Here's another UOA for my son's 2007 Matrix with 181,400 miles on the clock. The vehicle runs runs like a top and gets very good fuel economy. We have owned it for the last 70,000 miles. This UOA represents 50% Milesyn full synthetic and 50% Milesyn synthetic blend, both are 5w30. Also, I put 3oz of Liqui Moly #2009 and 0.3oz of Max ZDDP. About once a month, he adds a small bottle of Chevron fuel treatment or some other PEA based cleaner in the fuel.
Once again, the sodium level is high. The rest of the UOA is excellent. I really can't figure-out where this sodium is coming from. We put an ink mark on the anti-freeze overfill bottle and it has not budged from that mark since 2018 when we did the first UOA. We have not added any anti-freeze at all.
We live about 100 miles from the ocean and not very far from a brackish-water river that feeds into the Chesapeake Bay. Today, I replaced the air filter as it was dirty and the edges of it looked like air was seeping around the seal of the housing. The air duct tubing had a very light (normal) level of dirt on the inside. This was washed-out today. I disassembled the air box and removed the permanent filter which you can see is totally filthy. That filter has some mesh and what looks like charcoal pellets inside it. This time, instead of using one of those compressed fiber filters, I used an STP premium with a rigid frame that has a rubber gasket. The lid seemed to fit more securely with this filter vs. the compressed fiber filter. (While it was apart, the MAF sensor was cleaned with proper cleaner).
I use the same brands of oil and my preferred additives in all my other vehicles and their UOA's are excellent and show virtually no sodium. So... Any guesses where the sodium is coming from?
If the head gasket were leaking A/F, would I expect a slight drop in fluid level after over a year and 20k miles of driving?
Ray
Once again, the sodium level is high. The rest of the UOA is excellent. I really can't figure-out where this sodium is coming from. We put an ink mark on the anti-freeze overfill bottle and it has not budged from that mark since 2018 when we did the first UOA. We have not added any anti-freeze at all.
We live about 100 miles from the ocean and not very far from a brackish-water river that feeds into the Chesapeake Bay. Today, I replaced the air filter as it was dirty and the edges of it looked like air was seeping around the seal of the housing. The air duct tubing had a very light (normal) level of dirt on the inside. This was washed-out today. I disassembled the air box and removed the permanent filter which you can see is totally filthy. That filter has some mesh and what looks like charcoal pellets inside it. This time, instead of using one of those compressed fiber filters, I used an STP premium with a rigid frame that has a rubber gasket. The lid seemed to fit more securely with this filter vs. the compressed fiber filter. (While it was apart, the MAF sensor was cleaned with proper cleaner).
I use the same brands of oil and my preferred additives in all my other vehicles and their UOA's are excellent and show virtually no sodium. So... Any guesses where the sodium is coming from?
If the head gasket were leaking A/F, would I expect a slight drop in fluid level after over a year and 20k miles of driving?
Ray