Hi all, recently changed oil in 5.3 and see glitter. Engine has 5k miles after complete rebuild bottom up.

While tuning i developed a rattle at idle. It goes away over 1k rpm. This happened sitting in driveway. I wasn't driving at all bc i was struggling with tune. Before parking to install term x there was no rattle. Using screwdriver stethoscope method it sounds like sound is in oil pan but also equally as loud at bell housing.

I pulled the oil pan and took a look at the rod bearings and I can't get any movement and there's no sign of a spun bearing that I can see without removing the caps. I took a look in the oil and this is what I see in the attached picture. It almost sounds like a torque converter boat loose but I tighten them all and I still have the sound. I did not check the flywheel but I did see that it spins true however it could be a loose bolt or a crack I suppose I need to check it when I get back home. My question is is this amount of metal assure indication of bearing failure or could this be normal break in shavings or possibly residue from the Machine Shop?

Very few sparkles in the oil pan nothing chunky

 

You absolutely 100% have something going south. I’d pull it and tear it down before it gets more expensive.

 

Ouch, not looking good.

 

If that is the first filter after the rebuild then I would say it could be normal depending on how clean you got the internals before assembly. If it's the second or third filter, then you deff. have a problem inside.

 

I opened up the oil filter on an engine I bought a long time ago with a spun front main bearing and it looked similar to your photo, maybe not as bad, but similar. The bearings were thrashed and wound up tossing the block because my machine shop said it wasn't salvageable. I got another block and only thing I reused were connecting rods (rod bearings did not spin). Very expensive lesson for me. That engine is still on my stand as a slow rebuild.

So vehicle hasn't been driven at all? Except for idle? What is oil pressure? Who did the rebuild? It almost sounds like a main bearing got installed backwards, or maybe cam bearing oil lube hole was not aligned properly. Actually, many things can go wrong on a rebuild, so I shouldn't speculate...

On my suburban's lq4 recent DIY rebuild, after I drove it 650 miles or so I drained the break-in oil and did see a bit of residue on the drain plug. I did save the oil filter, but haven't motivated myself to open it up. Truck is running good and is a daily driver.

 

My first filter change on a fresh rebuild looked like that. I would worry more about the sound than the metal

As others have stated, if the next oil changes look the same I'd be concerned about them additionally

 

I pulled the Caps off to take a look at the bearings of attached a picture to see what you all think. I see some scoring and unfortunately if I try hard enough I can feel it with my fingernail.

 

Well that's unfortunate

I'm going to not look under my caps ☠️

 

for the first thousand miles I ran breaking oil with K&N Filter and then I ran Royal Purple after that with a K&N Filter. I have the mailing high volume oil pump I can't remember the part number but it's the highest flowing one they have. I even had the crank oiling holes chamfered for more flow

 

I see ARP main studs. Did you have the block align honed with the studs? If not, you want to look at mains also….
Thats a LOT of debris in that filter. It’s got to come apart unfortunately.

 

yes i did

 

I hate like hell to have to pull that whole motor as all of you can imagine because I'm sure you've been there. This may not be the ideal approach but I'm going to put new rod bearings toilet back up and see if there's any difference. If I have to end up yanking the whole thing I have an lq9 that's going in. Everything I have will bolt up aside from the Slugs. This is going to get a lot of laughs but I'm going to put it out there the person who built this engine had a reputable Speed Shop charge me $5,600 for the machine work and assembly. Live and learn I made some huge mistakes building this engine. Tons of bad judgment for sure

 

Nothing wrong with throwing fresh bearings in and seeing what happens

Hey and don't worry about the money or machine shop, even the OEMs are sucking too. I think Toyota right now are blowing up their turbo V6 engines due to chips being in their crank oil ways

I've seen more money spent on way more wasteful things. I honestly can't tell the severity of the bearings in the picture, but maybe after whatever was in there got pushed through to the filter you'll be good. Fingers crossed


Throw those bearings in and best of luck sir 🫡

 

If there was that much metal floating around the engine, I would expect to see the bearings scratched to ****.

I don't think i've ever seen a bad main bearing cause a knock(but that doesn't mean it can't.

I'd pull the trans(or engine)and see if the flexplate is either cracked around the bolts or the bolts have worked themselves loose.

 

my engine rebuild was done by a shop that has been in business for 30 plus years and it's one of the most highly respected Central Florida engine builders. I drove the vehicle approximately $4,500 MI. I then pull it into the driveway removed the stock harness and installed my Holly Terminator X system. I was working remotely with a couple folks and during the course of that I started hearing a coming from the oil pan best I could tell using the screwdriver to the ear method. I then changed my oil and took a cut away of the oil filter and saw that metal. I removed all the connecting rod bearings and about 90% of folks are saying that those look perfectly normal. The only thing I'd like to add is I can feel scratches on three of the bearings with my fingernail they're not deep but nonetheless I feel them. The oil has been changed twice after the break-in oil was run for 1,000 miles. The other two oil changes were done using Royal Purple and K&N oil filters. The knocking sound developed in the driveway with no driving. It just came out of nowhere at first I thought it was because my truck was idling rough and maybe it was a header rubbing then I went on to think that maybe it was a torque converter bolt loose and then I went on to think possibly there was a flexplate issue neither of which are true. Then I pulled the oil and looked and found metal. At idle my oil pressure is 60 PSI when I give it gas it goes up to 80. It's very strange that it just popped up out of nowhere sitting in the driveway but it is what it is I don't have any other explanation I've never revved over 6,000 RPMs and I've babied the vehicle for the break-in. My plan was to get the Holly Terminator dialed in and then install the turbo kit that I have sitting on the Shelf ready and waiting to go

 

The knocking is not horrendous it almost feels like the truck is idling a little bit rough and I hear a rattle that does not increase with RPM but it's definitely coming from the oil pan. I pulled all the caps and all the bearings that are pictured in the string a couple texts back. It's the strangest s*** I can think of. This engine was built the right way forged crank all new race bearings every Fasteners arp the engine was line bored internally balanced forged eagle HP mods Wiseco pistons no expense spared building the motor or finding the best engine builder I can find locally. That's why it's got me scratching my head

 

Oil filter media never lies. That is a LOT of debris…so much so that I’m surprised you still have oil pressure. It’s not the typical break-in flakes. I honestly didn’t even catch where you mentioned having the lower end noise in your original post, so I never took it into account. Noises can be manipulated from accessories, to exhaust, to flywheels, etc, so they are often difficult to pinpoint in an engine bay unless it’s a straight-up rod knock, which you don’t have.
Show the pics of the filter media to your engine builder, and get his advice. If it were mine, I’d have already had it on a stand and torn down.
FWIW, your rod bearings look great except where the debris has gone though them and lightly scored them.

 

thanks for all the replies gentlemen this website is fantastic. I think the consensus is the bearings throughout the entire engine are probably scratched all to hell considering the oil and Metal. I'm going to throw some new rod bearings in and see how she sounds until I can get the 6.0 in my garage prepped. I called the engine builder and asked if I could bring it by for him to look at but he said it's going to be at a cost. I was kind of hoping he would go through and look and maybe freshen up the bearings considering the $5,300 I already gave him lol. I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles expensive lesson for sure

 

So…your builder told you that to look at your hurt engine that he built you is going to cost you money…even if he finds that it was something he did wrong, or perhaps a part he supplied failed?

 

Damn man that's rough. You paid him $5300 for him to build you a motor and now he won't even look at his own work until you pay him more?? He's taking you for a ride. Find another shop to deal with that's not ridiculous