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Official 2020+ EcoDiesel UOA Reports

43K views 289 replies 35 participants last post by  biodiesel 
#1 ·
This will be a place to post UOA results for the 3rd gen engine. When posting UOAs, be sure that all the critical information is available such as miles on sample, the oil, oil filter, driving conditions, dates, etc.
 
#2 ·
OhioTech sent me the following UOA report.

Oil: RedLine
Lube Time: 9,790 miles
Miles on Truck: 10,352 miles
 

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#4 · (Edited)
Motul 8100 X-Cess Gen2 5w-40
Sample 1: VOA (Virgin Oil Analysis, aka fresh unused oil)
Sample 2: used oil, 10k miles, about 5-6k of which was towing a 3,000# boat all winter long, with 2 quarts added over that span (engine break in hopefully)

Break it down for us, Willy :)

NEW OWNERS, CHECK YOU OIL OFTEN. she chewed 1qt (if i recall correctly) right off the lot from 0 miles to 1,200 miles. And then 2 quarts of Motul from 1,200 to ~7,000 miles.

89247
 
#5 ·
Overall, looks decent.
We see at 10K, some mild thinning - oxidation has just started to set in - so that’s likely the thin point for the oil (that’s not a concern - it’s the reference spec for the factory oil). The Base No is holding steady at 5.35. It starts at 8.75, and would be fine until at least 3, possibly 1, depending on the oil and when wear sets in.
Blackstone would tell you keep running it.... but many fleet guys noted that Rotella has massive wear starting when the base number gets around 3.2-3.4 - Delo I remember seeing quoted around 2.8-2.9. Some of the better stuff like Schaefer’s was not showing wear even below 1.... so an arbitrary number isn’t a good reference. You have to watch trends in large datasets.

Mostly, an excess of salts shows coolant long before failures are obvious - which is my primary concern. As large quantities of metal will show something failing earlier than the problem appears.

Makes me want to do a VOA, just not sure it’s worth the expense.

The Potassium is a lifter coating wearing off. It will drop some next time.
Iron should drop some next change, and be relatively linear based on miles on the oil from then on.
I wouldn’t expect the aluminum to start dropping next change based on experience. I’m curious to see my 30K results as soon as I send them out.
 
#6 ·
Incidentally, if you look at JGs post above, it’s holding up relatively similar to the AMSOIL, perhaps slightly better, and mine, you’ll see common trends, like the potassium level from the lifter coatings, the fact Iron drops even with more miles due to break-in, and the AMSOIL seems to do better on aluminum - this could just as easily be a sign of lower Group V content, and the aluminum particles are not clinging to the oil - will take several more intervals to find out....
 
#9 ·
Here's Amsoil EFM 5w40 FS Synthetic European Motor Oil VOA (Virgin Oil Analysis; aka unused oil fresh from the jug to use as a baseline reference):
I can't wait to see the UOA results!
 
#10 ·
I posted this is the wrong thread.

This is virgin analysis on the Quaker State Euro 5w40 sold at Walmart for $3.70 per quart.
 

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#12 · (Edited)
Here's my factory fill UOA. These are mostly highway miles and easy driving.
 

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#14 ·
Here's the second UOA, but first sample using Pennzoil Platinum Euro. The mileage on the second UOA was 95% towing.
 

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#18 ·
The fear mongerers on the 3rd Generation EcoDiesel owners group on Facebook would tell you that the low viscosity in this sample shows that you have excessive fuel dillution. They would go on to say that Blackstone isn't an ISO certified lab, and they don't actually test for fuel in the oil.

I go round and round with those guys all the time. They may have some valid points, but they also push Amsoil really hard and it ticks me off.
 
#19 ·
😂 well I haven’t had the joy to dabble over there on the 3rd gen diesel Facebook page. I’m just going to stay clear and let you have all the fun over there!

This first sample I’m going to take with a grain of salt. Between brake in and running it hard towing 7500 lbs up grades in the desert, I’m going to chalk it up to, it’ll be better next time. I don’t tow that much in the winter months. So next sample will probably be lite duty on it. I changed the oil myself for this sample and the dealer owes me 3 free changes. So I’ll be getting a fresh change after my next tow coming up. So she should be flushed out pretty good after another Short change. I’ll do another sample probably 5-6k after this next change. If I don’t tow I’ll probably go longer.
 
#24 ·
I'm FINALLY mailing out a heavily used sample of the Quaker State oil today. Should know something next week. It's going to be interesting...this oil cycle was rough with heavy towing, cold weather, stop-n-go, the whole nine yards. I also did confirm that my local Walmart does still have this oil on the shelf, and it's still $18.97 for a 5 quart jug, best deal out there IF the oil analysis looks good when it comes back. More to come.....
 
#27 ·
I don't like these aluminum numbers. FYI, these are mostly towing miles.
 

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#31 ·
I'll be switching to T6 once I use up the Pennzoil Platinum stockpile.
 
#33 ·
Instead of running two oils, it's easier to stock one. Here's what my shelf looked like a month ago.

 
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#37 ·
Just to be clear, you're going to run the T6 in your 2020 3rd Gen?
That's correct. I'll be running Rotella T6 in my 2015 and 2020 EcoDiesel trucks. In theory, Amsoil has a lower NOACK than Rotella, but I'm not sure if it really matters in the scheme of things. There are a dozen things that take out these engines and oil (regardless of what is being used) doesn't appear to be one of them. For that reason, I want to simplify my life by having one oil for both trucks.
 
#39 ·
Oil Analyzers is a f'ng joke. Their process is extremely difficult, and this time they "couldn't find" my paperwork even though it was in the pouch of THEIR provided packaging. In any case, here is the Quaker State 5W40 ($18.97/jug at Walmart) after 6,300 miles of HARD use towing at max capacity. The results are amazing. This would be my go-to oil from now on as long as I could source it.

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#40 ·
What is everyone’s opinion on my oil analysis with aluminum being 18. All easy highway miles for the whole life of the truck. I use it basically as a car. Maybe the Valvoline Euro was not up to snuff. I’ll get another test done with the Motul. I’ll be curious to see if there is any difference.
 
#42 ·
Your sample looks on par with others. Switching to Motul probably won't make any difference as most oil reports looks very similar regardless of oil being used. I know one person who ran Rotella T6 and saw aluminum at 9ppm at 4,500 miles. Additionally, I'll leave you with what GDE told me:

"High aluminum in the oil I’d think would be from a piston scuffing the cylinder walls. These engines have low-tension piston rings which reduce a little bit the friction (effort needed to push/pull it in the cylinder bore) but leads to degraded oil film management on the bore surface. There should have been an anti-scuff coating on the piston skirts like on the Gen2 engine but maybe the piston is getting fore-aft loaded in the bore where there is no coating." - GDE
 
#44 ·
There are a few 2020+ EcoDiesels at or nearing 100,000 miles, but unfortunately, those people are not active on this forum. I'm hoping for 300,000 miles from my 2020. ;)
 
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