Got a real headscratcher with my new stroker. Thing ran great, but after the 2nd oil changer there was metal in the oil, couldnt diagnose it without taking the block back out. Ok, stripped down to the shortblock minus the cam, no cam bearing damage. No timing chain damage, cant see that anything is rubbing anywhere. Took it to the engine shop and the builder said that there was no spun bearing because the caps will turn black from the heat buildup of the bearing being bad. He agrees to take it apart and check anyway (the first week of march, he decided to go to Daytona for the race and stay in Fla for a while). Question is, could something be chewing up a bearing, but the bearing itself not be spun? The oil looked like it had glitter dumped in it, but had no sizeable specks of bearing of metal in it, however the lifter valley had a few pieces.

 

Check for broken valvesprings/dampers or valve seals that have been beat to death by the spring.

 

Do you have a double roller chain and forgot to clearance the timing cover maybe?

 

what was the content look like was it very fine metal where if you rub your fingers together it will smear and turn your fingers gray or was it chunks or slivers?

 

Look at your cam and drive gear,RR's,pushrods,and check to see if the PR's are touching the head,guide plates,cam thrust plate(both sides),anything that would touch the pan or baffle.WP drive if ya run the stock one.Do check the cam brgs real close. Timing chain also.
Are ya running a AFR rev kit?
Yes your rod bearings could be riding up on the champer of the crank and your thrust bearing could be wearing to fast.

 

Have an oil analysis done. It is an easy way to find out what exactly it is in your oil.. It will tell you if the metal is bearing material, aluminum, steel, etc.

It may be too late, but for next time you may want to go to http://www.blackstone-labs.com/ and get a kit to keep on standby. The kit is free and the actual analysis is cheap.

Good luck with it!

 

All timing componets were checked for wear. The front cam bearing was measured at the shop and had no detectable damage. The metal was small slivers, and mostly in very tiny dots, like that of the tip of a needle, almost invisible unless light hit it just right. The setup I was running is the same one that was on the motor before the bottom end was rebuilt, so I know the rockers, pushrods springs and their hardware were all compatible/clearance checked and werent grinding together.

 

Is this the same block? Were the valve train parts kept so as they went back in their original place? If not then the have to wear in again.There are more than the front cam brg to check. It only takes one out of five to do this. Ya can't say its good until ya LOOK and CHECK things.
The small slivers is why I asked about the rev kit.

 

The front cam bearing was the only one we could check because the short block is still assembled, and the reason they checked it is because the owner keeps trying to find a reason to tell me that I f'd up the block so he wont be liable, but his man was the one that assembled everything. all I did to the block was put on the rear man seal, cam gear and timing chain and cover and oil pan.

 

Generally when ya see the silver sparkle in the oil it is aluminum.If it's bearing it would be at the bottom of the bucket if it was shaving it it would be larger pieces. Check anything that is aluminum and all the bearings and ya will probably find out where it's coming from. It could be cam brgs too. Get them to chuck up the cam to see if it's streight. I know it was running before but with loose cam brgs. Put in new ones and it chews up the brgs. If ya upped the springs and put in soft cam bearings that will do it too. Ya need to have Clevitte "H" series or Durabond in it.
The rev kit will put metal in the oil. I did one but no more. I had the locater plate machined to accept steel top hat washer's and that cured it. AFR said they never had a problem so I sent them the kit and they said they could fix it but not very quick,so I fixed it myself.
A bearing on a lifter or rocker going out will do it too.

 

Isn't it normal to have some sort of metal in the oil on a NEW motor during break in period?

 

I think a small amount is normal. I have only built 2 so far, but there was a very tiny amount stuck to the magnet on each one in the beginning.

 

My motor had so much metal through it it's not even funny. Break 4 valves springs, every damper, and beat every o-ring type valve seal to death and there's a lot of metal going through the thing. Just kept changing the oil religiously before we diagnosed the problem (builder lied on installed parts). IMO I would have waited a little longer before tearing the whole thing back apart.

 

You are going to have some glitter in the oil after a complete rebuild, Thats why I change my oil & filter 20 minutes after initial start up and tear open the filter to inspect, again after 100 miles and then after 500 miles. I had some glitter in my 385 rebuild but cleared up after the 500 mile oil change. As Loadre said I would have waited a while longer before tearing down unless you are hearing knocking or see chunks of metal.

 

I had the same problem. Ended up being that the double roller was eating away at the bottom of the timing chain cover. A good cleanout and new timing cover and I was good to go.