Engine Shavings In Oil?

A

arena314

Active Member

Sep 15, 2015

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Mar 9, 2016

#1

• Mar 9, 2016

• #1

Checked my oil a few weeks ago and I saw a few very tiny specks of bright silver metal on my dipstick. There small you have to really look closely to even see them. Now the car runs as it always did with no weird noises or anything unusual. It seems like the more I pull the dipstick at once the more I see and my dipstick is very hard to put in and always scrapes the dipstick tube could the be what it is? My engine runs the same as always and the specks are very small and silver. Thanks in advance

 

wmburns

SN Certified Technician

Aug 14, 2009

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Houston Texas

Mar 9, 2016

#2

• Mar 9, 2016

• #2

This thread does not mention the model year or the mileage.

But....... I would consider the possibly that this is timing tensioner wear.

I would also cut open the oil filter and inspect the element to see if there is more.

The original motor in my 2000 GT was turned into a boat anchor because the timing tensioner guilds wore all the way through. The slapping chains broke plastic pieces that fell into the oil pan. This blocked the flow of oil thus starving the top end of oil.

Virtually nothing on the original motor was re-useable (except for the block). There's now a salvage yard motor in the car.

IF the problem had been caught in time, the repair would have been a new timing set and cleaning of the oil pick up.

I now cut open and inspect the oil filter element on each oil change.

Metal in oil = bad

 

A

arena314

Active Member

Sep 15, 2015

125

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Mar 9, 2016

#3

• Mar 9, 2016

• #3

The car makes no strange noises and I checked it again earlier and didn't see any. It's a pi swapped 96 unsure of the mileage

 

skyline247

Advanced Member

Jul 28, 2014

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Cincinnati, OH

Mar 10, 2016

#4

• Mar 10, 2016

• #4

You don't want to wait until the car starts making strange noises. Metal shavings in oil is bad. Change your oil and inspect both the oil and filter as suggested above.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

A

arena314

Active Member

Sep 15, 2015

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Mar 11, 2016

#5

• Mar 11, 2016

• #5

I checked it again yesterday and didn't see anything then I checked it like 4 times over and looked very close by the 3rd or 4th time I saw a flame or 2 but not the first and second time

 

skyline247

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Jul 28, 2014

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Cincinnati, OH

Mar 12, 2016

#6

• Mar 12, 2016

• #6

Are you just continuing to check your dipstick? I would just change the oil and see if any metal comes out.

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A

arena314

Active Member

Sep 15, 2015

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Mar 16, 2016

#7

• Mar 16, 2016

• #7

I got oil and filter I'm doing to do the change this Sunday

 

A

arena314

Active Member

Sep 15, 2015

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Mar 17, 2016

#8

• Mar 17, 2016

• #8

I just changed the oil and the oil didn't look bad there was a few metal shavings in the whole thing but nothing that was really out of the ordinary

 

skyline247

Advanced Member

Jul 28, 2014

816

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Cincinnati, OH

Mar 19, 2016

#9

• Mar 19, 2016

• #9

You shouldn't have any metal shavings in the oil. I think you may need to spend some time trying to track down where they came from. You can try another oil change at a much shorter interval than usual to see if more shavings come out. If more do come out, then you really need to figure out what's going on.

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A

arena314

Active Member

Sep 15, 2015

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Mar 19, 2016

#10

• Mar 19, 2016

• #10

Well if it's not knocking and its not a bronze/goldish color then it can't be a main/rod bearing

 

A

arena314

Active Member

Sep 15, 2015

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Mar 19, 2016

#11

• Mar 19, 2016

• #11

Could be from the heads? Or what about timing chain or tensioner

 

jivepepper

Founding Member

Jun 19, 2002

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Under a Sombrero. in WV.

Mar 29, 2016

#12

• Mar 29, 2016

• #12

Since you're mentioning the dip stick is scraping on the dip stick tube may be that's where it's coming from, but to be honest I doubt it. I'm just hoping for your sake that's all it is. Like already mention above drain your oil and cut open the oil filter and inspect both. You could also run a magnet through the oil once it's drained and see if picks up anything.

wmburns said:

This thread does not mention the model year or the mileage.

But....... I would consider the possibly that this is timing tensioner wear.

I would also cut open the oil filter and inspect the element to see if there is more.

The original motor in my 2000 GT was turned into a boat anchor because the timing tensioner guilds wore all the way through. The slapping chains broke plastic pieces that fell into the oil pan. This blocked the flow of oil thus starving the top end of oil.

Metal in oil = bad

Click to expand...

Wow how many miles did you have on it? Couldn't you here the chain slapping? Plus if the oil pickup tube screen was clogged with debris it would have starved the bottom end also. When my original engine went the oil pressure dropped because the screen was clogged. I drove it home and if I reved it, it would raise the oil pressure for a second.