Iron shavings in oil filter... what to do?

[proxses]

I found a good bit of iron shaving in my oil filter. I was having wierd oiling issues at high rpm, so I decided to check.
I was told that iron means it is the oil pump, and not bearings. I have good pressure during normal driving. I just fluctuates only under full throttle after 4000rpm's.
What else should I check before pulling the motor? I can't work on it for another month. And I can't drop the pan with it in the truck.
I also heard it could be the oil pump drive shaft.
Any ideas or suggestions?
Thanks

 

[bgjohnson]

if it has good pressure with normal driving it will not be the shaft, or any pressure at all for that matter. and hopefully it is your pump, i would just not drive to much or at all until you get it fixed, unless you want a seized engine, i would pull the pan and see if any other shavings are present in the screen or just in the bottom, i know you said you couldn't do it, but it's pretty important you find a way to.

 

[UMDSmith]

Also, get a magnetic tipped oil pan plug. err well 2 for the 5.0's. It doesn't fix your problem, but it can catch some of that iron, even if you miss some.

 

[EMW150]

Definately not the pump shaft. I doubt also it's from the oil pump since you have decent oil pressure. When you say it fluctuates at 4k , does it drop some or rise? Most timing gear sets are cast - could be something there. How big are the pieces?

 

[proxses]

When it fluctuates, the gauge actually shakes back and forth really quickly. It starts with an initial drop in pressure, then it jumps back and forth from about 25psi to roughly 55psi. The shaking appears like a serious vibration, if that makes sense. And once I get off the gas, the shaking pressure stabilizes back to normal pressure.
Oh, and I run a regular timing chain, if that makes a difference.

 

[proxses]

Update....
The iron shavings are from the crank. The thrust bearing is toast, and the back rod bearings are gone. Plus there was some scoring in the oil pump. Crap.

 

[blk92stangg]

Ouch...I checked back to see what the verdict was, only to read the bad news. Perhaps I see a stroker in your future?

 

[proxses]

I'm thinking about a stroker, but I still have stock heads and cam, so I'm not sure if these will support a stroker. I was trying to work out a 331.
The reason I was looking at the pressure to begin with is I plan on adding an Eaton M112 off a lightning here very soon. In fact, if the bearings had looked fine, and I just needed a new pump, then the blower would be up and running next week.
So if I could work out a stroker with this blower, then I will have CRAZY torque! Might be close to 400 lbs at the wheels.