PaulW_964

My car is currently in for a 12k mile service and I just got a call from my specialist to say he found this in the sump casing



(not the key, the other bit )

It could be a bit of bearing, or a bit of big-end although it is magnetic and there are no knocking sounds to my knowledge. The car also runs really well with good pressure. It does have a few small oil leaks, but all the head studs are fine apparently.

I've now got to decide whether to suck it and see for a bit or risk major grief from the wife and go for a full engine rebuild now, Hmmm tricky one!

vagluv

A thread from the drain plug??

Harry Apps

A little worrying but, if the engine is running OK, then it's more a cause of thought. From your pic, it looks to be c 30mm length ignoring the curve. You need to have a think about the contents of the crankcase and where it could originate. Eg, do the bearings, big ends, con rods etc have a magnetic content that could produce this bit? Could it be the remnants of a locking washer etc. It may be worth getting it analysed before anything else.

Rocket Rob

Yipes! Can you tell what metal it is? Is it magnetic? With your drain plug out, is the plug itself damaged? Was the aluminum crush washer damaged? Are the case threads damaged? If you are lucky, its something simple. Look for easy/external items first before jumping to the conclusion that it might be something internal (read expensive).

PaulW_964

Thanks very much guys, very valuable input there as always

The metal is magnetic, so unlikely to be a bearing and the drain thread appears to be ok. My Porker Guru is looking into things as we speak but is currently of a similar opinion to Harry Apps.

I am lucky that he is one of a rare bread and isn't saying "Ooooh dear, that's it you need a full rebuild, right this minute" haha. I will continue to keep my fingers crossed.

Goughary

If the car runs...you don't "need" a rebuild..but maybe a good idea to send your oil filter out to be analyzed and do a couple of flushes of fluids to see if anything else comes out. And put a magnet in the sump and the oil tank and see if you can find more debris...

But if the car runs...it runs...scary stuff though...

PaulW_964

Quite agree, we were just a bit worried about making things worse by causing extra crank or crank casing damage etc, but it is looking good at the moment.

Thanks again all

axl911

You can cut open your oil filter and see what else is in there. Not sure if you need to send it out for analysis.

RichieRoo

Oh dear Paul.

Fingers crossed it's something minor.

PaulW_964

Cheers Richie

PaulW_964

Well who'd have thought it, turns out 964 bearings are magnetic after all. The mystery piece of metal appears to be an intermediate shaft bearing... full engine build it is then!

greg1990964

How did you know?

dutchcrunch

that could be distributor shim washer material. pull distributor and have a look. the washer stack is just above the drive gear. my spiderman senses suggest that this could be the culprit.

PaulW_964

Well once we had discovered that our theory that 964 bearings were not magnetic was wrong, we placed the piece of metal over the Intermediate Shaft Bearing of an open 964 engine in the workshop and it was a perfect fit.

A real shame, as the rest of the engine seems in such good health, but hey hum!

PaulW_964

Haha Spiderman senses Could that get in the sump?