Metal specks in Oil

[MADMEXUS]

Hello everyone this is my first time posting on this forum. I currently have a 350 TBI with a 700r4 transmission in my daily and recently I did an oil change and saw this in the pan. Some of the material is magnetic but others are not. I cut open the filter and found nothing inside of it. The engine has 181xxx miles on it and It has always been maintained properly and I drive like a grandpa.
I sent a sample to Blackstone labs but have yet to receive anything.
Please let me know what you think, thanks.

 

[MADMEXUS]

More pics. Also I run 5w-30 high mileage valvo with a wix filter. About 100 miles before this change i put a little bit of Marvel Mystery into the crank case

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

I sent a sample to Blackstone labs but have yet to receive anything.

I'd wait and see what Blackstone has to say. Nonferrous flakes could be bearings. Ferrous flakes could be cam or lifters. I'm guessing you have a flat tappet cam. Are you hearing any tapping/ticking noise at idle? Maybe while waiting for the report you can check lifter preload.

 

[RichLo]

Welcome! Your doing everything right. That Blackstone analysis will tell you way more than what we can speculate with pictures, lol. But IMO, it really doesn't look too bad unless I'm missing something due to picture quality.

Post up the results when you get them. Did you tell Blackstone about the mystery oil? That might skew the results slightly but as long as you told them that was added before the oil was drained they will take that additive package into account with their summary. If not, no biggie, they answer emails quickly and can re-evaluate for you.

That oil looks like it only has 1000 miles on it. How many miles did you put in it before you drained it? Any reason for a quick oil change?

 

[95burban]

That’s brass. Which route do you want to take, crash maintenance or preventative maintenance?

I would let it eat…

 

[MADMEXUS]

I'd wait and see what Blackstone has to say. Nonferrous flakes could be bearings. Ferrous flakes could be cam or lifters. I'm guessing you have a flat tappet cam. Are you hearing any tapping/ticking noise at idle? Maybe while waiting for the report you can check lifter preload.

I do have a slight lifter tick when starting the car but it goes away quickly(15-30 seconds). There is a slight tick at idle but you have to really listen for it and go under the car. I am a novice when it comes to working on cars but I have a good amount of tools and I'm eager to learn. How would I go about checking the lifter preload? Thanks

 

[MADMEXUS]

Welcome! Your doing everything right. That Blackstone analysis will tell you way more than what we can speculate with pictures, lol. But IMO, it really doesn't look too bad unless I'm missing something due to picture quality.

Post up the results when you get them. Did you tell Blackstone about the mystery oil? That might skew the results slightly but as long as you told them that was added before the oil was drained they will take that additive package into account with their summary. If not, no biggie, they answer emails quickly and can re-evaluate for you.

That oil looks like it only has 1000 miles on it. How many miles did you put in it before you drained it? Any reason for a quick oil change?

Thank you I'm glad to be here. I did write in the report about the MM and this oil was changed at the 3500 mile mark. I am going to replace and check the filter again at 1000 to see if any more materials have accumulated since the change.

 

[MADMEXUS]

That’s brass. Which route do you want to take, crash maintenance or preventative maintenance?

I would let it eat…

I am hoping this car would take me through college so I would prefer the preventative maintenance route if possible.

 

[95burban]

Keep doing what you’re doing, it’s going to run till it can’t. You could go to rotela or Walmart brand diesel oil. It’s going to have more additives and be a little thicker. I really wouldn’t worry much about it, I’ve seen oil that looked perfect and the engine was bad, I’ve seen glitter oil and that engine was great. You can only do so much.

 

[MADMEXUS]

Keep doing what you’re doing, it’s going to run till it can’t. You could go to rotela or Walmart brand diesel oil. It’s going to have more additives and be a little thicker. I really wouldn’t worry much about it, I’ve seen oil that looked perfect and the engine was bad, I’ve seen glitter oil and that engine was great. You can only do so much.

Well that's good to hear, my plan was to drive till the engine gave then swap in a junkyard one while I rebuild the original. Ill keep an eye on the oil pressure and how it sounds. Thanks for the diesel oil advice ill look into it.