Oil Analysis
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 143
Likes: 31
From: Indiana
Oil Analysis
I recently had my oil analyzed at Blackstone Labs. I have had my 01 stock LS1, 24k, for a little more than a year. It has a little bit of what I think is lifter noise when it's cold. I do not think it's piston slap. The analysis was normal except for one element. The copper content was 71 ppm. The "universal average" is 28 ppm. The technician said high copper is common in LS1 and not to worry about it. I did a little research and found an internet article that said LS1 cam bearings take a very long time to wear in. There was data with the article that showed 67 samples taken from LS1 motors. The average copper content was 95 ppm.
Has anyone here had camshaft bearing failures in a stock LS1?
Thanks
Has anyone here had camshaft bearing failures in a stock LS1?
Thanks
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 242
Likes: 22
From: Saint Charles MO
I cannot answer your question about Cams going bad but.......
My 2000 Vert. LS1 has about 34 K miles on it.
My last 2 Oil Reports have COPPER at 29 PPM and 28 PPM and that was with about 1,500 miles between Oil Changes (2 years).
Blackstone Labs says Copper @ 28 PPM is the universal average for an LS1.
I am confident others will chime in with their experience on this subject.
Dave
My 2000 Vert. LS1 has about 34 K miles on it.
My last 2 Oil Reports have COPPER at 29 PPM and 28 PPM and that was with about 1,500 miles between Oil Changes (2 years).
Blackstone Labs says Copper @ 28 PPM is the universal average for an LS1.
I am confident others will chime in with their experience on this subject.
Dave
Racer
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 399
Likes: 31
Safety Car
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 3,534
Likes: 432
From: Atlantic Beach FL.
I rebuilt my engine at 130,000 miles and noticed what seemed to be substantial wear on the cam bearings before replacing them. Maybe they were just worn in but they looked wore out to me. Your 24K miles seems too new to have bearing wear.
One thing I noticed about the bat wing oil pan is that it has baffles that tend to trap trash. If you got your sample from the last bit of oil that comes out then you may have gotten some of the residue from the original brake in.
After my engine rebuild, on the second oil change I dropped the lower pan and cleaned it. There was a lot of dirty oil trapped in the baffles.
If this is the case, next time you could try getting the sample from the first bit of oil that comes out.
One thing I noticed about the bat wing oil pan is that it has baffles that tend to trap trash. If you got your sample from the last bit of oil that comes out then you may have gotten some of the residue from the original brake in.
After my engine rebuild, on the second oil change I dropped the lower pan and cleaned it. There was a lot of dirty oil trapped in the baffles.
If this is the case, next time you could try getting the sample from the first bit of oil that comes out.
Last edited by Rob 02; Dec 21, 2017 at 10:23 PM.
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 242
Likes: 22
From: Saint Charles MO
I rebuilt my engine at 130,000 miles and noticed what seemed to be substantial wear on the cam bearings before replacing them. Maybe they were just worn in but they looked wore out to me. Your 24K miles seems too new to have bearing wear.
One thing I noticed about the bat wing oil pan is that it has baffles that tend to trap trash. If you got your sample from the last bit of oil that comes out then you may have gotten some of the residue from the original brake in.
After my engine rebuild, on the second oil change I dropped the lower pan and cleaned it. There was a lot of dirty oil trapped in the baffles.
If this is the case, next time you could try getting the sample from the first bit of oil that comes out.
One thing I noticed about the bat wing oil pan is that it has baffles that tend to trap trash. If you got your sample from the last bit of oil that comes out then you may have gotten some of the residue from the original brake in.
After my engine rebuild, on the second oil change I dropped the lower pan and cleaned it. There was a lot of dirty oil trapped in the baffles.
If this is the case, next time you could try getting the sample from the first bit of oil that comes out.
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