Yummybud924

Okay so I made a thread in july that I drained my oil and after I poured the oil out of the drain pan there was a ton of sand like stuff in the oil left in the pan. some of it is very fine and some of it is larger like grains of fine salt and roundish.

so I thought because my motor ran without oil pressure for 5 minutes at idles (failed oprv) lat jan this was teh cause.

so today I drained my oil again and after I poured the oil from the catch pan into the botle and left the pan to sit I again see the pan filled with sand like crap.

so i wipe some of the bigger grains with my finger and dry off the oil a bit and look at it under a light and they are about sand size grains..... some of them are black, and some of them at least under the light have a green colour and some are even clear.........

they are also not magnetic. I know bearings are not magnetic but would bearing material be like this black, green and clear like grains under light??

in the oil it looks like copper because of the oil but once I dry it off and look at it under light its black, green and clear grains.

the smaller stuff I can't see.

also if the car has been running for a year now since this and two oil changes now and I see all this sand like material in the pan would the motor still run wihtout a knock?

the engine starts up at 5 bar with mobil one 15w50 and drops to 2.5 or 2 bar oil pressure when hot and when reved up when hot 4-4.5 bar.

and like I said no rod knock.

if the bearings are being worn so much that you see metal dust all over your oil pan wouldn't you hear a knocking yet ? I'd imagine the clearances would be really big by now.

also the green and clear grains I see on my finger make me think the rest of it is also not metal........... or can metal look like green, clear and black sand grains under light??

thanks......

Mark944na86

What you are describing is bizarre. If it is that material did originate from your engine, you would be experiencing noticeable and severe problems, regardless of the appearence of the material.

Which makes me wonder how a load of sand-like debris gets into your engine at all.

Do you think there is anyone who would want to sabotage your car out of a grudge or spite by dumping crap into the engine? Sounds strange to suggest, I know, but I can't think of anything more likely...

Maybe take a sample to a Porsche tech to get some advice. Depending on what's in there, it might be a bad idea running the engine until the story becomes a bit clearer...

Yummybud924

hmm I thought it was rod bearing shaving in the oil.

but I first saw this in july and I drive it everyday and no knocking or low oil pressure yet...... 5 bar cold start and 2.5 idle when warm and min 4 bar when reved hot.

I don't know what it is it doesn't look like metal to me...... but there are finner particles in the oil I can't get out but this grit stuff I thought maybe was grit from under my car falling into the oil drain pan when I change my oil? I doubt it though I didn't see anything falling in my oil pan when it was draining and this is the second time I see this stuff.........


its not a load of of it the drain pan but enough that i can see it and wipe it off with my fingers.

I was just wondering if it sounds like bearing material....... some fi it is really fine so I can't see it really but the bigger stuff is almost like a grain of sand.

CPR

Did you drop the pan to see this?

Tom M'Guinn

I had the same thought. You can also send you oil out to have it analyzed for metal partical counts, such as:

http://www.oaitesting.com/

Yummybud924

hmmm I think i'm going to sell the car before it gives me more problems.


I honestly don't thin it can be rod bearing shavings as it looks like sandy crap and under light some of it is like greenish and black.

its my daily driver so I can't drop the pan lol

it has good oil pressure no knocking or any strange noises and I drive it hard also and no spun bearings or knocking yet.......


but i'm selling it and thinking of getting something more economical like a e36 bmw 318is 5 speed...... or maybe 325 but I want a 4 banger.

Yummybud924

i'm going ot miss my 944 though

peanut

as you say , if it was your bearings breaking up you'd expect to hear the result by now in the form of knocking/rumbling.
When bearings initially wear there is a soft sacrificial aluminium surface that wears first. I would expect your oil to contain a very fine aluminum paste .

Have you washed the residue in hot water and detergent thoroughly to remove the burnt oil deposits and then inspected it under a magnifyer? Try crushing the residue on a sheet of glass using the face of a hammer or better still a pestle and mortar

With the amount of particulate in your oil I would worry about blocked oil passages. It wouldn't hurt to drain your oil and give the engine a good flush with flushing oil.

Its not a huge job to drop the sump and clean it out and check/ replace bearings. Most bearings can be replaced by just dropping the sump and without removing the crank providing the journals are not scored.

Yummybud924

hmmm i"ve dropped the pan before and it is a pretty big job and a pain to do because the motor moves around and then you can't get the motor to sit on the motor mounts properly........ anyways I never want to do it again.

yeah no one has put anything in my oil lol.


and seeing all this material in my oil I would think if it was bearings the clearances would be really big by now and i'd have problems. I use thick oil though 15w50 mobil.

I did cllean them nad looked under a light and it looked green and black and some clear like salt grains under the light..........

doesn't sound like bearings to me.

there is fine dust in my oil also (in the drain pan) but i have no idea if it is metal or dirt.

peanut

well as I said ,if you try to crush it and it doesn't crush then the chances are its metal otherwise its got to be burnt oil /carbonised particles or something introduced to the engine.
Have you carried out a compression test ? does the engine burn any oil ? or smoke >

Mark944na86

Do your roads get coated in sand and salt in winter? Is that what you are seeing in your pan?

How carefully did you check what was in the pan before you started draining the oil?

I'm really wondering if this stuff was actually ever in your engine.

John_AZ

Yummybud,
Check your oil cooler.

This is a photo from 944online (sponsor) and the link.
http://www.944online.com/cgi-bin/for...num=1237563908

Reconsider a fix before you sell.

peanut

mmmm not nice .!
Is that the result of oil and water mixing between the radiator and the oil cooler ? that might explain all that muck in the oil . Looks like all the limescale and crap from the coolant system mixing with the oil ?
I read somewhere that Porsche blocked the crankshaft oil feed to con rod bearing #2 which is why race engines usually have it drilled through I believe.

crooster

Why don't you send an oil sample to a lab for analysis?

Yummybud924

damn some of those little sand like particles in the oil cooler look like what I have.

but I installed new oil cooler seals last year..... right after my oil pressure relief valve failed because I had to take out teh oil cooler.


I doubt it has failed...... maybe I screwed up in the amount of shims to add? I doubt it though.

I haven't seen any oil in my coolant tank but its all yellowed up but when I look through the hole in the top I don't see oil.

and I thought my oil looks normal when I drained it, like black and when I shine a light on it its like dark brown.


my coolant level goes down a bit but i'm certain its from the small leak at the expansion tank (where the hose goes on there is a leak because I think there is a small crack in the expansion tank). so I top of the coolant like every few months.

so I doubt its oil cooler.

but that pick looks interesting because some fo those tiny sand like particles look like what I have.

also like I said some of my crap under light is like greenish or clear like salt grain and others black.