Metal in Engine Oil Break-in

[nascarnation]

It's shocking I know but you actually have an oil filter on a modern car.....the bits everyone is so concerned about are held in it and the elemental concentrations in a UOA aren't "scoring the cylinder walls". It's amazing any vehicle on the American roadways has lasted more than a few years.

Glad I scrolled down, you wrote what I was gonna write. Like back in the early days of BITOG when America's roadways were lined with broken down vehicles caused by the Fram "Orange Can of Death".

 

[nascarnation]

Metal parts in the oil of your new vehicle is nothing new. If you watch enough you tube video's, you'll usually see a builder carefully wipe down and clean the block, or even wash it with soap and water to their satisfaction. But at a company that needs to build mass quantities of engines in a hurry, you know they won't do that. They probably just blow them out quickly with compressed air, and assemble them as fast as possible. At this point in time they know whatever is left in the engine will get caught in the filter, or drained at change time and not be an issue. That's why sending the first drain sample is a waste of money.,,

Can't speak for Toyota, but at Allison our transmission cases went through a pretty thorough high pressure wash and dry after machining. That machine station was about as big as a one car garage.

 

[nicholas]

It's shocking I know but you actually have an oil filter on a modern car.....the bits everyone is so concerned about are held in it and the elemental concentrations in a UOA aren't "scoring the cylinder walls". It's amazing any vehicle on the American roadways has lasted more than a few years.

If they are held in the filter why are we seeing tons of glitter and big chunks in the drained oil?
It's the glitter that really worries me.

 

[Eddie]

Any UOAs that I've done demonstrated that wear stability for my engines at 8 to 11,000 miles. However; ~75% of the break-in was completed by 8K miles and the remaining miles suggested that the miles/time was polishing and burnishing.

 

[walterjay]

This makes a good case for a magnetic drain plug early on.

 

[chris719]

I’ve did a break in change at 1000 miles on my Mazda and did not see any visible metal at all in the oil. This would concern me. It’s not some race engine or very old design.

 

[demarpaint]

If they are held in the filter why are we seeing tons of glitter and big chunks in the drained oil?
It's the glitter that really worries me.

Because there are particles that are small enough to pass through the filter.

 

[nicholas]

Because there are particles that are small enough to pass through the filter.

Yes.
And I want those particles out - - they are big enough to be seen by the naked eye.

It's all good though - - - we all do things differently.)

 

[subzerospeed]

What would you consider normal for break-in oil? Owner of a new '23 Lexus GX in which the oil was changed at 860 mi, 1,861 and 3,813mi. The 860 mi oil change was done at the dealer and the 2nd and most recent oil change was done by myself.

I am still seeing very tiny metal particles (glitter) within the oil filter and oil. Would you consider that normal and within spec of an engine break-in after 2 oil changes? Dealer indicates that the metal shavings is normal for the first oil change at the 10K mi OCI and told me to bring it in for service. I've sent a sample of the oil to Blackstone and I am awaiting their analysis.

Including a picture for reference below:

View attachment 198030

I did my second oil change on my 2.7 turbo at 10,00p miles and had the same glitters, albeit a little less. Consensus seems to be this is normal. Atleast i hope so lol