Metal glitter in oil, Normal, or BAD???

[TTU4.6]

Changed the oil in Dad's 06 GT the other day. It was the second oil change it has had. The first one was done at 600 miles and this one was done at 3100 miles. The oil that came out of the oil pan was clean and free of debris. The oil that came out of the dirty side of the filter was chopped full of this metal glitter crap. Take a look for yourself. What should I do???? I also cut the filter open and its more of the same, but not as bad as I thought. It seems that most of the metal came out of the filter rather than being stuck to the filter media.

BTW, I used motorcraft 5W-20 oil and filter and this car is driven fairly easy( 50/50 city / highway

 

[-Clayton-]

WOW, Thats a lot of metal. More than likley just break in debris. I've seen a few break in changes and seen some metal in the oil but not that much.

 

[N2OIL]

Find a magnet to see if the chips are ferrous or non-ferrous. Ferrous or iron is not usually too good. Non-ferrous could be left over contaminates in the manufacturing process.

 

[tamu_man]

This happens on most new vehicles. If it doesn't slow down, then you may have a problem.

 

[bruce381]

should not be much if any visible debris i would do a few 1K oil changes and have a UOA and or ferrograph done ( a magnified picture) if it does not clean up a a few 1K oil changes I talk to dealer about this. Even tho this is from the dirty side of the filter I'd say its something to keep an eye or ear on.
bruce

 

[moribundman]

I've never seen any metal particles in my engine oil, not even at the beginning of break-in. I saw metal particles (flakes) in my over 120k miles old tranny fluid and rear differential gear oil, but only a fraction of what I see in your photos.

 

[KW]

Some of that looks like big chunks. Some glitter is normal, but some of that looks big like rice.

bruce381 has posted some good advise. Keep an eye on it for sure.

 

[oilyriser]

That looks like the break in oil from my new lawnmower a couple of years ago.

 

[GoldenRod]

That Mustang needs the Green Elves poured into it.

 

[Volvohead]

That's too much to be normal foundary flash on a modern production engine, especially on the second fill. Retain a sample and alert the dealer, to document your warranty position just in case.

 

[prspect06]

Wow!!! Your dad has a Ford GT? Pics?

 

[tamu_man]

This was poured from the oil filter. There is going to be break in metal in the filter. The car is breaking in. There will be increased metallic levels. This is normal. I've just bought 3 new cars in the last 3 months and they all did simular things. Just make sure that this does not continue.

 

[GT Mike]

quote:

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Wow!!! Your dad has a Ford GT? Pics?

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I'm sure he's referring to a Mustang. You certainly wouldn't run 5W20 in a Ford GT.

 

[prspect06]

Mustang GT?? Baaaahhh.

 

[bar1]

Whoa. That oil has more particles in it than the 10 year old oil I changed in my parents B&S lawnmower last summer. Colour is better though

 

[Ray H]

I had identical results with the first two oil changes in my Hyundai V6's life. Factory leftovers and break-in spittings. It'll settle down. So much for the "run-it-like-ya'-stole-it, they're-already-broken-in-from-the-factory" nonsense.

 

[RichD]

How do you know it is metal?

Regards,

Rich

 

[Fastride95]

The pictures show a lot of metal contaminate but it IS from the filter and not what was actually in the oil being actively pumped through the engine, from what I understand. I elaborate more on that below.

Don't forget that the photo was taken using a flash camera which will cause the metallic debris to look larger than it really is due to reflection.

In my experience this is normal for a new engine regardless of build for the first several thousand miles. Most people don't cut open filters so they would have never been the wiser.

 

[rpn453]

quote:

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In my experience this is normal for a new engine regardless of build for the first several thousand miles.

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The Mazda3 has a cartridge filter, and I'm glad my Mazda3, and my buddy's, are both abnormal!

 

[Highroller]

Seems pretty normal to me? i dont know what's all the comotion is about... i agree that i would keep an eye on it and monitor each oil change. Alert the dealer to let them know what's going on for if warranty issues arise. You do have warranty on the new vehicle so if anything should go toward extremeties, you can say it's a manufacturer defect. I, myself changed the oil out at 400 miles and there wasnt a single spot of metallic debris to be found... i then changed it out at 1200 again and still nothing. Depending on the design, i think it's fairly normal to have these debris in there this early in break-in period. id change the oil out earlier in the next oci to get a better examination.