Break-in debris

[widman]

I was at one of the car dealers the other day and had an opportunity to pickup a filter they had just taken off a new pickup after its first 1000 km. I cut it and here is the oil inside, with lots of sparkling pieces.

Then put some under a microscope to take a closer look. In the next few weeks I'll try to get some others and from other cars.

 

[daman]

so you stole a used filter? cool man! haha, looks normal for a break in filter..

 

[mopar_monkey]

what kinda of truck are we talking about here?

 

[Josh48065]

Nice! That's what the oil looked liked draining out of my new lawn mowers factor fill. They called for changing it after the first 8 hours.

 

[mechtech2]

Look at most any used oil, ATF, or gear oil in the bright sun.
You will be horrified!

 

[widman]

I didn't have to steal it. I asked the service manager for it and he gave it to me. I took it back cut open, showed him the material and the midrange filter quality, plus the Donaldson filter for that application (used 6000 km) cut open.

He ordered 4 cases of Donaldson.

The pickup"made in china" with a Nissan Z24 engine. The main point is that many people will resist that first oil change or two, thinking it is a wast of money. With this in the filter, imagine how many smaller pieces were circulating in the oil.

 

[SteveSRT8]

All fine and dandy, but you need to realize that does not automatically guarantee anything.

I have done over 50 different oil analysis reports on my fleet vans over the years and never had any unusual results new or old. We now follow the OLM exclusively and just use on sale synth and a nice filter.

One truck has over 400,000 miles and works every day. Many have 200k miles or nearly. No smoke, no start up rattles, and no leaks, just smooth performance.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Josh48065
Nice! That's what the oil looked liked draining out of my new lawn mowers factor fill. They called for changing it after the first 8 hours.


Just got my new 26 hp Briggs Platinum series motor in a new mower. Upon draining the factory fill it was downright sparkly.

But the factory said they use break in additives. He said that is what it was.

 

[Mark_Walk]

If you cut the filter open to get to the non filtered oil (outside portion of filter) wouldn't the metal particles from cutting the filter be in that oil?

 

[doitmyself]

So, we still have the two BITOG camps regarding break-in oil changes.

One side says those glittery bits are significant and should be changed out early.

The other camp claims they run their engines well past 200k miles with no early oil change. They follow the mfg. recommendation, either the OLM or a designated mileage (usually over 5K miles.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself
So, we still have the two BITOG camps regarding break-in oil changes.
One side says those glittery bits are significant and should be changed out early.
The other camp claims they run their engines well past 200k miles with no early oil change. They follow the mfg. recommendation, either the OLM or a designated mileage (usually over 5K miles.


Another example. In my Chrysler, which calls for 3000 mile oil changes in the book, I have done exactly what they recommend. I am not aware of many newer cars that specifically recommend such a short interval.

At the strip in Bradenton I ran a 12.794 which is among the fastest times recorded for these cars. This is in negative Density Altitude which means optimal conditions. But this is without any weight reduction or any tire changes. Just like the wife drives it to publix. I also hold one of the highest trap speeds which is more indicative of power output.

Add to this the car uses absolutely no oil at all between changes, even if I am at a road course beating the snot out of it. This in an engine that is known to use a bit of oil for many owners.

So keeping the factory fill in there for the full interval certainly did not hurt too much.