Is my engine toast?

[01silverstang]

Bought the car a year and a half ago (1996 Cobra with Procharger P-1SC) but haven't put more than maybe 100 easy miles on it as I have been working on it and busy with life. I finally got around to doing an oil change and this is what I found:

The engine isn't knocking at any RPM, no ticking, idles smooth, fuel consumption has been fine, power has been fine... The pictures make some of the particles look bigger due to bubbles, but they all look like what is on my finger. The weird part was finding the red flakes in the oil filter pleats, they are the same color as the powder coated cam covers. I don't have a good history on the engine, as the previous owner wasn't able to provide any details on prior owners before them.

I have requested a Blackstone kit, but not sure how to proceed.

 

[96dreamer]

Stock motor? Any loss in oil pressure? Hard to tell if you're using the stock gauge since it's a dummy gauge. Are the particles magnetic?

The stuff in the drain pan is a little concerning but the filter media doesn't look bad to me. I bet the red is coming from the inside of the valve covers. I have seen a few people get residual coating on the inside and it fail over time.

 

[01silverstang]

Stock motor? Any loss in oil pressure? Hard to tell if you're using the stock gauge since it's a dummy gauge. Are the particles magnetic?

The stuff in the drain pan is a little concerning but the filter media doesn't look bad to me. I bet the red is coming from the inside of the valve covers. I have seen a few people get residual coating on the inside and it fail over time.

Sorry I should have mentioned, the particles are not magnetic. I have just been using the dummy gauge, not knowing it was a dummy gauge... so I know the engine has at least 6 psi lol... I plan on removing the stock sending unit, grounding it, and installing an actual oil pressure gauge in it's place.

I'm not sure about the history of the engine, as the previous owner couldn't provide any detail on the prior owners. The cam covers and upper intake manifold have been removed at some point to at minimum be powder coated, and it has a pretty extensive mod list including... team z tubular k member, LT headers, and TKO600.

 

[Bullitt1448]

Change oil and filter, run it for a 100 miles or so gently take an oil sample and send it to get analyzed

 

[01silverstang]

Change oil and filter, run it for a 100 miles or so gently take an oil sample and send it to get analyzed

I filled it with seven quarts of Mobil 1 5W-30 full synthetic and a new Motorcraft filter. I requested a test kit from Blackstone as well.

 

[01silverstang]

Talked to the owner of a local shop and sent pictures, he thinks its linked to a bad powder coating on the cam covers. The red flakes are powder coating that has chipped off. The metal dust could be from the covers not being properly cleaned before coating, could be tiny bits of residual blast media (aluminum oxide), etc. all of which would be non magnetic.

Going to go the 100 easy miles route and see what the new oil looks like when it comes out... have it tested and try not to freak out between now and then. I wanted to get the intake manifold powdercoated wrinkle black, I may have the cam covers re-done as well making sure the insides are not coated.

 

[Wynn]

I'd just run the bitch. If the engine is bad so be it, might as well run it til it locks up.

I thought my engine was shot at one point, about 10 years ago. It's since been 11s in the 1/4, ran a bunch of autocross runs, and brought 2 kids home from the hospital.

My advise would be change the oil frequently and run it til she goes. Then coyote swap it. That's my plan anyway.