engine wear

[A26B]

My reaction is the same as Dynomite's.

There's only two (not one) sources of copper and that's rod pin bushings & crank bearings. I would hope the "white" metal is babbit flakes rather than aluminum.

If it turns out to be bearing material, the saving grace is that the crank will probably be OK. The real question is why?

Considering the oil flow path, the crank is oiled from the inside-out and oil is filtered before going to any part of the engine, less & except the oil pump. So, it's very unlikely that any of the metallic debris, of a damaging size, could end up hurting anything else.

I have seen thrust bearings where the flange is nearly broken off. The way they were made with "no" radius where the flange is attached to the main bearing itself, is not so cool.

Please keep us posted on the findings. If you have to go into the engine, locating the cause is imperative.