METAL IN OIL

[grumpyvette]

hi guys this is my first post so I hope its in the right place. I have a 350 chevy bored out .30 with an unknown aftermarket cam not to lopey
but runs great. the motor was built for a circle track dirt car and I have in my 64 Biscayne street cruiser currently. anyways I got the motor with around 100 miles on it for a steal it had fresh oil so I didn't change and it runs great I changed at around 500 miles to find tons of small metal pieces in engine. I put in a different vehicle and it sounded great... until I put exhaust on it. there is a definite top end tick noise once engine has ran for 5 to 10 minutes, I don't believe it is exhaust it sounds internal but ive been wrong before, its just got stock ramhorn cast manifolds and some good felpro gaskets not the junk metal ones. ive adjusted the valves multiple times hot and cold running and off with no change at all. runs good and smooth changed oil again after 500 miles... tons of metal again. flushed engine 2x changed oil 100 miles... you guessed it metal. im sure the noise and metal are 1 in the same but cant figure it out. im at a loss the valves all appear to move the same amount so I don't think it wiped a cam lobe or a lifter so I havent tore into it yet. also I lost touch with the builder but local race guys say that engine needs 20w50 oil. did I screw something up with lower weight oil? and could that cause my noise?

heres a helpful diagnostic tool,(the oil filter cutter pictured below) and yes I still cut open the oil filters and inspect the filter element on my cars oil filter

proper magnets trap metallic debris
SmCo Samarium Cobalt Disc Magnets
http://www.magnet4less.com/

Samarium Cobalt MAGNETS HELP
http://www.magnet4sale.com/smco-disk-magnet-dia-1x1-4-samarium-cobalt-magnets-608-f-temperature/
magnets are ceramic and glass hard, don,t try to drill or grind them, as they can shatter

if you don,t think a proper magnet can trap/hold and prevent metalic debriss from getting into the oil pump and bearings , look at this picture of an oil pan magnet I found posted

Model# SMCO-D8
Samarium Cobalt Magnets 3/4 in x 1/4 in Disc
Suitable for high temperature applications

Wholesale Price Range:
$2.99


metallic debris in oil quickly destroys bearings.it doesn,t matter as much WHERE the rapid wear is occurring as it does that a constant bath of hot oil carrying metallic debris is surely degrading ALL the moving surfaces and destroying the bearings, it could be caused by improper clearances or ms-matched parts, improper installation, etc. but the fact remains it destroying your engines moving surfaces, and it will continue to get worse the longer you run that engine in its current condition.
pull it down and carefully inspect all the moving surfaces, you might get away with replacing the bearings , cam, and lifters and a good through cleaning, but continue to operate it under those conditions and a major catastrophic failure is inevitable eventually.
check the rockers springs and upper valve train as well as the cam and lifters but be sure you locate the source and correct it , and replace the damaged components,

http://www.circletrack.com/enginetech/c ... ilter_fun/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-9 ... toview=sku
obviously buying an oil filter can opener tool, and doing some close personal inspection of what your dealing with won,t hurt.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-900510/overview/
http://www.homedepot.com/s/paint+filter?NCNI-5
almost any auto paint store and most hardware stores sell these disposable throw away paint strainer filters , that cost about 20-35 cents each, or a bit less in bulk packs, honestly I don,t see why most guys don,t invest the dollar it takes for a magnet and a couple filters

heres a helpful diagnostic tool,(the oil filter cutter pictured below) and yes I still cut open the oil filters and inspect the filter element on my cars oil filter [/color]

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/pro-66490/overview/

its basically a heavy duty can opener , or an oil filter cutter designed to make it easy to internally inspect oil filters, by allowing you to remove the filter element , from inside the surrounding (CAN) for close visual inspection. if you've got more than a tiny bit of metallic crud in the filter theres a good chance some is embedded in bearings or partly clogging oil passages
If you don,t have one, and have not used one, your unlikely to see, or appreciate the benefits,close inspection can and does frequently give you prior evidence of impending or at least gradually occurring wear and with practice you can make an excellent guess as to the parts and condition of those components.
if your finding " tons of small metal pieces in engine" its coming from some place that WEARING EXCESSIVELY, more than likely the cam and lifters and circulating in the oil, which will rapidly destroy the bearings, your only logical course of action is to disassemble and inspect then correct the issue by replacing the defective components and now compromised bearing surfaces,yes you can ignore this but the longer you run it the worse the damage and the more expensive it will be to rebuild it.
READ THE RELATED INFO
viewtopic.php?f=54&t=10380&p=42904&hilit=filter+inspection#p42904

viewtopic.php?f=51&t=2919&p=26455&hilit=filter+inspection#p26455

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=52

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...h-the-oil-when-a-cam-failed.11542/#post-53330

viewtopic.php?f=52&t=6237&p=19552&hilit=filter+inspection#p19552

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=117

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=120

viewtopic.php?f=54&t=4793&p=13273&hilit=zinc#p13273