Gold Glitter in Second Oil Change

[Skye]

I wonder if the car sitting for five months over the winter let all the particles settle to the bottom and made it look worse than it would have if I had drained the oil when I was driving it more regularly.

I'm thinking I'll look into getting the Blackstone Labs analysis

Could be a bit of truth to that.

Like many new owners, I've been tracking oil levels closely. After a day or two of sitting, the level is sometimes markedly different versus checking hot and after 10 minutes of shutdown. Highlights the need for performing any checks in a consistent manner.

Blackstone will ship you a kit for free; it includes a pre-paid return envelope. The kit also includes instructions. For example, drive the car or run the engine 15 minutes before taking the sample, try to capture the sample halfway through the drain cycle, etc. The kit will ask for details, such as type of oil, miles/kms on oil, miles/kms on engine, any oil added in-between changes.

The envelope is returned via USPS. Cost to have the oil analyzed is $35.

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[sk47]

Hello; I am not an expert so take with a grain of salt. When an engine sits a long-time oil will drain off surfaces due to gravity. Heard for decades startup is the time of greatest wear. Takes a small amount of time to build up pressure and get oil to all parts of the engine.
Picture the heavy crank eventually sitting directly on the bearing surface. I have thought for some time it would be good to have some way to build up some oil pressure or at least get oil all thru an engine before start up.
The way I have done this after a rebuild was to pull the distributor and use a drill with a flat blade bit to spin the oil pump. you could get oil into all parts of the engine before a start up. Not doable on modern engines (no distributor)

In the back of my mind i have imagined some sort of spring-loaded plunger/ piston in a small container. (Picture a hypodermic syringe maybe) When an engine is running the oil pressure itself pushes the plunger down and loads a chamber with some oil. Somehow that plunger locks in place after the engine is shut off. Then when you are ready to start up after the car has sat a day or month or whatever, the plunger is released and pushes some oil into the engine. Just an idea.

Baring that i picked up some Z-Max last year and added it at an oil changes. Cannot tell on my truck but the car is some quitter more quiet at start up. The working theory seems to be the stuff penetrates into the metal "pores" and thus keeps some lubricant on the surfaces. May not work but has not hurt.

Last strange idea i have had is what to do if i were to store a car for months. Of course do a fresh oil change just before storage. Then fill the engine way up with oil. That way all the lower end surfaces are bathed in oil all the time. Not figured out just how full to make the oil level. Maybe all the way up to the rockers. So far cannot picture a downside with the idea. Everything inside the engine is designed to have oil on it. What have i missed?? Oh, yes. Got to drain some oil out next spring. I would likely use a pump with a tube down the dipstick.

For peace of mind get the oil analysis suggested. My guess is the gold color could be crank/cam bearing material. Just a guess though. Might be more innocent stuff.

Engine PreLube Systems: FLO Components; Heavy Duty Diesel Engine Pre-lubrication Systems, PERT, QuickFit, QuickEvac, MultiVac, PreLub. – FLO Components – Automatic Lubrication Systems Specialist in Ontario and Manitoba.

Accusump Accumulator (cantonracingproducts.com)

Accusump Accumulator & Turbo Oiler Tech (cantonracingproducts.com)

Hello; did some searching. Found several bits about pre-oiling a new engine but wanted a day to day sort of device. The Accusump Accumulator may fit the bill. Matches my idea pretty close. Guess they thought of it first. I have not used one nor been around one so have no personal experience. Do not know the cost nor the difficulty of instillation. Maybe those who park a car for months can give some feedback.

Hello; Did some more thinking about when storing a car for a long time and filling the engine up with oil. If i did fill up high in the engine at some point the oil will be higher than the lowest piston. Over time the oil will seep past the rings and fill up a cylinder. Not a problem during storage as it will stop cylinder wall rust.
Big problem at next start up. Can have what is called hydro-lock if the oil is not removed from above the piston. Any fluid (oil or water) will not compress. Easy enough to take care of if you are willing to remove the spark plugs.
If I ever do decide to long term store an engine full of oil the first thing when I was ready to start it up later is to drain out or siphon out some oil down to normal levels. Let the engine sit a while so oil can drain down. Then remove the plugs and spin the engine to pump out oil thru the spark plug holes.
Raises a new question. Even with spinning the engine to pump out oil some will be left as a film on top of the piston. At start up this will be burned away quickly. Lots of smoke for a bit, but such is not the question. How will that oil burn affect the cats is the question.

Side note- hydro lock. Had it happen to a work vehicle, a school bus. Parked my bus on a Friday afternoon for a long weekend. It rained hard and a lot that weekend. When out to start the bus next school day. One cylinder fired then the engine stalled with a bang. Would not crank after that.
At the bus garage they found fresh water in the engine. Enough to hydro lock one cylinder. Connecting rod was bent along with some other things. The investigation traced it back to a poor design and maybe an oversight by a mechanic.
The air cleaner lid over the carb was dished with a low spot where the threaded rod passed thru. There was a wing nut with a washer to hold down the air cleaner's metal lid. The other issue was where the hood and cowl of the bus met. Was right over the top of the air cleaner. Rain had made it's way thru the crack between hood and the cow onto the top of the air cleaner cover. maybe the last mechanic to change an air filter did not tighten the wing nut enough, but the dished top built up a puddle of water. Enough water found it's way down the threaded rod into the engine.
When I got it back I looked and found a rubber gasket and new washer under the wing nut. The boss also found a way to fuss at me. He decided my parking on a slope was part of the problem so i had to find a level spot to park the bus.

 

[WItoTX]

OP, certain Ford motors have been known to shed break in material up to 10k miles. I'd hazard a guess that is what that is. If you are under warranty, keep driving it and keep an eye on it. Change oil after 1000 miles or so.

If you are real worried, take it in, show the photos, and let them sort it out.

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