[ForceFed86]

I split my filter after 500 miles and noticed small goldish speckles in the filter media. These were non magnetic and so tiny I wrote them off as break in material. Changed oil again at 1500 miles and I still have the same speckling in the media. I'll get a picture up tonight. Just wondering if anyone has had similar experiance or if I should be concerned.

[cobalt327]

There may be reason to be concerned. Gold colored flecks usually means bearing material and the only place the gold metal is exposed w/o having plating or layering of a different material covering over it is at the thrust bearing faces. In any event, some amount of accelerated wear has to have occurred to any gold colored bearing material in the oil.

If the engine had previously had terminal bearing wear or failure- like spun bearings, etc.- you could be seeing the remnants from what wasn't cleaned out the first time. This will depend on how well the block was cleaned- the cam bearings removed along w/ALL the oil passage plugs, then all the passages being scrubbed clean is the only way to get all of the debris out of the engine after a catastrophic bearing failure.

Besides the usual journal wear, there can be several ways to have bearing material in the oil, like the bearing inserts being too wide for the fillet, not enough crank end play, that sort of thing. Obviously a brass distributor gear will quickly load the oil w/metal, especially at first.

Generally speaking, I do not want to see anything in the oil that can be felt between my fingers as grit, you can expect to see the oil have a "metallic paint" appearance.

What concerns me most, is seeing the same type particles two times now, you'd have thought it would have been in the first filter, but not after that.

[SSedan64]

Good Info Cobalt ^^^.

ForceFed, what Trans are you running? 2004R or TH400? The TH400s have a habit of eating the Crank Thrust bearings.

[ForceFed86]

Originally Posted by cobalt327

There may be reason to be concerned. Gold colored flecks usually means bearing material and the only place the gold metal is exposed w/o having plating or layering of a different material covering over it is at the thrust bearing faces. In any event, some amount of accelerated wear has to have occurred to any gold colored bearing material in the oil.

If the engine had previously had terminal bearing wear or failure- like spun bearings, etc.- you could be seeing the remnants from what wasn't cleaned out the first time. This will depend on how well the block was cleaned- the cam bearings removed along w/ALL the oil passage plugs, then all the passages being scrubbed clean is the only way to get all of the debris out of the engine after a catastrophic bearing failure.

Besides the usual journal wear, there can be several ways to have bearing material in the oil, like the bearing inserts being too wide for the fillet, not enough crank end play, that sort of thing. Obviously a brass distributor gear will quickly load the oil w/metal, especially at first.

Generally speaking, I do not want to see anything in the oil that can be felt between my fingers as grit, you can expect to see the oil have a "metallic paint" appearance.

What concerns me most, is seeing the same type particles two times now, you'd have thought it would have been in the first filter, but not after that.

Running a crank pickup ign so it's not the distributor gear. I should have been a bit more descriptive. It's a dual OHC engine with roller cams. It did have bearing failure in it's previous life, although I did my best to clean it out. It was not hot tanked. Transmission is a manual.

The oil itself looks like honey, no signs of the metal in the oil itself (that I could tell anyway) This material I'm speaking of was from when I split the filter. None of it large enough to be gritty or felt between the fingers. I don't like the looks of it though. Probably end up pulling a few caps and checking it out.

Thanks all.

[SSedan64]

I was thinking this was your GN.
Which car is this?

[ForceFed86]

Actually this is just my little 4 banger daily driver.



Just trapped 119 in the 1/4 with it the other weekend. Suprised the hell outa me. But now I'm a little worried.