Slider911

Oil pan pieces
I found some very small pieces of aluminum (only aluminum) in my oil filter during last oil change. The three pictures show the entire length of the filter cut open. In the investigation I had my local Porsche mechanic insert a camera into the cylinders to check for scoring and to look at the pistons. Everything seems normal. They also dropped the oil pan and sump. In there they found a few of the larger pieces of aluminum that you can see in the picture with the pen.

I have subsequently run the car on the street for about 300 miles with clean oil and filter and there are no new pieces of metal. The clean oil was filtered and was clean as well.

Background on the car:

ˇ 2003 996-3.6L X51 option (factory upgraded GT3 parts added)
ˇ Frequent oil changes with 5W 40 Motul 8100 X-cess every 3600 miles
ˇ Car has 110,000 miles overall
ˇ Original IMS with dealer replaced rear main seal before I bought it (no leaks)
ˇ Car is driven typically on street but sees 12-15 track days where it is pushed aggressively but not beaten (I am a 25 year instructor/racer)
ˇ Oil level is meticulously monitored/maintained
ˇ No oil consumption on street driving-some on hot track days over 3 day weekend but not excessive
ˇ No current mechanical issues or running issues
ˇ No unusual noises or error codes
ˇ Car runs fine through the rev range

I was wondering if anyone has seen anything like this. My Porsche guys have not and are perplexed that there are no other issues or indications of a problem. One theory is that the metal in the pan could have been there (broken off when the motor was new) for some time and during a track event last year, a piece or pieces were picked up and went through the oil pump and filter.

Other than that, I am wondering if the car is safe to drive or is there anything else I can do to assess this.
Thanks,

SeanPatrick31

Slider: Someone here may chime in and help. But, you should also post in the 996 Forum under Water Cooled. Best wishes on the problem.