The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 235 break-in oil exam

I did the break-in on my 235 about two weeks ago. I left the oil I drained out of the motor sitting in the open drain pan until this past weekend. I poured it into my larger container I use for recycling. The break-in shavings and stuff had settled to the bottom of the pan, leaving a silvery shiny goo. Looks like a combination of tiny metal flakes from bearings, rings, cam & valvetrain, etc. No large pieces or ribbons, kinda looked like a very fine metal flake paint job on the bottom of the drain pan.

Is this normal? Im so paranoid about this new motor.

Car had 30 min break-in, then was driven around town once. Is now down for rear brakes. How long can a new engine be sat up without hurting anything? Does it hurt a new engine to let it idle to operating temp then shut it down?

Thanks
chip

Hey, chip, at my work we sent off "oil samples" when we do regular oil changes on the bigger diesels (Cummins, Detroit, etc). Check with some local shops and see if you have a lab locally that analyzes this stuff. I'm not sure if metallic particles are normal-it's been a long time since the one and only engine rebuild I've done. Best of luck to you. Hope all comes out O.K.

Regards,
Wannabe

Sounds normal to me. I have always placed a small flat magnet near the drain plug for the first couple of oil changes( remove the magnet before draining oil/ reinstall with drain plug).

There's no difference between letting your "new" engine sit and letting an "old" engine sit -- same amount of wear on start up. Most wear on an engine is at start, especially if it's been sitting for a few days. I would rather let it sit for a few weeks and start it once, rather than starting it every few days.

Like I said, I'm paranoid. Just wanted to make sure my engine wasn't chewing a bearing, or that letting it sit wouldn't hurt it.

thanks again

chip

The Cummins in my '90 D***** truck has a magnetic oil drain plug. I suppose that's for inspecting for metal but it also will stick on the bottom of the oil pan when changing the oil. I've never seen a bit of metal on it but it only has 175,000 miles on it.

We once blew a cylinder/piston on a VW that had seen a recent overhaul including bottom end. Instead of disassembling we cleaned it out real good and ran it for another 100,000 miles. I did put in a magnetic plug and every oil change there was gobs of metal.

In your case I would also be a little worried with visible metal. Is it really metal? Hold a magnet to it.

Chiphead, can you post a picture? If you can get it in bright sunlight, you will be able to see the different metals. I would investgate this till I knew for sure if it's a problem or not. I would guess you do have problem. If it has a spin-on filter, you can use a large pipe cutter to open the filter. Screw a short pipe into the filter and chuck it up in a vice to cage it. After the can is off cut the pleats away from the base and stretch out the pleats. Larger chunks should be there. Laying the paper, at a slight angle to drain the oil off, in the sunlight will show any metal particals. You could do this with a filter off a known good engine to compare. Good luck. Mike

I know its worrysome but try to not obscess over this fact of life with any new engine. The first 3-4 oil changes every couple of hundred miles you will see shiny stuff suspended in the oil. If it starts easiely, runs and with good oil pressure you are very lucky the machinest knew enough to put the cam bearings in correctly.

52pu