2G Gold metal flakes in oil.

[MattiaFTW]

Hi all,

Thought it was about time for a new oil change. Last one was around 2k miles ago, I know it's pretty quick but I like to keep my engine happy as it is daily driven and put to a lot of stress. Built the enigine not more than 5k miles ago.New everything only crank was not changed, but polished to correct clearance. Changed the oil for the first time after 600 miles and changed it again somewhere around the 2k miles mark. Didn't check the oil second time( I know my bad) but I checked it today. Apart from a couple of mini gold flakes, I also found around 4 bigger pieces. 1 seemed transparent, 1 yellow and transparent and 2 just bigger gold flakes. In oil filter nothing apart from standard mini flakes. No big pieces in the filter nor the housing.

Any suggestions what the bigger pieces could be? Turbo is within tolerances in radial play. + Is made of as, ceramic and steel. So the turbo bearing is almost impossible. The plastic pieces are pretty hard and brittle. Just really don't understand how it can be this yellow/gold.

Thanks in advance, there is some info on my profile but not that much. If you need any info feel free to ask.

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[chrysler kid]

Yeah that’s bad enough to question everything. Not sure where they came from

Also I’ve cut apart a few filters and they are all typically silver inside, why is yours completely black sludgy looking?

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

What oil did you use for break in and did your cycles get hot enough.

The pan maybe making the oil darker but have you filtered thed oil at all through any media to see what else is coming out

 

[MattiaFTW]

I used 20w-50 for break in. And oil for definately got hot enough around 110C. Oil in the pics are in a clear plastic box. And yes it was pretty dark. But got used almost only in high mountains, hitting 110/120c casually

Oil filter I cut apart. Nothing at all in the filter. Paper was light grey and nothing else. Only the bit of gold flakes seen in the picture. I'm just confused about the clear plastic pieces and small gold pieces.

Engine always had oil pressure, fuel and ign are cut of it hits below .8 bar of oil pressure. So bearing would be strange. Turbo doesn't have any gold metals inside. I am running heavy anti-lag of that helps narrowing down a path.

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

Regular oil? If so then you may have caused the issue as you cannot use a synthetic oil on a new build. Mineral only on break in on a new engine

 

[MattiaFTW]

Yes half synt half mineral oil.

But, i think i have my answer. I will take the oil pan off tomorrow and check forsure. But as of now I checked a lot of pieces and it looks like it is my gasket. For some reason I decided to use a Cork gasket. And I'm 99% sure the pieces in the oil are cork. They are gold, brownish and soft and brittle.

I'll keep you updated

 

[cyclops755]

A cork gasket? I did it even know they were available for our engines? I'd feel like given how available the composite gaskets are for our engines, something specific would have driven you to use a cork gasket. I'd be curious to know what that was.

 

[MattiaFTW]

Its the first option when I looked up my licence plate on a Dutch car site. I really didn't care or even look what it was. I needed it asap. Lesson learned

 

[Car Cannibal]

Still get the oil tested at Blackstone.

At first it looked horrible, then zooming in it appeared it wasn't copper bearings in those pics. Cork gaskets are IMO no longer a great option for certain parts, oil pan etc 1 for to issues like this. I try to stay away from them completely now due to how they can create misdirection on diagnosis from breaking up etc.

 

[MattiaFTW]

Update: its worse than expected. Found a lot of pieces of Cork but also metal. Either aluminum or SS. Non ferrous

Checked rod 3/4 both have some scorring but no big grooves. But for some 3k Miles old bearings they don't look that good

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[BLACK'98DSM]

What were your exact bearing clearances? Rods and mains?

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

Look to go over the measurements again if the cranks not damaged then you may can reshell the rods! BUT clean out all the oil ports and if you have an external cooler now you have bearings in the pan it may have small fragments in that so change it or it could damage it again.

100% mineral oils only on breakin! You cannot do a mix or use any synthetic oils! Use proper break in if you can as its safer to run higher and harder but after a few hot cycles then flush it out and then check oil and then you can make the switch to normal oils

 

[danl]

Update: its worse than expected. Found a lot of pieces of Cork but also metal. Either aluminum or SS. Non ferrous

Checked rod 3/4 both have some scorring but no big grooves. But for some 3k Miles old bearings they don't look that good

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That’s very bad looking. The whole motor needs to come apart and everything cleaned and inspected. The HLA’s need replaced. Check under the cam caps for wear. The turbo needs inspected and cleaned. Oil pump is probably done for as well.

