So, now that I got the 302 all back together I decided to cut open the older oil filters and examine them. Around here we're sorta in the boondocks, so you end up collecting oil/filters till you have a chance to get to hazmat, and I had the filter from the last change where the thrust bearing failed with less than 1,000 miles(with the low ZDDP oil, the newer rated stuff) and the oil filter from the change before that where I was still running high ZDDP oil, and had no problem.

When I cut the older filter open with the high ZDDP oil from before the thrust bearing failed, it looked good. No metal particles, no grittiness to the oil, the filter media was clean, when I ran my finger across the filter media my finger remained clean. Had about 2,500-3,000mi on that change, but as clean as it looked I could have gone farther.

Then I cut open the filter from the oil change where the thrust bearing failed, while using the newer GF-4 rated oils with low ZDDP. With less than 1,000mi on that change, all I can say is wow. The oil that came out of it had a whole mess of little visible metal particles in it, and when I ran my finger through the oil and rubbed them together it was gritty as hell(duh!). And when I ran my finger across the filter media, my finger turned a dark blueish-grey from all the ultra fine metal particles that had lodged in the filter. [:@]

I didn't even need laboratory analysis to compare those 2 filters. [] And I also checked my TOB for the clutch again, and it's right within the adjustment range it's supposed to be. Moral of the story, even roller cammed engines can succumb to the newer oils with low zinc/phosphorus levels.

 

.....

 

I do that too. I'm usually in neutral even before I come to a complete stop, and it only goes back in gear when I'm ready to move. That's why when this first happened, I was like WTH? I had like not even 15k on this engine yet, so when I first noticed it I didn't think it could be the thrust bearing, because I couldn't think of anything that would cause the thrust bearing to fail. I was like "Don't ride the clutch, check. Don't sit at lights on the clutch, check. Thrust bearing installed properly, check. Hydraulic TOB adjusted properly, check." Then when I got home and checked, my freakin balancer was moving back and forth a crapload, so then I realised it really was the thrust bearing. When I called the guy who did my machine work to see what was up, we went over everything that could cause a problem and then he asked what oil I was running. When I told him he basically said "Well, that's why. Since they started taking stuff outta the oil I've seen all sorts of wierd crap happening, including a lot more thrust bearing failures." He said it's a lot more common in Chevys since they run a smaller thrust bearing, but he ocasionally sees it in SBFs. He also said that out of all the oils he's tried, that Castrol, especially their synthetics(which is what I had) tend to be the worst.

Oh well, ya win some you lose some. It's not like I don't know how to fix it either.

 

new oil these days is CRAP.

we use non-synthetic when breaking in the motors on our dyno.

and we also get a lot of motors back because of cams going flat. whenever we build a motor we dump a container of comp cams break in lube to prevent flat cams.

 

Yeah, even some of the deisel engine oils are going to the lower ZDDP now since they have to meet emissions as well. It's getting to where it's not even safe to just break in a flat tappet engine on high ZDDP oil these days, you have to keep running it on something that has ZDDP in it. Apperantly even after proper break in the flat tappet cams are still prone to failure if a low zinc phosphate oil is used. Some guys have even gone so far as to add break in fluid at every oil change, and they don't ever have any issues. And a lot of the dirt circle track guys around here(the Okie Bowl) that have to run flat tappets in their class, are starting to have more camshaft problems with some of the newer oils even after breaking the cam in. I even found several articles from around 2004ish in a lubrication journal where they were expressing serious concerns as to weather the new oils would be backwards compatible(like they're supposed to be) with any engine made before 2005. So even before they started producing the stuff they were worried there may be problems with it!!![:@]

I don't blame the oil manufacturers either, they're just doing what the EPA says they're supposed to. Fortunately some of the companies have chosen to still make non certified oils to deal with this. The API starburst used to be a good sign for qaulity, now if you have an engine designed prior to 2005 it doesn't really mean much.

And the other thing, and this cracks me up, is that the manufacturers are saying the new oils should be adequate for older cars, yet when the began designing newer cars that would be run on newer oils, they suddenly found it necessary to develop much more complicated and robust(and also more expensive) thrust bearings and valve train components. If a standard 2 piece thrust bearing that has worked for years and is cheap would work with new oils, then why are newer cars coming with 4, 5, 6 and in some cases 7 or 8 piece thrust bearings that cost a bunch more and are more difficult to install? Why have the OHC engines developed more expensive follwer setups that reduce friction and increase load capacity? One of the standards for the API rating on oils aside from the EPA, is the lubrication requirements that the manufacturers send out based on their designs. So if the new oils lubricate fine(based on manufacturer requirements), then why are the high load/shear parts of engines being redesigned to cary 3-4 times the load they used to just a few years earlier?