5_litre_eater

I'll have to try that during my next oil change. What oil were you running before?

99 Black Bird T/A

iTrader: (4)

I'd always heard that too but I think GM says 7 psi at idle and 7 psi per 1000 rpm for LSx engines is what's required.

5_litre_eater

That is correct. Many engine builders told me 55 PSI @ WOT was perfectly OK. More PSI than is needed can cost HP. Although, I'd rather have more pressure.

5_litre_eater

Here is an update:

I cut open the filtering material and found more things that scared me.

A few decent pieces of long, stringy metal pieces



A few pieces of what I assume is bearing material



Several small metallic pieces. Also several small pieces of red RTV



This is the dirtiest oil filter I've cut open -- and it only has 500mi on it. Notice more small metallic pieces in the bottom.




This is definitely not the worst filter I've seen posted on the internet, but it's by far the worst I've seen yet for the Camaro. What should my next steps be??

vettenuts

iTrader: (4)

If it were me, I would start simple and pull the valve covers looking for metal. That might help determine if the valve train is the source. Go deeper as necessary. One thing that is bothersome is that the metal may be passing through the oil pump, which isn't doing the pump any good either.

One area of wear is the cam retaining plate, but it doesn't sound like you messed with it before this issue started.

RedWS6 00

Are they needle bearings on the end of the magnet? could be from the rockers, or the hydraulic lifters. Time to take the rocker covers off an inspect, but I think it's going to be heads off and inspect lifters too.
Sorry to hear this, hope you get to the bottom of it and get your ride sorted.

5_litre_eater

That's a good idea. I will take the valve covers off when I get some free time.. I need to remove the yella terra's anyway, since it won't be driven in awhile. I guess after that I'll pull the front cover.

5_litre_eater

No, they aren't needle bearings. And I agree, I'll probably have to take the whole damn thing apart.


I'm guessing my original idea of putting another 500 miles on the motor is a bad idea now?

Tony @ Mamo Motorsports

When you have a bearing going out you know about it.....there are pieces (and lots of them) in the pleats of the filter. This is NOT a terminal patient here IMO.....but something is potentially up. Also real problems are occurring when your oil pressure is dropping....if you have been at 22 PSI for a year now and are still at 22 PSI I wouldn't be that concerned your engine is going away.

Also do NOT run straight 30W oil (or any type of extra thick oil) to combat an oil pressure situation you think is an issue....22 at hot idle and 55 at WOT is plenty with good synthetic 5W-30W oil. Thicker oil is a problem with the Johnson lifters....they are designed and clearanced for modern cars with modern lighter weight oils. You could compromise the function of the lifters that way.

Pull the valve covers and have a peak....check for seals hanging up and the inner spring chewing them up.....look around carefully and don't take anything for granted.

Install a new oil filter and lets keep a closer eye on things for awhile (assuming you don't find the culprit under the valve covers).

Don't even think about throwing in the towel yet.....its waaaaay premature for that type of action

-Tony

big hammer

When you have something going bad it's pretty obvious... I'm with tony on this one. One time I seen a guy pull a planetary completely apart because he found a metal flake on the magnet. Wasn't a thing wrong with it.

If the oil pressure hasn't changed in a year I wouldn't be writing it off quite yet

5_litre_eater

Good to know guys, thanks for the advice!

Currently I have 0w-40 in the oil pan, but I haven't stated the motor with it yet. Should I swap it out for 5w-30?

Paul Bell

iTrader: (9)

0-40 should be fine. What filter are you using?

5_litre_eater

I'm using the K&N filter

DailyGTO

I went through something similar recently, though in my case the oil pressure did seem to get lower (about 5-10spi lower than before but still good), and I developed a very slight ticking noise. My filter and oil looked very similar though, with some gold. I sent a sample to Blackstone and they said it looked okay, pulled valve covers and everything checked out. The ticking noise got a bit more prominent (like a dirty lifter or something), so I pulled the whole thing apart. I found a slightly bent con rod but nothing else really amiss. I ended up grabbing another JY 5.3 and its working well so far.

So in conclusion: As long as you don't have any new ticking noises, listen to Tony, and if all else fails, buy a JY motor for cheap!

98cherrySS

iTrader: (2)

Just a thought here but when I built my motor I sprayed copper on the MLS gaskets prior to install and had the same gold swirl in my oil for the first few changes. Don't know if that was the culprit but the oil eventually stopped showing the swirl. All is well 20,000 miles later.

Tony @ Mamo Motorsports

That's an excellent thought actually and could very well be some of the gold that Josh is seeing. The other small bits are somewhat normal wear as there aren't alot of them or enough to really warrant any disassembly or major worry. There is alot of moving metal parts in an engine and some slight metal fragments in a reasonably fresh engine is really normal. If it happened 10000 miles later after many perfectly clean oil changes I would be more worried.

-Tony

5_litre_eater

I really appreciate all the advice guys! I tend to be a bit parinod and over react at times. I'm going to remove the valve covers and thoroughly inspect tomorrow night, then put some miles on the car. I'm going to switch to the Joe Gibbs LS oil that was previously recommended and keep an eye on things.

Paul Bell

iTrader: (9)

GOOD. Or Wix or Mobil1.

5_litre_eater

I was previously using a Mobil 1 filter, but switched to K&N since it's suppose to filter down to 10 microns.

5_litre_eater

Update:

I pulled the valve covers last night and everything looks great! It looks just as good as the day I installed everything. I let the car idle for 30 minutes and I heard no strange noises and the oil pressure looked good, so I took it for a 50 mile drive. No problems at all. Im going to try to put 200 miles on this oil and send it in for analysis. I have the Joe Gibbs LS oil on the way, so that's going in next. No wonder I just dropped 50qts of used oil off at autozone last week...!

I really appreciate all he advice you guys provided. It's nice to be a Mamo customer, knowing I can always ask Tony for help!