Using thicker oil

[csheath]

So I actually use Blackstone Labs for oil analysis as well.
I'll provide some of my numbers so we can have a point of reference.

Here is my 803a's oil report from its last oil change.
hours on oil was 157, oil used was AMSOil HD 15w40.
View attachment 907878

Here is my daily driver trucks oil report. (the one in my profile picture)
3,700 miles on the oil, type AMSOil Signature 5w30.
View attachment 907877

And here is the oil report for the transmission in the same truck.
25,000 Miles on the oil, type AMSOil Signature ATF. (As you can tell I like AMSOil)
View attachment 907879

Just looking at my numbers honestly it looks less like you had some ATF dilution and were running straight ATF this whole time.
I also noticed your flashpoint was low and fuel % much higher, that might be worth looking into.

Thanks for sharing the comparison.

I wonder if the ATF content could have flawed the fuel content percentage. The oil level doesn't change up or down on this unit and it seems to burn around .7 GPH.

I will probably have it retested in a 100 hours or so to see what difference the current oil made if any. I used plain ol Mobile Delo 15W40 and added a small bottle of STP containing some ZDPD.

 

[2Pbfeet]

Thanks for sharing the comparison.

I wonder if the ATF content could have flawed the fuel content percentage. The oil level doesn't change up or down on this unit and it seems to burn around .7 GPH.

I will probably have it retested in a 100 hours or so to see what difference the current oil made if any. I used plain ol Mobile Delo 15W40 and added a small bottle of STP containing some ZDPD.

I would interpret the "fuel content" as "non-motor oil content", in your case residual ATF. Given the low viscosities, and low zinc, I think that is also consistent. If it were me, I would change the oil now. I think that nothing good comes of having oil that is too thin or too thick.

All the best,

2Pbfeet

 

[Ray70]

Lets recap to make sure we're all on the same page.
If I'm reading correctly you changed out your 7 year oil with fresh 15-40 and some STP treatment?
This raised oil pressure slightly, up to about 25 psi. when hot.
You sent off a sample of the y year old oil and it came back low viscosity, presumably because of the residual ATF from an earlier cleaning attempt.
With the current oil and additive, what are you getting for pressure at initial cold start up?
And is this measured with a mechanical gage or the meter on the generator?

 

[csheath]

Lets recap to make sure we're all on the same page.
If I'm reading correctly you changed out your 7 year oil with fresh 15-40 and some STP treatment?
This raised oil pressure slightly, up to about 25 psi. when hot.
You sent off a sample of the y year old oil and it came back low viscosity, presumably because of the residual ATF from an earlier cleaning attempt.
With the current oil and additive, what are you getting for pressure at initial cold start up?
And is this measured with a mechanical gage or the meter on the generator?

It turned out I had done the ATF flush and oil change in 2018 but didn't record the hours.

So the total hours on the oil I drained out is less than originally posted and the age of the oil was around 5 years instead of 7.

The cold start up oil pressure has always been close to 50 PSI. It has always dropped to around 20 after it gets fully warmed up but usually holds there. The event that concerned me was after 40+ hours of continuous running I opened the doors to give it a quick look over for leaks and shortly after that it shut off with a low oil pressure light. I let it cool a while and restarted it and it was only reading 18 PSI but continued to run another 6 or so hours until our power was restored. It's possible the lack of cooling by opening the doors caused it to drop below the 15PSI shutoff threshold.

The oil level on the dipstick had always read about a quart overfilled both after the initial fill in 2016 and after I did the flush and change in 2018. It was then I realized the bent body work might be preventing a full drain and I straightened that so the hose and drain is now level
with the drain on the engine. In hindsight I should have done a follow up oil change much sooner. This time I put in the 5+ quarts of oil it's supposed to have and the oil level is right on the full line.

I installed a mechanical gauge years ago and it has always read close to the panel gauge. Probably the ONLY gauge on the panel that is accurate. Looking back at that thread I see the mechanical gauge was reading 18 PSI when the panel was reading 20 so not much had changed since 2018. https://www.steelsoldiers.com/threads/installed-mechanical-oil-pressure-gauge-on-mep-803a.178509/

(off topic) My power and Hz meters were DOA when I got the machine so I converted them to digital. My temperature and fuel level meters are inconsistent so I monitor the fuel by looking in the tank and I shoot the thermostat housing frequently with a IR meter.



(/off topic)

 

[Ray70]

Ok, thanks for the consolidated history.
Regarding the shut-down event, it sounds more like coincidence than anything. There is Zero possibility that you opening the door to check the temp could have caused the temperature to rise enough to cause additional oil pressure loss.
Since the pressure is up around 50 at cold start I would venture to say the oil pump and relief valve are both fine.
The low oil pressure sounds to me like the rod and / or main bearings are probably worn and loosing pressure past them once the oil thins out at temp.
You can just keep an eye on things, keep up with the oil changes etc. and you should be ok, but if you start having low oil pressure faults or if you just get curious, I personally would take off the engine side cover and pull off the connecting rod caps and inspect the bearings.
If they show copper on the wear surface I would just change them all out, it's not hard at all to do, and OEM rod bearings are available pretty reasonable.
The main bearings is a whole other story and requires that you yank the engine out to access them, so forget that for now!