Fresh engine - What to expect in oil?

[cstreit]

Gang,

Just completed my 2010 race engine...

I went through a spun rod bearing last year. Everything was taken apart and cleaned laboriously before assembly including replacing/cleaning the front oil cooler circuit.

I imagine there will be some amount of metal in the oil during the engine breakin process. I'm using a different assembly lube (Joe Gibbs Brand) this time that doesn't contain Moly (specifically to track what IS in the oil) so previously I had always seen that there was a sheen from the moly additive. The moly obviously made it impossible to distinguish any metal from the engine.

Now that I can see, how much stuff should I expect to see in the oil on this engine from "normal" break-in. (Just a little sheen or sparkle, some small bits, etc..) Just don't want to have a freakout over nothing.

thanks.

Chris

[RichHawk]

My 3.2 L first 20 min break in didn't have nearly as much sparkle or flake in it as Wayne led me to believe in his book.
Yes, there was a bit of greyish metalic reflectiveness to the oil, but no individual discernible sparkly pieces. the color I attribute mostly to the assembly lube.

my 50 mile break in oil change is going to happen tomorrow. we'll see what hat yields.

Richard

[efhughes3]

Aww heck, just change it at twilight. You won't be able to see much bad stuff then.

I didn't have tons of stuff in my oil after my build. Some swirls of very tiny bright bits IIRC.

[M.D. Holloway]

The idea that bits of metal may be left over and then harm your engine are very real - happens all the time in many componants. In fact, this is one reason why you get the 'Bath Tub" curve when defining failure: