brass looking flecks in oil.

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rockyrunner99

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ok, I have a 99 neon, with a newly built engine. weisco pistons 11.5:1 compression, and eagle rods. The block was professionally rebuilt. The crank was checked for straightness, balanced and polished. the engine was broke in for 500 miles, then raced slightly. This was all with another owner in the fall of 07. Then I bought the engine, put my head on it, and installed it in my car this spring. I put 1200 miles on it and thought I should change the oil in case there was any debris, in the engine from building it. I drained the old oil and finished the oil change before I drained the oil drain pan. As I was emptying the oil drain pan, at the very bottom, there were lots of brass(possibly copper) looking flecks of metal! This was the third oil change, but only 1700 miles on the engine. Could this be normal break in metal still? I was draining the oil into a bucket with other used oil in it, so I can't do a UOA. I do have the filter still to cut open, I don't see how that will really help though. I am about to pull the engine, flip it over and check all the bearings. Is this really necessary? The way the neon engine is built I can't really check the main bearings with the engine in the car. It has a bedplate, instead of individual bearing caps.

Unfortunately I do not have an oil pressure gauge. I will be getting one now though. even if the pressure is good, should I check it out?
 
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The flecks of metal could be steel with heat temper color. One way to tells is to see if a magnet attracts these particles. If the magnet doesn't attract them, it's brass.
 
Originally Posted By: Kestas
The flecks of metal could be steel with heat temper color. One way to tells is to see if a magnet attracts these particles. If the magnet doesn't attract them, it's brass.


Whenever I've seen heat temper it's always been blue....
 
Temper colors range from light yellow to black (light straw - straw - deep straw - bronze - purple - blue - gray - black).
 
well I just got done cutting the filter open so I could find more of these flecks and look at them closer. There were not that many at all in the filter. the largest one was about the size of a ball point pen. They are not magnetic, and they are really yellow. Like the centerline of a road, yellow! I wish I had a digital camera that would focus that close.
 
Probably bearing material then bud
frown.gif


Get that pressure gauge on there pronto!

If pressure is still good, I wouldn't be overly worried.
 
Originally Posted By: rockyrunner99
As I was emptying the oil drain pan, at the very bottom, there were lots of brass(possibly copper) looking flecks of metal!


Sheesh, after reading that, I'm gonna stop using my neat, nifty closed-lid round drain pan, and buy a no-lid drain pan. I wanna sift through the bottom of my oil too.
 
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Originally Posted By: Built_Well
Originally Posted By: rockyrunner99
As I was emptying the oil drain pan, at the very bottom, there were lots of brass(possibly copper) looking flecks of metal!


Sheesh, after reading that, I'm gonna stop using my neat, nifty closed-lid round drain pan, and buy a no-lid drain pan. I wanna sift through the bottom of my oil too.


New BITOG distraction: Panning for brass.

This has potential here. Behind filter autopsy ..magnetic drainplug flux density calculations and "fuzz factor quotient" ..we can have "drain pan yield" as part of our forensic armory.
 
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan

New BITOG distraction: Panning for brass.

This has potential here. Behind filter autopsy ..magnetic drainplug flux density calculations and "fuzz factor quotient" ..we can have "drain pan yield" as part of our forensic armory.


Start saving that brass up and who knows... I just turned in 150 lbs of brass at a scrap yard for $2.19 a pound. See how long it takes to get enough shavings for a quart of oil.
smirk2.gif
 
I was using citgo 10w-30. I have put in mobil 1 5-30, that I will drain out and throw away. I don't think the oil has anything to do with it though. Not in that few miles. I think it was when I first started the engine. It took to long for the oil to get to the bearings. It had sat for about 6 months. Also when I first started it it did not start right away, It took some cranking. I guess I should have opened up the pan and squirted oil all over everything, or tried to prime it somehow. I rolled it over by hand several times to make sure the timing was on, and there was not any valve and piston interference.
 
"""Could this be normal break in metal still?""

No what is brass in the engine?? valve train or rockers arms etc?

you have something wearing good or bad only way to know is to take a look perhaps something on the head is mis aligned.
bruce
 
"""Could this be normal break in metal still?""

No what is brass in the engine?? valve train or rockers arms etc?

you have something wearing good or bad only way to know is to take a look perhaps something on the head is mis aligned.
bruce
 
There's not a lot of brass in an engine that sees motor oil. The bearings are usually made of copper, not brass. The only brass I can think of is perhaps a valve guide repair.

It could be shop debris left over from the rebuild. It's curious why it didn't get sucked into the oil pump and swept into the filter.
 
When I first did the break-in on my generator
(Coleman Powermate 5000 w/ Robin-Subaru 300cc)
I changed the oil after the first 2 hours and it had brass colored flakes in it.
Break in oil was Castrol GTX 5w30.
I have not seen it since, and have changed the oil 2 times since.
I did change to Shell Rotella T 5w40 syn though.
Gen has aprox. 35 hours on it now, with 1 year OCI's
 
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