Oil analysis on a 911 race engine, elevated lead/copper? Options

[stownsen914]

Hi all,

I posted this question on the Pelican board, and would like to get opinions here as well.

I'd like to get your input on the oil analysis I just had done on a 911 race engine from my 914/6. It shows elevated lead and copper, which I'm guessing could mean bearing wear. Does this mean the engine is just moving toward rebuild time, or does it mean "don't drive it anymore, rebuild now"?

A few details:
- I do use leaded gas, which I understand can explain the high lead level in the oil
- The engine is a short stroke 2.7 (93 x 66), is revved to 7500 with no overrevs, and has about 55 track hours on it.

The summary mentions "cautionary" about the lead but doesn't use as strong language about the copper. It also says that lead seems may be explainable from the leaded gas. I was expecting a little more time before a rebuild, but maybe time's up?

In addition to the oil analysis report, I'm also including some pics of the Canton oil filter element that I run in place of the stock oil cooler on the engine. I have not changed or inspected this filter in a long time, as I use an coarser screen element nspection filter in the scavenge side of the oil system (definitely a mistake to not have checked the filter on the engine more often). Note a significant amount of metal bits, with some of them being magnetic (last blurry pic shows a magnet I trolled around on the filter element). Could this be acceptable given the extended period of time this filter was in service?

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

Scott