Hi! I posted something a while back about glitter in my engine oil. Well after months of driving my car easy, the glitter seemed to have dissapeared. Well today I was pulling out from a road that had Tall concrete walls on both sides so I couldn't see. I inched out and pulled out, and there were cars in both lanes hauling butt. Well anyway I had to floor it. I felt bad and guilty afterwards. Then my temp guage started rising 2 or three notches above the middle line. My car usually runs one notch below. Then I noticed the same Knocking noise getting louder. I got home and checked the dipstick. The oil was extremely hot. Almost felt boiling lol. And I wiped it off on my hand and it had a ton of very small glitter particles in it. I started it up and shined a flashlight in the oil cap. I could see a river of glitter floating down, around, and draining. So I probably spun a bearing, right? It's a 99 Chevy Malibu with a 3100 V6. It has 230,000 miles on her now! The engine still runs fine. Got great acceleration and power. But it didn't start running hotter until after I floored it and the glitter showed up. Something is causing more friction/heat. Thanks so much for your help guys!! And sorry this is so long!
Glittery Look In Oil and Engine Running Hot
- Thread starter ChevyGuy3100
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I know of a number of people with 3.1 Chevy engines,and they all had crank problems with them.Sorta like the old days and the (related) 2.8 that had so many crank problems,rebuilders couldn't keep cranks in stock.I had an 83 Camaro with 2.8,and its oil pressure was dangerously low at 69K miles.
You are headed toward a rebuild or an engine swap.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Your engine is done. That's almost 100% bearing material.
Does the engine knock all the time, or only when hammering on it?
Drain the oil, refill with something nice and thick for the summer, like a 10W-30 or 15W-40 HDEO, and drive it gently...you'd be suprised how much longer you can get out of it...
Drain the oil, refill with something nice and thick for the summer, like a 10W-30 or 15W-40 HDEO, and drive it gently...you'd be suprised how much longer you can get out of it...
Yep, put a heavy weight oil in it and trade er off. She's got two wheels in the grave, and two on a nana peel.
A friend of mine had an '88 Chevy Beretta with the 2.8 and lost oil pressure after years of neglect. I did the oil changes for him with 20W-50 and (later) a can of STP. That engine ran for another 3 years with decent oil pressure. It eventually got wrecked, but the engine still ran well up until then.
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Drive it to the nearest junkyard
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No it does not knock when flooring it. Its actually a very "rev happy" motor. It knocks between 1100-2000RPM. Its more of a rattle than a knock. But it sounds like marbles inside. I didnt mention what oil I am using...Pennzoil Conventional 5W-30 with a Wix oil filter. It still runs great otherwise. This same thing happened before and I freaked out and got overly paranoid about it. But it quite having glitter in it after I drove it easy (shifts at 2000RPM..Grandma speed LOL!!) The 3100's sound so good that its hard to not floor it, but I need to give the poor little motor a rest. 230,000 miles is A LOT! And I thought 10W-30 and 5W-30 were the same viscosity at operating temperatures.. Maybe not. Thanks so so much!
Really? I didnt know. I just meant boiling hot because any other time I check the oil after driving and its not that hot.Steam/smoke came out of the oil cap when I took it off too. The engine was pinging like it was really hot after I cut it off. Like I said, the temperature gauge shot up 2-3 notches above normal after dogging it. Yeah the glitter is not good! lol. It did this once before and it "fixed" itself with me driving like a grandma for a few months.
Haha!! Thats hilarious!! Yeah its in bad shape. The body is in almost excellent condition though. I believe I'd just replace the engine. Some may believe its not worth it, but it is to me as this car belonged to my grandma.
It could be engine ping...try a higher grade of gas for a couple of tankfuls, and see if it goes away.
Are you due for an oil change soon? If so, change to a 10W-40, see if it helps. If the oil is new in the car, toss a bottle of STP into it.
My buddy had a 1987 Century with a 2.8, and it wouldn't hold OP at hot idle with 120k hard miles on it. 20W-50 top-offs kept it going.
Are you due for an oil change soon? If so, change to a 10W-40, see if it helps. If the oil is new in the car, toss a bottle of STP into it.
My buddy had a 1987 Century with a 2.8, and it wouldn't hold OP at hot idle with 120k hard miles on it. 20W-50 top-offs kept it going.
Are you referring to me? XD Yeah, I am a lot paranoid and on edge with my car. I hear the slightest noise, I come on here and write 5 paragraphs about it haha. But if I am cluttering the site up, just let me know. I searched for a thread to add onto without creating a new one, but didn't quite find one so I made a new one!
Originally Posted By: ChevyGuy3100
Haha!! Thats hilarious!! Yeah its in bad shape. The body is in almost excellent condition though. I believe I'd just replace the engine. Some may believe its not worth it, but it is to me as this car belonged to my grandma.
If you're going to engine swap (I'd guess the cheapest option) you don't have much to loose by seeing how long you can go on thick(ened) oil.
If you are going to get it rebuilt, sooner might be better than later, since you might limit the damage to, for example, the crankshaft.
You can get some info from a magnet, perhaps a magnetic pickup tool in the dipstick hole (safer when the engine isnt running, though it might be possible to do that if you are very careful).
With an aluminium block (? dunno this engine) ferrous metal should be from cams, oilpump, cam/crankshaft, or bearing shell material.
"Glitter" suggests actual chips rather than fine wear particles, and would probably be an especially bad sign if they are magnetic.
Haha!! Thats hilarious!! Yeah its in bad shape. The body is in almost excellent condition though. I believe I'd just replace the engine. Some may believe its not worth it, but it is to me as this car belonged to my grandma.
If you're going to engine swap (I'd guess the cheapest option) you don't have much to loose by seeing how long you can go on thick(ened) oil.
If you are going to get it rebuilt, sooner might be better than later, since you might limit the damage to, for example, the crankshaft.
You can get some info from a magnet, perhaps a magnetic pickup tool in the dipstick hole (safer when the engine isnt running, though it might be possible to do that if you are very careful).
With an aluminium block (? dunno this engine) ferrous metal should be from cams, oilpump, cam/crankshaft, or bearing shell material.
"Glitter" suggests actual chips rather than fine wear particles, and would probably be an especially bad sign if they are magnetic.
Ok guys so I left out early in the morning for work and stopped by Autozone and bought an oil pressure gauge, and Walmart for oil and Oreillys for a filter. I got back home and check the oil pressure. It's like 11 psi hot idle and like 25ish at 2000RPM. I took the old filter off and the glitter stuff was extreme (the oil draining out of the filter) I put a light to it. But tearing the filter open showed nothing. Not one single piece of metal in the media. Strange. But what do you guys think about the oil pressure? The ran great today (total of 117 miles). Thanks again!
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
You need to post pics of this oil!
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