 

[MattiaFTW]

What were your exact bearing clearances? Rods and mains?

I can't tell the exact clearances. Brought the engine block to the machine shoot with 2 cranks. They measured both and said this crank was within spec. They had a paper with all measurements but no clue where it ended up.

Crank is not damaged, at least on rod bearing 3/4. I will take out the other 2 and check all mains. If everything on the crank site is ok without scorring, might replace all bearing, clean and hope for the best.

I just need to know where the stuff came from. First gotta check if it is Alu or SS. If it is SS its most likely turbo.

The car btw didn't have knock or anything weird before pulling the pan. It was just a checkup, so with a bit of luck, nothing serious is broken

 

[Car Cannibal]

Ah bad luck sorry, the scary stuff was hiding in the buttom of the pan.

So the machine shop didn't create a main spec sheet for you with many assembly details?

You can talk with them about all this but you might need to find a new shop if you're not getting the details you paid for. This industry can get very unethical and giving them back their sloppy problem and you pay for repairs is not uncommon.

 

[MattiaFTW]

Nope, send them my block and crank, they cleaned it, bored it to 85.5, and said the crank was within spec. Told me to order the STD size so I did that.

I am doing 99,9% on my own, so it was first time send the engine away for machining. Was 19 at the time so not really knowing the what and the how. I will check all bearings, hoping they are still in ok condition. If that's the case, I'll swap all bearings and hope for the best. Will hopefully buy an Evo next year. So I at least have a DD and then pull the engine and measure everything again.

 

[MattiaFTW]

So turbo fully disassembled, nothing like new. Alle main bearings and rod bearing look OK. Definitely not from the bearings. Cylinder head look also in good State lifters rollers like new and camshaft as well. Only thing left would be oil pump. Anyone any clue if it looks possible the pieces are from the pump. If not, any idea what else it could be.

Thanks in advance!

 

[CrackedDSM]

Any of the chunks able to be picked up with a magnet? That’ll tell if it’s aluminum or not.

It may have just been excess shavings from machine work not cleaned out by the shop. Did they do all the assembly too?

 

[MattiaFTW]

Completely forgot to mention. It's forsure not aluminium. It doesn't react to natriumhydroxide, which is van confirm aluminium does. And with a torch (1000c°) it does not burn away. It is really slightly magnetic. Wil not stick but if you slowly pull it will stay attached

 

[MattiaFTW]

Im hesitating, does anyone recommend pulling out the oil pump and check it. Or just replace the bearings and go. Thanks

 

[dwb]

Im hesitating, does anyone recommend pulling out the oil pump and check it. Or just replace the bearings and go. Thanks

I'd be more worried about the oil filter housing since it can trap debris.

 

[MattiaFTW]

That pretty easy for me to get out and clean. But in earlier post i already posted the oil filter was pretty clean and not a lot of junk was trapped there. That pretty easy to remove and clean. I just need to know what the origin is of this stuff. But my thoughts are, if it is the oil pump it should be a power + and i would have lost pressure, which is did not. Still 5/6 bar pressure on idle when cold and 2 when warm

 

[MattiaFTW]

So I will not take the oil pump out. I will just change the bearings and see where it goes. Why? Because i do not see any oil pressure loss over the last year when checking logs. For the people interested. These are my values one from may 2024 and sep 2025

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[MattiaFTW]

For an update, the car runs with a little weird knocking sound which I discussed in a new thread. Still no clue we're the metal came from but I need the car this year. The year after it will be fully toredown

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Debris went thru those bearings. Did you clean everything before assembly? When it comes back from a machine shop, it is not thoroughly clean. It is a MUST to be surgically clean.
Did you clean the dead end throws of the crank you used? They hold a lot of crap so it is very important.
Pull your Balls to properly clean your Crank | DSMtuners.com https://share.google/c9n0NMZglqA6A8mNE