Vigile

Just did my first oil change on the 07 Z51 after 2200 miles and about 9 months. I am very concerned though after finding the oil to be very grey in color (look at the gloves i have on) and finding a bunch of metal flakes on the end of the oil plug.

Is this a problem? are these shards an indication of problems in the engine??

I have attached a couple of pics.

Thanks!

dtvet

I have used a magnetic drain plug on many new vehicles when I changed the first oil at 500 miles and then when I changed at 1500 miles, it looked just like your plug. Don't worry this is normal break in, it will get less and less as time goes by.

BigJoe

Pretty normal to have some. Which is why many do an early oil change around 1000 miles.

talon90

Normal wear and tear associated with break-in. Shouldn't be anything to worry about.

EuroRod

Don't know if it's the picture, but the color of the oil on your gloves looks weird to me. It should be a translucient black. I know that "chocolate milk" indicates water in the oil, but thats with standard oil, not synthetic. Anyone know what gray oil means?

carpe dm

Normal. That is why the magnetic plugs are nice to have.

Vigile

Cool, thanks guys.

And no one saw a problem with the oil color? The full synth Mobil 1 i put in during the change was definitely not gray.

Beezvette

On the blue cloth the oil looks a normal color but on the glove it looks grey. What color was it in the bucket?

photoguy

jcurley290

Normal break-in.

Vigile

Hard to say what the color was in the pan -- it was mixed with other oil and its a black pan.

gota07

Some rubber gloves have powder on them to make it easier to for them to slip on. Might be a chemical reaction with that causing the gray oil color.

Joe C

looks pretty much normal. BTW, is it me, or is the rubber (or silicon - ???) seal missing from the drain plug?

Jimmy 2 Times

the gray look may be from the engine assembly lube.

when I did my cam in my last motor, the oil looked similar after only 250 miles. The oil was just doing its job, and the flakes are normal.


YOu could always send your oil out for anyalsis

Cobra4B

Completely normal... I have 77k on my LS6 and still get a tiny amount of metallic sludge on the magnetic drain plug when changing the oil.