3.6L Pentastar Used Oil Analysis of Factory Fill, 2000 Miles (Blackstone report)

[DanW]

Ok, I've been waiting for this! Attached is my used oil analysis from Blackstone labs. The oil is the factory fill, which had 2007 miles on it. Keep in mind, when you compare to universal averages, this is a brand new engine and some elements present are high because of break-in and the presence of other materials from assembly and gaskets.

Anyway, it won't mean a great deal, other than showing a normal, healthy new engine, until I do more UOA's and trends can start coming to light. The next oil change will be after 4,000 miles, as recommended by Blackstone. The oil in there now is Mobil 1 EP 0w20.

I'll probably have an analysis done for each of the next three oil changes, or so, unless I go broke. Anyway, enjoy!

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[BoisetheCat]

super neat dan thanks. im now second guessing my plan of 1st change at 5k miles. think it'll be okay with added metals in there till 5k?

are they wanting you to change again at 4k? or go 4k on the mobil 1 then change?

 

[DanW]

super neat dan thanks. im now second guessing my plan of 1st change at 5k miles. think it'll be okay with added metals in there till 5k?

are they wanting you to change again at 4k? or go 4k on the mobil 1 then change?

They are wanting me to go 4k and then change. I still wouldn't worry about that metal. The filter will get the metal that is large enough to cause harm. I think you'd be perfectly safe to go 5k. This is a durable engine that is not hard on oil. Do what makes you feel comfortable. I wanted to go ahead and do it mainly to get the oil I really wanted in there, mostly for my own entertainment, to be honest. I feel good about having such a high performing oil in my baby's powerplant.

 

[BillyHW]

Are some of those elements normally part of the oil formulation or is this all from engine wear?

Could someone extrapolate the total mass of material worn from the engine from this information?

 

[DanW]

Are some of those elements normally part of the oil formulation or is this all from engine wear?

Yes, quite a bit of it is from the original oil formulation, as part of the additive package. I'm not knowledgeable to know which ones, but I'll read up on it with Blackstone.

 

[BillyHW]

Yes, quite a bit of it is from the original oil formulation, as part of the additive package. I'm not knowledgeable to know which ones, but I'll read up on it with Blackstone.

Has anyone ever sent them brand new clean oil (Mobil 1 EP 0W20, say) to see what a baseline is?

 

[DanW]

Has anyone ever sent them brand new clean oil (Mobil 1 EP 0W20, say) to see what a baseline is?

Yes, they do it all the time, but I'm not sure about this specific oil. I'll see what I can find.

 

[TommySM]

Ok, I've been waiting for this! Attached is my used oil analysis from Blackstone labs. The oil is the factory fill, which had 2007 miles on it. Keep in mind, when you compare to universal averages, this is a brand new engine and some elements present are high because of break-in and the presence of other materials from assembly and gaskets.

Anyway, it won't mean a great deal, other than showing a normal, healthy new engine, until I do more UOA's and trends can start coming to light. The next oil change will be after 4,000 miles, as recommended by Blackstone. The oil in there now is Mobil 1 EP 0w20.

I'll probably have an analysis done for each of the next three oil changes, or so, unless I go broke. Anyway, enjoy!

Is factory fill synthetic do we know?

 

[DanW]

Is factory fill synthetic do we know?

It is at least a synthetic blend. Nobody has found a conventional oil in 0w20. I'm guessing it is probably Pennzoil Gold.

 

[Chocolate Thunder]

It costs a few more $, but since you’re a pioneer would you be willing to get a total base number (TBN) on your next analysis? That helps tremendously to see how much useful life is left in the oil you’ve sent in. It’s very useful for those who use extended oil change intervals rather than drain out oil that has a lot of miles left in it. Many will cringe or disagree, but l’m sure that when using quality full synthetic oil in a motor like this without forced induction it could easily go much further (safely) between oil changes.

 

[DanW]

It costs a few more $, but since you’re a pioneer would you be willing to get a total base number (TBN) on your next analysis? That helps tremendously to see how much useful life is left in the oil you’ve sent in. It’s very useful for those who use extended oil change intervals rather than drain out oil that has a lot of miles left in it. Many will cringe or disagree, but l’m sure that when using quality full synthetic oil in a motor like this without forced induction it could easily go much further (safely) between oil changes.

Yeah, I might, but I also might wait until a longer run than 4,000 miles. Anyway, TBN is interesting with Mobil 1 EP oils because they seem to lose a good bit in the first few thousand miles, but then they stabilize for the long haul. In other words, it is not used up at a linear rate. There were people freaking out that a 15,000 mile oil would lose TBN like that, but then some folks ran it on out past 10,000 and it still had an acceptable level of TBN. One guy has run it to 23,000 miles, and it STILL had enough TBN. He is currently running it out to 25 or 26,000 miles and will post a report. I can't remember what vehicle he has. I'll have to check. Anyway, Mobil 1 Annual Protection appears to do the same thing. It will be interesting to see. Eventually, I'll probably change the oil once per year, but unless I take a big trip, that won't go past 10k, I don't think.

 

[mgroeger]

Old School and OCD...

I changed my oil and filter at 500 miles which is the old school mentality of cleaning out the microscopic break-in particles. Next change will be at 1500 miles and then normal changes on out.

Based on what it says in the owners manual (page 248) the turbo comes with full synthetic from the factory and the 3.6 says just oil so I'm guessing it's a blend or full since that's all you can get in Pennzoil 0w-20. Dealer said full synthetic came with it but who knows.

When I did my change I switched over to Pennzoil Platinum 0w-20 and will be using that till forever. I'd stick with Pennzoil and not go with Mobil. They also recommend Mopar, Pennzoil and Shell Helix. You can find Pennzoil 0W-20 at Wally World now and again for $27.

BTW... I love the fact that is a true 5qt fill. I drained the oil on a level surface, changed the filter and poured the entire 5qt. jug of oil in and it was perfect on the dipstick.

 

[FatBoy01]

snipe:

Old School and OCD...

BTW... I love the fact that is a true 5qt fill. I drained the oil on a level surface, changed the filter and poured the entire 5qt. jug of oil in and it was perfect on the dipstick.

YES! I agree 100%, that it will be great, to only need to dump a single, 5qt. container in and that's it!

By the way, when I do an oil change, I dump in required, known, amount of oil needed/required and don't even bother checking the dipstick. Serves no purpose checking dipstick then as reality is the reading you would get right at that moment is lets called it clouded..

I might add that looking over a dipstick just before an oil change can produce some insight into issues, etc.

 

[BoisetheCat]

so much good info here. should i be warming up the engine before and after i complete an oil change?

 

[DanW]

so much good info here. should i be warming up the engine before and after i complete an oil change?

I change it while warm, but Blackstone claims it doesn't make a difference. I run it afterward for leak and function check.

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