[dcdoug]

Originally Posted by GT350Mike

Doubt this will make you feel better but my engine had less than 500 miles on the odometer when it developed a minor ticking. The noise wasn’t there when the engine was cold but after it warmed up to normal temps, it would start ticking. We ruled out any potential problem with the valve train and a few other things so before I did anything drastic, I decided to send an oil sample to Blackstone. The results were pretty bad; 166 units of copper (11 is avg) and 176 of lead (11 is avg) just to name a few and that was after running another 100 miles with fresh oil and filter. We pulled the engine, replaced lots of parts that wasn't properly assembled the first time, and the weekend of Memorial Day finally I got the engine back home. I'll spare you the details but will say I learned several lessons the hard (and expensive) way.

If it was mine, I'd change the oil like Brent mentioned but would also send an oil sample to Blackstone. The sample report should give you some insight to whether or not your bearings are going bad (like mine) or indicate if something else is going wrong. Good luck on whatever you decide to do!

I sent samples from some of my first oil changes to Blackstone, but then stopped unfortunately. Just got super busy with kids/work/life. My new regimen will be to change oil for the winter in Oct/Nov and send a sample to Blackstone. This would all have been done months ago had I done that....lesson learned.