PSA: the oil sample report showed copper at 38 ppm and I finally stopped trusting the 500-hour rule

Found out from a Blackstone analysis on my 250k-mile 5.9 that high copper means wrist pin wear, not just bearing issues, so I pulled the pan and found a cracked piston skirt that the regular maintenance schedule would've missed for another 200 hours, has anyone else caught something weird on an oil test that saved them a full rebuild?

2 comments

2 Comments

phoenixw111mo ago

Thin oil in the summer masked the same wear, caught it on a viscosity check instead.

elizabethmason1mo ago

and that reminds me of the time I had a buddy who swore his truck ran better on cheap gas. He'd top off with the stuff from the no-name station every other week and never checked anything. Turns out the fuel filter was so clogged it was basically a straw, but the engine sounded fine until it just died on the interstate. @phoenixw11 you're lucky you caught it with a check, my buddy had to get towed and the mechanic showed him the filter, it was like a solid brown brick. So yeah, sometimes the noise and the feel don't tell you anything until it's too late. That viscosity trick is something I'll have to try on my own rig, even if I don't fully understand the math behind it.