changing oil

[DriVer]

Originally Posted by jojolou

I change my oil once a year and use Mobil 1 5w/30 and a 1 qt. Wix filter. Usually I only put around 5000 miles on it a year.

jojolou, "only put around" is not a good reason not to change your oil more frequently. Oil gets a lot of exposure in a year. I change mine in January and then again in July. The maintenance recommendation is for 3,000 miles or 3 months BUT I will push those limits out to 2x per year.

[j griff]

OEMY & Marty,
I too have been having high copper (and iron as well). TBN is 4.3 on last test at 31,600 miles with 4500 on the Mobil 1 5-30.
Copper Readings:
31,600 mi 4500 on change: 111
27,119 mi 5234 on change: 74
21,885 mi 5583 on change: 90

OEMY - why do you suspect oil cooler? Do you plan to change it?

Blackstone recommends dropping to 3000 mi between change to see if situation improves - and if not to "talk to someone" about what the elevated copper is telling us.
Best regards,
Jack

[jojolou]

"Driver", you mean you don't get your oil tested first? You just change it twice a year. I will stick to my routine and you are free to to do whatever makes you feel comfortable.

[Oemtech]

Originally Posted by j griff

OEMY & Marty,
I too have been having high copper (and iron as well). TBN is 4.3 on last test at 31,600 miles with 4500 on the Mobil 1 5-30.
Copper Readings:
31,600 mi 4500 on change: 111
27,119 mi 5234 on change: 74
21,885 mi 5583 on change: 90

OEMY - why do you suspect oil cooler? Do you plan to change it?

Blackstone recommends dropping to 3000 mi between change to see if situation improves - and if not to "talk to someone" about what the elevated copper is telling us.
Best regards,
Jack

I suspect that there is some copper in the tubing in the oiler cooler lines. Other than that it has to com from internal.

[TOMFEN]

j grif

What was your iron reading? Mine have been higher than the universal averages on every test. I didn't put the ODO readings on my original post so I'll post the readings again.

mi on odo-- mi on oil-- copper-- iron
68,037-----4,974-------70-------22
71,374-----3,337-------59-------24
79,758-----6,683-------101------27
85,196-----5,438-------107------43


oemy, would there be any reason to change the oil cooler if this is where the copper is coming from?

Tom

[j griff]

Tom,

mi on odo-- mi on oil-- copper-- iron
31,651-----4532-------111-------61
27,119-----5234-------74-------52
21,885-----5583-------90------52

Engine runs great, mostly easy miles at 60-65mph, 2200 rpm. Have had a couple of trips out west in the mountains and lugged it down a couple of times - buy by and large midwest plains driving. ScangageII - radiator and trans temps always in the right range. I started the oil sampling out of curiosity because the chassis was two years old (but still brand new) when I bought it - and because of AF background where we sample jet engine oil regularly.
Jack

[JimElliott]

I'll take a stab at the increase of particules in the oil test....
New regulations on the amount of "zddp" in the oil (decrease) will increase the wear on the engine rotating parts.
Some of you who have seen increases in the copper (bearings) might want to change the type of oil you are currently using to one or more better oils that have zddp above 1300...

Jim

[DriVer]

Originally Posted by JimElliott

Some of you who have seen increases in the copper (bearings) might want to change the type of oil you are currently using to one or more better oils that have zddp above 1300...

Jim, Strictly out of convenience could you please make a suggestion as to which oils present this type of performance package. Thx!

[JimElliott]

Sure, I have many places of oil interest...Look for "Scott Wheaton" who has done much digging into the new oils on the market...

Chevelle Tech - Interactive Technical Discussion Forum

Jim

[Oemtech]

I won't change out the oil cooler just yet.

[gonzo]

I wanna go back to our discussion on Filter. I just found out by comparing some specs that the 2 quart filter does not have an anti-drain back valve. I checked WIX and Baldwin and both 2 quarts do not have this while the 1 quart does. Otherwise, flowrate and micron rating are the same.

What kind of a difference does the anti-flow back valve make? What is it for?

[Oemtech]

If the filter is mount horizontal the anti drian back valve keeps the filter full so you don't have dry starts.. IE - fill the oil filter before any oil is pushed through the engine.

[DriVer]

Here is a pretty good article about how all this stuff works.

Lubrication Systems
From the February, 2009 issue of Chevy High Performance
By Bob Mehlhoff
Photography by Bob Mehlhoff