- Location
- Houston, Tx
01 XJ
160k miles
Only symptom: coolant loss
Oil pressure normal, no milkshake.
No white smoke from exhaust
Had Blackstone labs run an oil analysis, here’s what they said:
You were looking for coolant, and you found it. Potassium and sodium show a pretty big leak. Silicon might also be from coolant, but it could be from abrasive dirt or maybe sealer/lube if any was used recently. Contamination (coolant alone or coolant + dirt) is causing the engine to wear quite heavily. Aluminum shows wear from pistons, iron comes from steel parts like rotating shafts and cylinder liners, and copper/lead/tin together come from bearings.
Potassium 1058 PPM vs average of 4
Sodium 1181 vs avg of 47
Today I pulled the valve cover. What I found wasn’t nearly as obvious as what I’ve seen out there for cracks, but there’s a faint brownish gold color running down from the exhaust valve on cylinder 4 toward the pushrod. I’ll upload the photos in the next post.
I also pulled the spark plug for #4. Significant rust on the washer and seat compared to 2 and 3, which I pulled to compare.
Thoughts? Am I looking for something that isn’t there? Based on the oil analysis is it time for a new motor? Or should I slap on a new head and send it?
160k miles
Only symptom: coolant loss
Oil pressure normal, no milkshake.
No white smoke from exhaust
Had Blackstone labs run an oil analysis, here’s what they said:
You were looking for coolant, and you found it. Potassium and sodium show a pretty big leak. Silicon might also be from coolant, but it could be from abrasive dirt or maybe sealer/lube if any was used recently. Contamination (coolant alone or coolant + dirt) is causing the engine to wear quite heavily. Aluminum shows wear from pistons, iron comes from steel parts like rotating shafts and cylinder liners, and copper/lead/tin together come from bearings.
Potassium 1058 PPM vs average of 4
Sodium 1181 vs avg of 47
Today I pulled the valve cover. What I found wasn’t nearly as obvious as what I’ve seen out there for cracks, but there’s a faint brownish gold color running down from the exhaust valve on cylinder 4 toward the pushrod. I’ll upload the photos in the next post.
I also pulled the spark plug for #4. Significant rust on the washer and seat compared to 2 and 3, which I pulled to compare.
Thoughts? Am I looking for something that isn’t there? Based on the oil analysis is it time for a new motor? Or should I slap on a new head and send it?