08VRZ06

Well back when GM replaced my bad cam and lifters under warranty I had them replace the drain plugs with the magnetic type that was in the earlier C6 Corvettes. I continued to run Mobil 1 5W-30 until I changed out the cam and this is how the drain plugs looked for the next couple of oil changes.



I then changed out the cam and then within about a 1000 miles I removed the heads and had WCCH do the Stage II with SS exhaust valves and bronze guides. At that time I switched over to Royal Purple HPS with Synerlec 5W-30 and Royal Purple 10-48 oil filter. I ran that for only a couple thousand miles and changed it out again, cleaned the drain plugs off and refilled it again with Royal Purple HPS 5W-30 and a Royal Purple Oil Filter.

I changed my oil this past Sat and had a suprise when I pulled out my magnetic oil drain plugs. I ran this last oil change to 18% oil life remaining and drained the oil and took an oil sample which will be sent off to Blackstone this week and this is how the drain plugs look at this oil change....



This is a significant reduction in iron particles floating around in the oil. Now I can't tell you if it is because of better anti-wear of the RP HPS oil with the higher zinc and phosphorus, the better filtration of the oil as the RP filters claim 99% filtration, the fact that the powdered metal guides were replaced with bronze, or if it is all of the above... All I can say for sure is that there is now a lot less metal floating around in my oil. I will post up the oil analysis when I get them back.

Mark

Scooter275

Very interesting

'06 Quicksilver Z06

Very interesting finding, and will be watching for the results of you oil analysis.

383vett

Was your cam changed because of a cam lobe was wiped out? If so, the correct fix would be to completely disassemble the motor, clean and rebuild it or a new motor. Just changing the cam doesn't eliminate all the metal particles within the motor and embedded in the bearings. It's often good enough to get past the warranty period, but it's not the right way. Hopefully that wasn't the reason your cam was changed.

ToppThat

Oil cant fix that mess.

Uncle Meat

I had suggested the extra iron content found in my Blackstone oil analysis could be due to excessive valve guide wear a while back. My magnetic drain plugs have looked fuzzy like that at every oil change.

U.M.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-z...s-made-of.html

Dirty Howie

I have been doing Blackstones for many oil changes now. I will be interesting to see if there is a change after my head swap.


DH

'06 Quicksilver Z06

I remember that thread, and am taking note of Howie's response below.

His iron levels were always good, we will have to see what his guides look like in his original heads.

08VRZ06

Cam and lifters were changed and was told by a contact in GM that "the lab said it was not adequately heat treated. Seems to be a fairly isolated case."

Here's a pic of the old cam and lifters. Only 2 lifters were damaged and the 2 lobes. When I took out the new stock cam to put in the Katech 110 cam it look brand new and so did the lifter rollers.







After the cam change I drove it about 1000 miles then change the oil to Royal Purple 10W-30 and then drove it for 6000 miles and this was my oil sample results....



I still had fuzzy drain plugs until this last oil change...... It was right after this oil change that I did the cam, then heads and switched over to Royal Purple 5W-30 HPS and Royal Purple Oil Filters. This will also be the first oil sample since then as between the cam and the heads the oil didn't have enough miles on it to get any decent results...

Mark

mistermog

Ive had gray sludge on my magnetic plugs before and no one said it was anything to worry about. when you wipe it onto a towel does it look like gray goo?

After seeing valve guides I think that MIGHT be what mine is, since it didnt have the fuzz look, but guess Ill be taking my lifters out when I do the heads to check on them.

Thanks for posting, i kept thinking about mine but never really hear anything about that

EX1

The Blackstone report mentions intake valves but not any other part? Wonder why?

08VRZ06

Yea I saw that too and am not sure.......

Mark

08VRZ06

Yes when you do wipe it off on a paper towel it just looks like grease but if you put the magnetic drain plug on the back side of the paper towel it will grab ahold of it!!

When you do pull the heads off make sure to rotate the crank around a couple of times to push all the lifters up into the trays. Also if you have 30K - 40K mile on you engine you might want to think about changing out the plastic lifter trays with new. They are cheap about $8.00 each and are the only thing that keeps the lifter from spinning.... and that would be a very bad thing.....

Mark

NHRA95

I am continuously getting that metal fuzz on my magnetic drain plugs at every oil change. So, something IS wearing. I honestly think it's the valve guides wearing that's causing the fuzz. And now I can understand why GM stopped installing those magnetic drain plugs sometime in 2008.. Mine was a late build and did not have them, I installed them after my first oil change at 500 miles. And like I've mentioned about, still getting that metal fuzz.... NOT GOOD!

ATC399

FWIW...My magnetic drain plug on my LS3 (purchased new) looked exactly like your first pic the first couple of oil changes...after about 15K the fillings disappeared...

Uncle Meat

I'm at 28K on my '09 and it's due for an annual oil change.

Blckstone found elevating levels of iron in my last sample I sent in so I'm somewhat concerned how this next sample will look. If this sample has heavy iron content I may switch to a different oil. The car is not tracked.

U.M.

tim414

When you guys take your oil samples, do you catch the oil sample when it first begins running out of the drain or do you wait and catch a sample as it's finishing draining or will it matter?

Uncle Meat

Just like a urinalysis... you take a sample mid-stream. Yes it matters.

U.M.

Dirty Howie

Take it from the main tank after it flowed out for a bit.


DH

08VRZ06

Let at least a quart or 2 run out first and don't do it cold....

Mark