Hello. I recently rebuilt a 454 Chevy in a boat with all new internal parts. The guy had the oil sampled with 3-4 hours on the oil. The engines have not even been broken in yet, much less had an initial oil change which is going to be done at 20 hours. Naturally his chrome, and iron are coming up high, sodium is a little high as well.

My thought is that this oil test does not have much merit as the engine is too new. The engine runs fine by the way. The carburetor is giving trouble and needs to be rebuilt, so it has been running rich at idle which I am sure does not help the readings either.

Is there a general guideline as to when the first oil sample should be done? Are there acceptable limits for an engine this new? Has anyone else ever had a sample done at 4 hours after a rebuild?

Thanks for your time,

Eric