Nickel levels in oil analysis

[redbat]

Just got my oil analysis back from Blackstone Labs, and apparently the level of nickel has doubled (from 3 to 6). Looking for help with what parts of our engines are nickel or nickel-alloy. Are we looking at pistons or cylinder liners?

Here's what they said: "Nickel is a bit out of place here. We're not sure of its exact source but it's often used as a coating or alloying metal. Regardless, we don't see much of it out of these engines, and it's doubled since last time so that's something to keep an eye on.

Other metals are mostly steady, so overall the engine still looks to be wearing well. There's some fuel dilution again, but 1.5% is low enough to be harmless and from normal use. The viscosity is in the expected range for a 5W/40 and no coolant was found. If all is well on your end, just check back for another look at nickel."

I've been running T6, and the last batch of oil was in there for 7800 miles. BPG engine, 137,000 miles.

Thoughts? Would like to keep this thing running as long as I can.

[timzcat]

I wouldn't worry about one test. Oil can contain nickel, sometimes at a higher than normal level.

Assuming you've done no work, some anti-seize lube contains a lot of nickel also.

[Brillo]

Not sure of a source for nickel. Block is cast grey iron and no cylinder liners/coatings. Nickel is usually alloyed with iron so if the iron is not out of whack I really don't think you have anything to worry about within the engine, especially since the level is so low. Your OCI of 7800 miles is no big deal either and you said everything else was pretty normal for these engines. Could be an analysis error (or some other anomaly) although Blackstone is usually not prone to errors. I use them all the time for my aircraft engines. The only nickel alloy that I'm aware of is the hot section of the TC (the turbine) but don't see a direct pathway to the engine oil. Assess again at the next OCI and let us know what happens.

[Theiceman]

Okay for nickel to be " in oil" is absolutely shocking to me and wonder if that statement is in error.

Nickel is one of the hardest substance you can use and nickel is used as mentioned in coatings such as Nickasil for cylinders and sometimes pistons due to its hardness and resistance to wearing . If it were free floating in my engine I would be somewhat concerned as it can score in a hurry . Definitely I would be looking closer if it scored high two tests in a row, especially if beyond trace amounts.
other places it can be used is in hardened cam shafts, have you done any engine mods that would change parts.

I think on a warm day with a beer a might pop off the valve cover and have a look at the cam lobes out of curiosity, if for no other reason to put my mind at ease.

[Chris@EPL]

My blackstone oil analysis on my B7 2.0T at 268k miles showed 1 PPM of nickel.

[redbat]

Not sure of a source for nickel. Block is cast grey iron and no cylinder liners/coatings. Nickel is usually alloyed with iron so if the iron is not out of whack I really don't think you have anything to worry about within the engine, especially since the level is so low. Your OCI of 7800 miles is no big deal either and you said everything else was pretty normal for these engines. Could be an analysis error (or some other anomaly) although Blackstone is usually not prone to errors. I use them all the time for my aircraft engines. The only nickel alloy that I'm aware of is the hot section of the TC (the turbine) but don't see a direct pathway to the engine oil. Assess again at the next OCI and let us know what happens.

Iron levels were apparently within tolerances for this batch at 20 (previously 21). I think I read somewhere in the tech sub forum that the cylinder lining wasn't Nikasil, but a sprayed on graphite coating of some kind, which got me wondering where nickel could be coming from. I'm not super worried about it, I just like to know how things work. Thanks for the reply, much appreciated!

[redbat]

Okay for nickel to be " in oil" is absolutely shocking to me and wonder if that statement is in error.

Nickel is one of the hardest substance you can use and nickel is used as mentioned in coatings such as Nickasil for cylinders and sometimes pistons due to its hardness and resistance to wearing . If it were free floating in my engine I would be somewhat concerned as it can score in a hurry . Definitely I would be looking closer if it scored high two tests in a row, especially if beyond trace amounts.
other places it can be used is in hardened cam shafts, have you done any engine mods that would change parts.

I think on a warm day with a beer a might pop off the valve cover and have a look at the cam lobes out of curiosity, if for no other reason to put my mind at ease.

Here's the thing, though - my cam follower was holed, and I had the dealership replace the cam follower, HPFP and the camshaft under warranty at about 118k, so everything in there should be brand new. I haven't checked the follower since they did that, though, but I thought I read somewhere that the cam follower material was iron. Has anyone had an oil analysis done directly after a cam follower failure? That would be useful info.

Funny thing is that I actually had a new spare valve cover laying around for future use (I'm running the original silver one still), but ended up using it in my lady's "new" used b7 after I noticed oil consumption issues. My engine hasn't ever had any oil consumption issues (aside from a vacuum pump leak)...

However, if I DO maybe have an oil issue that I just haven't seen, perhaps due to a VC problem, could nickel from the turbo possibly get back into the engine that way? Running a BSH PCV block-off plate.

[redbat]

My blackstone oil analysis on my B7 2.0T at 268k miles showed 1 PPM of nickel.

Interesting, thank you! Had you changed the valve cover or turbo at any point?

[Theiceman]

sounds like it may be just carryover even if it is in thE PPM range, I wouldn't sweat it

[Chris@EPL]

Interesting, thank you! Had you changed the valve cover or turbo at any point?

No all original.

[redbat]

sounds like it may be just carryover even if it is in thE PPM range, I wouldn't sweat it

True - I suppose some gunk could have been hanging out in the sump - that would probably be more likely than a VC problem, but I'll get the VC taken care of soon anyway...

[Brillo]

VAG makes a number of 4 cylinder blocks out of a variety of materials notably cast gray iron (our 2L A4s) and aluminum alloys. I might be wrong but thought only the
Al alloy blocks had any kind of coating on the cylinder walls to enhance wear performance. It might be Nikasil or something like it. My recollection is that the coating was developed in Germany and used exclusively on Al alloy blocks - I may be wrong about this, but if correct your nickel is from somewhere else. As I mentioned earlier, since the iron in your used oil analysis was in the normal range the nickel is not likely to be from any steel components in the engine. Again, not something to worry about unless it comes up high on the next analysis.

[Brillo]

Here's the thing, though - my cam follower was holed, and I had the dealership replace the cam follower, HPFP and the camshaft under warranty at about 118k, so everything in there should be brand new. I haven't checked the follower since they did that, though, but I thought I read somewhere that the cam follower material was iron. Has anyone had an oil analysis done directly after a cam follower failure? That would be useful info.

Funny thing is that I actually had a new spare valve cover laying around for future use (I'm running the original silver one still), but ended up using it in my lady's "new" used b7 after I noticed oil consumption issues. My engine hasn't ever had any oil consumption issues (aside from a vacuum pump leak)...
.

A couple of years ago I analyzed several cam followers in one of our labs at work. The base material appears to be a high carbon German designated tool steel similar to an AISI D2 tool steel. The brown/black coating is ceramic, tungeten carbide to be exact. So once you wear through the tungsten carbide coating the cam is wearing on a hardened tool steel which is primarily iron alloyed with carbon, chromium, and a dash of cobalt. No nickel in it.