So a new motor I'm breaking in had a lot of grey oil-soaked residue on the dipstick and plug as expected. Changed the oil after like 10 miles but after checking the oil again I notice there is still a lot of metallic residue. Is it ok to drive on this for 100 miles or so before changing the oil again? Should I leave the oil where it is and just change filters sooner than usual?

 

This hasn't been my experience, so I don't know how you advise you...

 

yeah same thing happen to me. just keep driving and changing your oil. it will go away

 

Did you change your oil every time you saw it or did you just suck it up and drive

 

Did you have machining to the block done?

 

No, but it was a complete rebuild.
Doesn't really show up in pictures well

 

I changed it like every 500 miles. nothing was done to block. I got head work done, new cam, new turbo, and new bearings

 

You changed your oil after 10 miles? I did a 200 mile break in period with dino oil. Then switched to synthetic and just did normal oil change intervals from then on.

Your picture doesn't look bad to me. As long as you don't have shavings. I assume you used assembly lube. Maybe you're just seeing the moly in that.

A better picture would have been to see your oil drain plug. It's normal to have a little mound of gray paste on that. You will have higher amounts right after a rebuild until everything wears in.

 

Not my experience either. I'd change the oil every 15 feet if it has metal grit in it. I once got a head back from the machine shop, and found machining sludge/slurry in the oil ports (even though I was told it was already to bolt on).

 

I dunked and wiped the dipstick off several times to get a nice bit of it and held a neodymium magnet up near the napkin, it definitely attracted it.

Internet seems to have mixed opinions on the matter (as with most things). There is a lot less in there this time around than there was before the first change, so I'm not sure.

 

you have metal chunks?

 

There's not much magnetic in these engines... Rings, crankshaft, camshaft, oil pump gears.

I think that when people find that "gray paste" around the drain plug magnet, that's mostly from the rings - e.g. "the rings bedding in".

If it's suspended in the oil and not-magnetic, then it's aluminum - either from the cylinder walls or the piston skirts.

You could send a sample of the oil to an analysis lab - that might help you identify the source of the metal.

 

Yeah I would assume that's from the rings setting in

 

was the oil passages cleaned during the rebuild? oil plugs removed and replaced? some sedement is normal under break in conditions, you can also pull out your oil filter and cut it in half for peice of mind.. any big chunks in there.. no good.

 

Cut the filter in half and saw nothing out of the ordinary, the oil in the pan was pretty dark though.

Here is the drain plug