Metal Flakes

[DIESEL5]

Is it normal to have metal flakes in the oil filter, I cut the old one open and looked at it and found some tiny metal flakes on the filter (paper) two of my buddies say its normal but i have a lot of reservations about it being normal. I think i have a spun bearing somewhere but they both seem to think to the contrary and one of them is diesel mechanic by trade and the other is also a mechanic but not for diesels. Oil pressure drops to ten psi on the mechanical gauge when the engine is at temp of 210 degrees and with dash gauge it goes down to just before the red lines at idle and the check gauges light comes on. At 2000 rpm the oil pressure holds steady 28 to 30 psi on the mechanical gauge. Just did a head job a little more than a month ago and the thing was running great for about three weeks, put a new oil pressure sending unit in after the mechanical gauge check and still same problem. Gonna pull the valve covers back off to check for possible bent pushrods and broken nylon retainers since i didn t replace them after that its on to the oil pump and if that doesn t solve the problems then i guess it has to come out for a complete rebuild. Any way if some body can answer the metal flake question that would be great Thanks

[More Power]

An engine oil analysis will tell you where the metal is coming from...

Jim

[Nobby]

Definitely metal, do they stick to a magnet?

cheers
Nobby

[simon]

it sounds like the babbit is flaking of the brg shells ,how many miles on the mill?
i would'nt wait to long to investigate the origin. babbit flakes are non magnetic.

[DIESEL5]

165000 miles, didnt check with a magnet yet i just assumed they were metal cause they are shiny

[Nobby]

Shiny could well be bearing material still need to use a magnet to confirm though. Just how tiny do you mean specks/dots or something bigger sat 1mm in size or more.
As Jim said an Oil Analysis will help.


cheers
Nobby

[Robyn]

10 PSI is very low. 20 is a normal hot idle.

If there is no noises up top and the engine is running fairly well then pulling the VC's will server no particular purpose at this time.

Metal flakes that you can see is definately a bad thing :eek: This along with low oil pressure is not good at all.

IMHO it is time to yank the engine before you grenade the thing.
Clean it up and get it apart.

If there are no banging noises then it could be a main or cam bearing thats gone away.

A rod would be letting you know with some extra noises.

These engines should run 40 PSI hot at no more than 1500 RPM.
Even hot they should idle at 20 PSI.

One other thought, have you checked the turbo to see if its having issues.
A failed bearing in the turbo will allow huge volumes of oil to flow out directly to the crankcase.
You can pull the rubber boot off the intake side of the turbo and wiggle the turbine.
If its real sloppy then you may have found the issue.

I have seen these engines with well over 200K on them and still hold good oil pressure.
Me thinks its time to have a look inside the little creature.

Keep us posted

Robyn

[HH]

As stated above, do an oil analysis before anything else.

[DIESEL5]

I pulled the top end back apart today and found no evidence of anything gone wrong so i am going to take Robins advice and pull the beast out and do a complete rebuild. I have already sunk so much money into the top end that the bottom end will probably only cost a quarter to half of what i have into the top and when its done every thing will be new except for the block. Any tips or advice will be great as this will be my first diesel rebuild(have done numerous gassers) and the more i know from experience the better off I and my diesel will be. Thanks!!!!

[suburbanK-2500HD]

Hi
if you have done gasser you chould be able to fix this too i guess.
But, get a manual for the engine....

[Robyn]

I am sure that once you get the bottom end opened up that yopu will find the issue fairly quick.

The factory does not mark the rods as to what cyl they belong to or the caps to keep them matched. Use a set of number stamps and mark them before you pull them apart.
The mains are numbered right in the castings (with the engine inverted the numbers will be on your right when looking from back to front on the engine)

Be sure to check the center main webs in the outer bolt hole area for cracks.

If you find cracks that run below the bottom of the outer bolt hole and into the web area, the block is pretty much a door stop.

Cracks that are confined to within the length of the hole can be successfully repaired using the Lock N Stitch threaded inserts.

Other than the injection system itself the 6.5 is no different than rebuilding a chevy mouse or rat motor.

Just a tip. the pushrods on these engines are designed to be installed one way only. The top end of the pushrods have a copper colored area on them.
The ball end that goes to the rocker is hardened and the other end is not.

Be sure these are marked well otherwise a failure can and will result.

Keep us posted

Robyn

[DIESEL5]

Sorry it took so long to get back but i finally got it out and on the stand Saturdayand tore the motor down on Sunday. I found two spun main bearings and the other mains were showing a lot of wear too but visibly i dont see any damage to the journals other some heat discoloration, I am thinking i should take the block in and have it checked all the way around(or is that a waste of good money; should i just scrap the block). If so were is a good place to find a good short block ready to go for a reasonable price. I dont see any visible cracks in or around the main cap bolt holes, so with all that said is worth line boaring the journals or not. I am confused as why many many people say not to even bother with line boaring(even if its minimal) and i have been told that the crank is junk if it needs to be turned. I dont have a problem with buying a new crank if in fact the block will hold together after that kind of machine work, long story short should i or shouldn't i and i dont want to be throwing" good money after bad" any comments,help, and or direction is greatly appreciated.

[simon]

if the block checks fine with no cracks,i would line hone it,if bore damage in block side is minimal. you can try to find an other main cap for the worst ones, i can give you a couple good ones if you need them.The crank is an iffi ,but can be ground too. i got a 6.2 with 80 k on it and use it hard,with a reground crank with no issues at all .