Deciding whether to disassemble an engine
Deciding whether to perform a major engine teardown after receiving laboratory oil analysis results indicating abnormal levels of metal wear.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Deciding whether to disassemble an engine
- 1consulting online mechanics forumsDid this help you?
- 2sending repeated oil samples for analysisDid this help you?
- 3discussing issues with the machine shop that built the engineDid this help you?
- 4Sell the vehicle as-is and relocate to a lower-cost-of-living area to save money.Did this help you?
- 5Swap in a used engine and transmission combo with a warranty.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“The last one was about ~2500 miles old and they said something is wrong, I have too much aluminum and iron in my oil. Should I pull the head? Is the bearing wear abnormal for this many miles?”source ↗
“I did not assemble the bottom end myself, it was the machine shop. Do you think the cylinder wear and bearing wear is excessive?”source ↗
“We have a tough decision to make and are weighing our options. Is it worth it to repair/ replace the engine?”source ↗
“I did this years ago and was in the same predicament, with 225,000 if you don’t replace the transmission at the same time and it will more than likely go out shortly after you replace the engine.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 7Should I sell my failing car for scrap?
- 8Is it safe to ignore a check engine light if the car drives fine?
- 18Are new brake pads with a chipped corner safe to use?
- 4Can I reuse a damaged flywheel with grooves and hot spots?
- 3What extra parts do I need to replace during an engine teardown?
- 4Engine replacement vs head gasket repair cost