Gold Glitter in Second Oil Change

[Ashton_GT]

Hi,

I have a 2021 GT and I did my second oil change a couple weeks ago and saw some tiny gold sparkles in the bottom of my oil drain pan. The car has 5,000 miles on it and was parked all winter. I did the oil change in the garage before starting the car.

I put a picture of the sparkling oil below, you can see some sparkles near the center of the drain pan. I could only see the sparkles in the sunlight. Are these sparkles normal for a relatively new engine? Or could it be something separating out of the oil because it sat for 5 months over the winter?

I'm just trying to figure out if this is something I should worry about.

Thanks,
Ashton

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[josephstef]

Thats not glitter, that looks like metal. Definitely not normal. I would be taking that in to get diagnosed.
Can you take a close picture of it?

 

[KeyLime]

Cut the filter open and take a peek at that too.

 

[Roger Blose]

Mine had the same metallic material at my first oil change at 220 miles. I was so shocked that I did another change at 600 miles and all was good. I think it must have been break in material from the plasma transfer lining process. Anyway, 16K on the motor, no ticking or oil consumption, and a nice clean FP catch can in place.

 

[Jstang23]

Honestly I wouldn't worry about it. There is a good bit of wear in material what will show up n your first and maybe second oil change. This is normal and expected. Now if by your third oil change or you start to burn oil then I would bring it in. Just take pictures and document this just in case something develops.

This is why I changed my oil at 1000 miles and again at 5000.

 

[HadoDemi]

When people say it is normal to see some metal flakes in the first oil change it’s a just a pinch that was missed after cleaning the block after milling, and it’s in the oil filter.
That is an alarming amount of material in your oil. Something is wrong. Send a sample to black stone labs and find out what it is. I would be preparing for a warranty claim.

 

[Jstang23]

When people say it is normal to see some metal flakes in the first oil change it’s a just a pinch that was missed after cleaning the block after milling, and it’s in the oil filter.
That is an alarming amount of material in your oil. Something is wrong. Send a sample to black stone labs and find out what it is. I would be preparing for a warranty claim.

No that's actually pretty normal, especially since his model year coyote has the plasma treated cylinder walls. This is supposed to wear down to help seat the piston rings together. I would begin to be worried if this happens again on the third oil change. Again, check the filter for larger pieces, if this occurs I would get worried.

 

[Bikeman315]

So based on these replies it could be fine or not. No surprise from an internet forum. You need to be sure. And its easy......

https://www.blackstone-labs.com/

 

[GrayS550]

You’re okay. Low mileage cars have that in the first couple oil changes. Usually break in period oil changes show a lot more.

 

[Cobra Jet]

Cut open the oil filter and pull the pleating out to see what is trapped in there...

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As for the gold, take the gold to the nearest pawn shop...

 

[Ashton_GT]

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

 

[Bikeman315]

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.

Maybe, maybe not.

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

Good idea. Then you’ll know for sure.

 

[AZlb5.0]

Did you cut the oil filter open or did you throw it away? That’s what’s going to give you somewhat an idea of what’s going on with in your engine. Send this off to BlackStone labs and wait for the results. Don’t stress yourself if you don’t have a clue as to what’s going on. If you get back derogatory result back then take it to your dealership with results and allow the dealership to deal with it.

 

[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.

 

[Ashton_GT]

Unfortunately, I already threw away the oil filter so I won't know what was inside of it.

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