High Chromium in UOA

I own an 06 LGT with 93k on it at the time of writing. I've been sending in oil samples because I'm a nut about maintenance and generally like to know what's going on before it's too late. Well this is why: Blackstone called me on Friday when they processed my sample, saying there was abnormally high Chromium in my sample. Chromium is found in piston rings and I'm fearing the worst: that I might need a rebuild.

 

A little history on the car: it's been DD'd for the past 2.5 years. For the last year and a half it was driven 5 miles to work and back, so there were a lot of short trips, but lately it's being driven 25 miles each way. The car has been to autocross twice, but aside from that I take it easy on the street.

 

Here's the report. Let me know what you think.

 

5k oci? What oil? Compression and leak down test?

5k on Rotella T6. Previous 2 were on Amsoil 5w40, then GC, then M1 0w40

 

I'll be doing a compression test later this week to see how bad it might be.

Sorry I'm just not a big fan of a 0w oil in these cars with the noise they make with normal 5w oil.

How does it drive?

Prior to receiving a call from Blackstone, I had no thoughts that there was anything wrong. No strange noises, no loss of power, no blue smoke out the back, no misfires, no CELs

Personally... i would have the compression test done just for piece of mind (i may even skip it)... and i would drive it till it fails.

 

I mean, the worse case scenario is... well, you know. But if it's driving well, why not at leaset get some more time out of it, regardless of what the OA says... if your going to need a short block and turbo possibly... get your moneys worth from the setup you have!!! You could get another year if not more out of her!

I think I'm still going to buy a compression kit just for piece of mind. As far as keeping it goes, that had crossed my mind. Toss in some thicker oil, go with 3k OCIs, and slow down the wear a little bit

Its a little high, but I don't know how concerned I'd be. You went from 5 to 8 ppm, that's not a huge jump.

 

You basically have three options:

1) Keep driving and monitoring it.

2) Tear apart a working engine looking for something.

3) Sell the car while it still runs.

 

Since you show no other signs of problems I'd lean towards options 1 or 3.

Considering that the universal averages are 1ppm, I'm 8x higher

 

I think I'm going to heed jasejase's advice and keep driving it until it really starts falling apart

I'm guessing here, Chromium, Is that showing the valves are wearing ?

I'm guessing here, Chromium, Is that showing the valves are wearing ?

 

Chromium typically comes from piston rings. Unless our valves are also covered in Chromium...

my buddy went through the same thing... and the dealer pretty much said, since it's running perfectly fine, why waste your money... Cuz if the compression test results arent great, but your still happy with things... then you're likely gonna keep driving it anyways.

 

as far as unloading it while its running well, (ie rabidwombat) that's a personal and legal issue. You have reasonable knowledge that there's a problem with the car, so you should disclose that information.

 

I wouldnt be able to sleep at night if i sold a car knowing that something major was possibly wrong with it.

Chromium typically comes from piston rings. Unless our valves are also covered in Chromium...

 

 

 

Thank You, I was drawing a blank there. Yes rings, Duh.

 

How much oil is the car using ?

 

My vote is keep driving it as long as it runs well. Keep checking the oil and topping it off as needed.

 

Jusr re-read your first post, drive the car...these cars like to be driven long distances not short hop's.

Thank You, I was drawing a blank there. Yes rings, Duh.

 

How much oil is the car using ?

 

My vote is keep driving it as long as it runs well. Keep checking the oil and topping it off as needed.

 

Jusr re-read your first post, drive the car...these cars like to be driven long distances not short hop's.

 

The only time I ever noticed any oil consumption was when I used M1 0w40, and even then it only burned off maybe a quarter of a quart. Ever since then, nothing I've used has been burned off.

 

My new commute is 26.4 miles each way, so thankfully the short hops are few and far between

Sounds like you have a good engine there. I guess you have figured out to not use M1 again.

 

Drive it and enjoy it.

 

 

Dare I say, stop looking for issues... you know, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Unfortunately I filled up with M1 prior to receiving the UOA, so I'm going to monitor the oil level until it's time to change at 3k miles. Maybe sooner if I notice that it's losing it's amber hue

Just read your other post in the what did you do to your 4th gen

 

Good Luck with the house purchase.

Thanks Max. I hope to know more about the engine by the end of the week, so I can re-evaluate my plan of attack if things go south.

 

It'll be nice to have my own garage and not a dinky single car like I have now in my townhome. Anyway, we just got a puppy and he needs a yard of his own to run around in

puppy, oh no,,,one more mouth to feed... LOL

0W in the right oil is fine. I been using it for almost 200k. If it runs fine, I would do a compression check & go from there. Good or bad, will only determine how quickly you need to get money together for future repairs. Never hurts to have a maintenance fund. Like a 401k I donate to weekly. At a 120 commute, my cars can't not be down for lack of $$$$$$$$.

 

Mike

Mike, is your dual stage filtration system taking out parts smaller than a certain micrometer size? Is that something you could foresee helping in my situation?

Yes, filters down to 2 micron. Compared to 20-40 microns others signal spin-on oil filters. IIRC Amsoil full flow Ea oil filter is a 15 micron filter. I ran just amsoil 0w-30 SSO & a signal spin-on oil filter (Ea15k13) for 43k, before I switch to the 2 micron Duel filter setup. With no issues. Check your oil filter to see what micron rating it is. I would be looking for something at least a 20 micron filter, like a WIX.

 

Mike

As they said, run it until you notice a lot more oil consumption or loss of a cylinder.

Considering that the universal averages are 1ppm, I'm 8x higher

 

I think I'm going to heed jasejase's advice and keep driving it until it really starts falling apart

 

The highest Cr I have seen in my UOAs is 1ppm.