Blackstone oil - copper

[CB750F]

I've been checking my oil every yr for a few yrs now & all was good till ....


Anyone see this before? Funny as the last month before I put it away for the winter
I found the engine running so smooth. I hear no strange noises.
Does this look like a new engine or rod bearings(maybe)?
I have 4 months to panic till spring.

Maybe I'll just run it & check the oil next time unless it goes KABOOM! before.
I usually change my oil by July (5000km) but this yr I missed several autoX so I waited
a little longer. I have done some HPDE, not much in the first few yrs, like 2 a yr but
about 10 autoX a yr. Original owner 2015 BRZ 125,000 km(70k miles).
Apart from that, not driven hard.

[Ultramaroon]

If it was mine, I'd change oil, submit a sample immediately after change, and then again after maybe 1000 Km. Describe your plan to Blackstone if you do that.



It's not a good sign but, like the analyst wrote, could go either way. Don't drive it far from home until you know what's up.

[Breezio]

If titanium is only an oil additive, why did it spike? Did you change brand or type of oil on your last change?

[CB750F]

Changing / testing the oil is a good option, see what the results will be.


Not sure what oil I used, could have been Castrol, the others were probably Mobil.

I just buy what's on sale. The first 5 yrs I used 0w20 but now I use 5w30.


I'll be getting the best CAA card next yr... lol

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by CB750F

Changing / testing the oil is a good option, see what the results will be.


Not sure what oil I used, could have been Castrol, the others were probably Mobil.

I just buy what's on sale. The first 5 yrs I used 0w20 but now I use 5w30.


I'll be getting the best CAA card next yr... lol

It's such a tiny jump that it could've come from a single low-pressure incident. The weird thing is that I'd expect to see other metals jump too. The copper layer is there to hold the even softer layers above.


A tiny fleck of copper from the funnel you used to fill? Copper anti-seize? Meh...

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

It's such a tiny jump that it could've come from a single low-pressure incident. The weird thing is that I'd expect to see other metals jump too. The copper layer is there to hold the even softer layers above.


A tiny fleck of copper from the funnel you used to fill? Copper anti-seize? Meh...

I’ve had multiple low pressure incidents and none of them showed up on my UOA report.

Been scratching my brain trying to think of what else would show up as copper besides a rod or main and not having any luck. I believe the copper layer is a bit deep in the bearing, I could probably pull one to check later this weekend. Maybe some crank thrust took the edge off a bearing but I don’t see that as much better of a problem.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

I’ve had multiple low pressure incidents and none of them showed up on my UOA report.

Been scratching my brain trying to think of what else would show up as copper besides a rod or main and not having any luck. I believe the copper layer is a bit deep in the bearing, I could probably pull one to check later this weekend. Maybe some crank thrust took the edge off a bearing but I don’t see that as much better of a problem.

Yeah, copper is an intermediate layer. But it's the same for thrust bearings. I was reaching. I bet it goes back to normal in the next sample.

[CB750F]

Tks for thinking about this, much appreciated.


1- Form 2 to 21 to me is quite big, but that's why I posted cuz, I have no idea.


Anyway, Ill see in May as the car comes out of hibernation in April & I'll have to do some mileage before sending the oil in.


I don't see any contamination as I use a plastic funnel & I clean before/after I use.


The only thing that was done this yr is my clutch as the TOB was starting to screach. I went to a reputable shop(Subaru shop) to get the work done & since I could be a really paranoid person
& I'll smoke another join... My car has a banner with 'Track & Time' on it so maybe they sprinkled
some extra copper in my engine thinking I check my oil & i would come back to get work done.


Tks God I'm not too paranoid.

[Opie]

Drive it until there is a problem....why stress over this if you are following proper oil change intervals?

I recently bought an older Subaru from a guy that did religious Blackstone Oil reports with every oil change...he sold it to me dirt cheap because one Blackstone report showed a high level of copper & lead, and he thought he heard a low knocking sound at startup, thought for sure motor was going out.

Noise turned out to be a worn out timing belt tensioner, report difference turned out to be a change only due to using a different motor oil than he had been for that one report. Report I did just to check came back fine....car runs great.

[CB750F]

Thanks for you input Opie. You're probably correct, I'll go back to Mobil for the next few
changes, see what it gives.

[CB750F]

Sent in the oil, should get results this week.
i did 4 autocross before sending oil in, with maybe 2,000 km.
So far at 6 autocross events, drove from Montreal to Quebec city & back.
So far, so good! No KABOOM!!!

[CB750F]

So, my engine looks good...

[smackrel]

Glad to hear!

@Opie was right, drive until there is a problem