause this ?
Thanks
I've seen UOAs of other gasoline engines whose purpose is to pull heavy loads and those UOAs also had higher than usual "wear rates" (PPM per mile), so I think there is a correlation. I agree with Garak that Dave Newton might have some good insights or advice. I would make some kind of change. Maybe I would try an oil with a higher HTHS viscosity of around 3.5 to 4.0 cP and/or one meeting the latest HDEO specs and/or add an oil temp. gauge. If you get a gauge and it shows high oil temps, adding or improving a/the oil cooler might help.
Where would I find a list of the oils that you are referring to? I'm not very well versed in this forum or resources to find what I'm looking for. Any help in pointing me to the correct oil for my situation would be much appreciated. I am currently looking into installing a larger oil cooler.
Originally Posted by sipinkoolaid
Originally Posted by JAG
I would try to get the lead concentration per mile down. V8 GM engines do tend to have high lead and/or copper so it may not be possible to get your lead concentration per mile down to what many other engines have. Do you have an oil temp. gauge? If so, how hot does it get? How hard is the engine worked?
It does not have an oil temp gauge. I would say it was worked very hard as it was fully loaded, traveled in it for straight year as our only transportation and climbed dozens of high mountain passes while driving all over the whole country. Could this type of severe duty cause this ?
Thanks
I've seen UOAs of other gasoline engines whose purpose is to pull heavy loads and those UOAs also had higher than usual "wear rates" (PPM per mile), so I think there is a correlation. I agree with Garak that Dave Newton might have some good insights or advice. I would make some kind of change. Maybe I would try an oil with a higher HTHS viscosity of around 3.5 to 4.0 cP and/or one meeting the latest HDEO specs and/or add an oil temp. gauge. If you get a gauge and it shows high oil temps, adding or improving a/the oil cooler might help.
Where would I find a list of the oils that you are referring to? I'm not very well versed in this forum or resources to find what I'm looking for. Any help in pointing me to the correct oil for my situation would be much appreciated. I am currently looking into installing a larger oil cooler.
I don't use anything lighter than 15W40 an hour Express vans with refrigerated box bodies. Having an RV you are looking at at least the equivalent load when traveling. Except we don't deal with mountains down here.
I would highly recommend that you switch to a hdeo in the 5w 40 range. if you are not going to see cold starting in winter like conditions, then just do a 15 w 40 heavy duty engine oil.
A larger oil cooler would not be a bad idea at all.
do another used oil analysis in 3000 Miles and see if the problem is getting any better.
Edit: Is there going to any wisecracks about Mobil and iron in this thread? Didn't want to be the first.
I would highly recommend that you switch to a hdeo in the 5w 40 range. if you are not going to see cold starting in winter like conditions, then just do a 15 w 40 heavy duty engine oil.
A larger oil cooler would not be a bad idea at all.
do another used oil analysis in 3000 Miles and see if the problem is getting any better.
Edit: Is there going to any wisecracks about Mobil and iron in this thread? Didn't want to be the first.
Last edited:
Rotella T or Delo or Delvac 10w-30 would be the HDEOs I would first try. They have at least 3.5 cP HTHS viscosity.
I'd try Rotella T6 5w/40 - nice TBN and HTHS. Change oil sooner too.
Thank you all so far for the input and knowledge.
I have about 60 miles on the new oil change as of now. Should I change the oil again to a more suitable one or wait 2-3k?
I have about 60 miles on the new oil change as of now. Should I change the oil again to a more suitable one or wait 2-3k?
Anything less than 5k miles seems excessive to me in this case. But if you are going to drive a heck of a lot for a period and then it's going to sit for many months, I would change it right before it sits for a long time. It sitting around with fresh oil might help. Using a 10W-30 HDEO might help. Doing both is extra likely to help.
I will never understand the desire to stick with a 30 weight oil in these engines. There isn't any generation of them that was not stuck in boats and had 40 weight oil or thicker poured into it as the factory fill.
There is nothing in the world that these engines will "suffer" from using a 40+ weight. In some versions, it is required to use 5W-50 as a minimum spec.
An RV has no chance of getting good fuel economy anyway, so what is the point?
If there's no improvement in the next UOA, dump the 5W30 for a 5W40 or 15W40 with confidence.
5W30 is spec'd as the fill for a regular van. This van has had a house built on the back of it.
There is nothing in the world that these engines will "suffer" from using a 40+ weight. In some versions, it is required to use 5W-50 as a minimum spec.
An RV has no chance of getting good fuel economy anyway, so what is the point?
If there's no improvement in the next UOA, dump the 5W30 for a 5W40 or 15W40 with confidence.
5W30 is spec'd as the fill for a regular van. This van has had a house built on the back of it.
Originally Posted by sipinkoolaid
Where would I find a list of the oils that you are referring to? I'm not very well versed in this forum or resources to find what I'm looking for. Any help in pointing me to the correct oil for my situation would be much appreciated. I am currently looking into installing a larger oil cooler.
These thick 30's have a HTHS of at least 3.5: Delvac 10W-30, Delvac 5W-30, Delo 10W-30 XLE, Delo 5W-30 XSP, Rotella T5 10W-30 (has higher Phosphorus, might not be great for the cat if you're burning oil), M1 HM 10W-30, Pennzoil Platinum Euro L 5W-30, Pennzoil Euro 0W-30. I'm sure I forgot a few.
All xW-40 oils have a HTHS of at least 3.7.
Delvac 15W-40 is pretty cheap at Walmart...
Where would I find a list of the oils that you are referring to? I'm not very well versed in this forum or resources to find what I'm looking for. Any help in pointing me to the correct oil for my situation would be much appreciated. I am currently looking into installing a larger oil cooler.
These thick 30's have a HTHS of at least 3.5: Delvac 10W-30, Delvac 5W-30, Delo 10W-30 XLE, Delo 5W-30 XSP, Rotella T5 10W-30 (has higher Phosphorus, might not be great for the cat if you're burning oil), M1 HM 10W-30, Pennzoil Platinum Euro L 5W-30, Pennzoil Euro 0W-30. I'm sure I forgot a few.
All xW-40 oils have a HTHS of at least 3.7.
Delvac 15W-40 is pretty cheap at Walmart...
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