2022 Suburban RST with 6.2L L87 engine, 25k miles. Oil has been changed about every 5k since new, out of curiosity, to check the health of the engine, I bought a oil filter cutter to inspect the filter pleats after the last oil change. I was a bit surprised and am concerned by the amount of flakes I found, but I have no reference point as to what is normal or not. Silver flakes are not magnetic, so presuming them to be aluminum. Any insight out there as to this is normal wear or not?

 

Splinter sized or bigger/smaller?

What’s the consistency like - sawdust? grainy? slimy?

25k isn’t much - it’s possible some parts of the internals are still breaking in.

Check it again at the next oil change - or if you are motivated enough, check it after the next 1,000/2,000/interval-of-choice miles - all it will cost you is an additional filter and a little extra oil.

 

Here are some additional pictures with a sharp pencil point for reference. Most "glitter" is much finer than sand, however several larger pieces are present throughout.

 

 

Personally I am with you, and find this aluminum "glitter" in the oil filter troublesome in an engine that should be well past its initial break in period. Usually your first oil change is scheduled early, and would be when I would have expected to see anything like this in the oil filter.

My wife is on me to sell my two old trucks and buy a newer one, but right now, I am not sure anything new from Chevrolet isn't a ticking time bomb. My 1996 (201K) and 2006 (134K) so far have proved they're not...

I would talk to your dealer about it, and if they don't have meaningful guidance, I know you will lose money, but I would hesitate to keep that vehicle past the end of the factory warranty. Or buy an extended or third party warranty before the factory warranty lapses...

 

It doesn’t look like anything too concerning to me. None of the particles look excessively large relative to the others.

Any engine - at any mileage - will always have some metal in the filter because approximately 80% of engine wear happens during startup. Depending on ambient temperatures and oil viscosity, it can take up to 10 seconds for an engine to build full oil pressure.

That’s up to 10 seconds of run time in which the engine is relying on a minuscule layer of residual oil to lubricate moving parts. Assuming a startup speed of 700-800 RPM, that’s 120-130 crankshaft revolutions.

That said, you could always collect a sample of oil at the next change and send it and the filter to a lab for analysis.