Fluids and Lubricants Motor oil, transmission oil, radiator fluid, power steering fluid, blinker fluid... wait, there is no blinker fluid. Technical discussion and analysis of the different lubricants we use in our cars.

Oil Analysis: High Lead

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 08-20-2007, 04:40 PM
  #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
2002 Maxima SE's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 2,064
Oil Analysis: High Lead

Whats going on here?

Lead at 40!!! I'm running Castrol German 0W30

2002 Maxima SE is offline  
Old 08-20-2007, 04:48 PM
  #2  
Supporting Maxima.org Member
iTrader: (14)
 
JwaxMax99's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: SE Wisconsin
Posts: 836
Are you using GC green, or the newer GC gold?
JwaxMax99 is offline  
Old 08-20-2007, 05:31 PM
  #3  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
2002 Maxima SE's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 2,064
It's the newer GC Gold.
2002 Maxima SE is offline  
Old 08-20-2007, 09:14 PM
  #4  
sky jumper
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
how did you pull the sample? any chance of contamination?

how do you drive the car? do you redline much?

do you use any fuel/oil additives? some contain lead. and some fuel adds contain strong solvents that will chew up your bearings right quick.

have you ever done an engine flush?

your air filter is doing an awesome job, so no sandblasting problems.

blackstone didn't say it, but IMO your iron is slightly high as well. for 5k miles on a top tier oil like GC your Fe should be down in the single digits, unless you beat on the thing. the universal averages they publish for this motor are much worse than well cared for examples produce. I get the feeling they get a lot of samples from people who race their cars.

personally I'd dump in some cheap dino & do a short flush OCI to get out all the lead, then run 3k with whatever you choose & sample again. if you just change the oil & resample, the next sample will be contaminated with leftover lead and you will not get a true assessment of the situation (i.e. was it a one time thing? or is it a continuing problem?).
 
Old 08-21-2007, 04:51 AM
  #5  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
2002 Maxima SE's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 2,064
Originally Posted by sky jumper
how did you pull the sample? any chance of contamination?
Pulled the sample while draining. It wasn't the first gush coming out but certainly within about 10 sec of pulling the plug, enough time to pull the plug put it down and reach for the container next to my creeper. I sealed it up right after that.

how do you drive the car? do you redline much?
Like a grandmother, same route everyday with a long highway trip to and from Pa (800 miles) on this last sample. Never redline.
do you use any fuel/oil additives? some contain lead. and some fuel adds contain strong solvents that will chew up your bearings right quick.
I use a fuel additive about once a year (Lubecontrol FP60). I think I used it on this last sample.
have you ever done an engine flush?
Never. 5k miles change interval with Mobil1 since 10k miles to 55k miles then switched to GC for the last 10k miles.
your air filter is doing an awesome job, so no sandblasting problems.

blackstone didn't say it, but IMO your iron is slightly high as well. for 5k miles on a top tier oil like GC your Fe should be down in the single digits, unless you beat on the thing. the universal averages they publish for this motor are much worse than well cared for examples produce. I get the feeling they get a lot of samples from people who race their cars.
It's a paper filter from Wix. I can't do s short change on this one because I took the sample while draining (as on the first reported sample) and then changed the oil with GC.

personally I'd dump in some cheap dino & do a short flush OCI to get out all the lead, then run 3k with whatever you choose & sample again. if you just change the oil & resample, the next sample will be contaminated with leftover lead and you will not get a true assessment of the situation (i.e. was it a one time thing? or is it a continuing problem?).[/QUOTE]
2002 Maxima SE is offline  
Old 08-21-2007, 07:32 AM
  #6  
Senior Member
iTrader: (2)
 
CCS2k1Max's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 1,815
My 2 cents

IMO, Techron is the culprit. If you want a true wear lead reading in your oil, stop adding Techron to the gas tank in between OCIs. If you still feel the need of adding Techron, do it the tankfull before you change the oil (but after grabbing a sample).
CCS2k1Max is offline  
Old 08-21-2007, 09:35 AM
  #7  
sky jumper
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
techron? I think he's using FP60, which is a very mild upper cylinder lube and is not the cause of the high lead.

2002 SE -- it sounds like you're taking great care of this car. I have no idea what this could be. blackstone might be right about the particle streak. definitely get more samples to see if it continues. a particle streak will gradually disappear over a couple OCIs.

you might post this on the bobistheoilguy UOA forum. I think you'll get mostly the same responses, but maybe someone there will see something I don't.
 
Old 08-21-2007, 10:36 AM
  #8  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
2002 Maxima SE's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 2,064
Originally Posted by CCS2k1Max
IMO, Techron is the culprit. If you want a true wear lead reading in your oil, stop adding Techron to the gas tank in between OCIs. If you still feel the need of adding Techron, do it the tankfull before you change the oil (but after grabbing a sample).
I didn't mention Techron in a single post.
2002 Maxima SE is offline  
Old 08-21-2007, 10:37 AM
  #9  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
2002 Maxima SE's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 2,064
Originally Posted by sky jumper
techron? I think he's using FP60, which is a very mild upper cylinder lube and is not the cause of the high lead.

2002 SE -- it sounds like you're taking great care of this car. I have no idea what this could be. blackstone might be right about the particle streak. definitely get more samples to see if it continues. a particle streak will gradually disappear over a couple OCIs.

you might post this on the bobistheoilguy UOA forum. I think you'll get mostly the same responses, but maybe someone there will see something I don't.
I did, in the European Oil section.
2002 Maxima SE is offline  
Old 08-21-2007, 10:45 AM
  #10  
Senior Member
iTrader: (2)
 
CCS2k1Max's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 1,815
Originally Posted by 2002 Maxima SE
I didn't mention Techron in a single post.
I thought you posted you'd used techron (or Chevron gas) in BITOG, but I now don't seen that. Did you use any adds with Techron?
CCS2k1Max is offline  
Old 08-21-2007, 11:01 AM
  #11  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
iTrader: (3)
 
2002 Maxima SE's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 2,064
Originally Posted by CCS2k1Max
I thought you posted you'd used techron (or Chevron gas) in BITOG, but I now don't seen that. Did you use any adds with Techron?
Our area doesn't have Chevron gas stations. I do recall the post on BITOG where someone related Techron to the high lead in their analysis. Nothing conclusive though.
2002 Maxima SE is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
hcarter1112
5th Generation Maxima (2000-2003)
42
07-18-2022 03:35 PM
Miket2006
6th Generation Maxima (2004-2008)
4
03-01-2021 03:55 AM
My Coffee
New Member Introductions
15
06-06-2017 02:01 PM
Fbana41
Maximas for Sale / Wanted
3
08-29-2016 12:18 PM
DC_Juggernaut
7th Generation Maxima (2009-2015)
4
09-28-2015 04:07 PM



Quick Reply: Oil Analysis: High Lead



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 11:20 PM.