metal shavings in oil pan

[plymouthtalon]

Just changed oil, stuck a magnet in there... it came out covered in metal flakes. What contributes to this?

 

[leet]

Bearing wear. It's not good. Better start checking stuff out more in-depth..

 

[BISHILVR]

actually it's not likely to be bearing material since bearing material is largely made up of lead,copper,brass..all of which are non metallic materials..could be some piston ring material or turbo material or maybe some of the crankshaft is wearing away for some reason or another.......

 

[ArticNemesis]

hrmm. Last time I checked lead, copper, and brass were metals...

I would also second bearings... Or your oil pump gears grinding away for an unknown reason..

 

[leet]

Originally posted by BISHILVR
actually it's not likely to be bearing material since bearing material is largely made up of lead,copper,brass..all of which are non metallic materials..could be some piston ring material or turbo material or maybe some of the crankshaft is wearing away for some reason or another.......

See, the thing is, the bearings are designed to wear before any important metal parts do (IE Rods, crankshaft.) They are built of layers of soft metals. They are there to take the abuse of metal on metal contact. Hence the reason they are replaceable.

Pull off your oil pan, and go hunting for your culprit. I will be HIGHLY suprised if it is not a bearing.

 

[BISHILVR]

duh.. of course!!!.. the point that i was making was that those materials that the bearings are made up of are not able to be picked up with a magnet as he said he did.....aka lead, copper,brass are NON FERROUS metals!! meaning that they ARE NOT MAGNETIC!!! still i do agree that an oil pan removal and inspection of the reciprocating parts are in order here......the only way that any of the material that was picked up on the magnet was from the bearings is if the outer layers of the bearings were completely comprimised and the base metal was all that was left at which point the rod bearing would likely "spin" sending the rod through the engine "block" which would be quite noticeable!!.. but seriously folks.......to sum up YES, pull the pan and check things out you most likely picked up some crank shaft particles in the magnet (cranks DO wear otherwise there would never be a reason to turn the crank down) some particles between oil changes are normal...but it sounds like you may have the beginings of serious crank and bearing wear.. if the particles are as i suspected from the crank then the crank and bearings are on their way out...just babbling here......

 

[BISHILVR]

duh.. of course!!!.. the point that i was making was that those materials that the bearings are made up of are not able to be picked up with a magnet as he said he did.....aka lead, copper,brass are NON FERROUS metals!! meaning that they ARE NOT MAGNETIC!!! still i do agree that an oil pan removal and inspection of the reciprocating parts are in order here......the only way that any of the material that was picked up on the magnet was from the bearings is if the outer layers of the bearings were completely comprimised and the base metal was all that was left at which point the rod bearing would likely "spin" sending the rod through the engine "block" which would be quite noticeable!!.. but seriously folks.......to sum up YES, pull the pan and check things out you most likely picked up some crank shaft particles in the magnet (cranks DO wear otherwise there would never be a reason to turn the crank down) some particles between oil changes are normal...but it sounds like you may have the beginings of serious crank and bearing wear.. if the particles are as i suspected from the crank then the crank and bearings are on their way out...

 

[leet]

Good point on non-ferrous metals. I did not even think of that

Regardless, you will have to drop the pan to find out WHAT is wearing, I am very curious now to see what it is! I wonder if you spun a bearing and it's eating away at your crank now...

Thanks for the reminder BISHILVR. Sometimes I get retarded.

 

[ArticNemesis]

ouch... Heh, good call BISHILVER, I didn't even think about the bearings metals not being ferrous.. (the outer coating.) A bearing that has run down to the core of the bearing and hasn't spun yet... I can name a certain bearing that might do that, b/c mine did it.. =(

 

[Logue]

i just spun a bearing it was all copper shaving in the pan not one magnetic metals in the oil or pan at all... and the Crank was destroyed too. O well

 

[plymouthtalon]

Thanks for the info guys. With my lack of tech experience I'm liable to do more harm than good messing with internals, but I know a good shop that deals with my car all the time and focuses on non-domestic work. I'll have them check it out and get back to you with the culprit. It's times like these when I'm thankful for engine warranties and $100 deductibles.

 

[BISHILVR]

...hehe it's all good, it's all good!!!!