The path of oil flow, what we seek.
Instead of asking, "what these pieces are from" ask, "get there how did they?" Hmm Hmm?

 

I know the valve covers don't take gaskets. You put sealant on then flush mate the covers to the heads. In my opinion thats a length like 20 feet or so worth of goop that has been sqeezed and hanging on by an ultra thin attachment. I figure give that stuff a chance and it will flush through the oil system starting from the top of the heads. Best if the worker isn't applying an overly amount of gasket sealant.

 

seriously, doesnt the pump pick up oil and send it to the filter then out to engine? how would the pump pick up this junk, isnt there a screen?

 

I just rebuilt my engine & I don't think it's anything suggested in this thread. It's hard to tell from this picture but it could be IMS bearing seal material. I would call LN engineering & talk to them after reading their website. Also need to remove the oil sump plate cover to clean the rest of that trash off the oil pump pickup screen. Remember what's in the filter is the pieces small enough to get thru the screen.

 

Dislodged original O ring? Go count your old ones. Or new spark plug tube O ring, any oil leaks?

 

No oil leaks, normal oil pressure, all tube o rings accounted for......

I am going to park it and get an oil analysis.

 

looks like it could be sealant from the valve covers

 

I don't have any pics to show this but I suspect the rubber's from the oil sump baffles. The chain guide material is a very hard composite plastic, very dark brown, almost black and a lighter brown, a dark caramel color.

If the stuff's soft enough to depress with a fingernail then oil sump baffles.

This is worth I think dropping the pan to confirm. If it is the oil baffles you know and you can replace these. They serve to help keep the oil around the oil pickup and if they're compromised the oil sump may suck air or at least more highly aerated oil and this ain't good.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

My worst fear is the IMS bearing seal. But I don't know if that seal can disintegrate and get into the oil system. And, I think there would need to be play in the IMS bearing to make the seal come apart.

If there was play in the bearing, I should have seen metal particles in the filter, and there was none.

I also just changed the oil, and there is nothing leaking at the engine / trans joint. All is dry.

I don't drive the Porsche very often, but it used to make lifter noises when I would start it after a two week rest. Just for a second, that's it. But that lifter noise after a long rest seemed different this weekend. I will pay closer attention tomorrow morning. It almost sounded like a chain until the tensioner took the slack out., but again just for a second while cold. It's not the marbles in a coffee can sound.......

I think that dropping the oil pan makes sense, even if only to inspect the oil pickup screen. If this stuff made it through the screen.....

 

Been watching Star Wars during the holiday break?


I second Macster's opinion that it's the oil baffles.

Dougaldo, best of luck getting this resolved.

 

The screen's very coarse so large pieces of lightweight material can be pulled in. They go through the high pressure pump and then get caught at the filter.

That the pieces were that large suggests they did *not* also go through the scavage pump so the source of the rubber can't be far away. Oil baffles is the nearest source of soft rubber that know of that can account for the stuff you pictured.

IMS bearing seal stuff is not black either, IIRC, but green. And the bits would have been finer. And that seal material is of a harder material than the rubber oil pan baffles.

A bit of lifter noise upon startup after a 2 week period of no use is normal. Remember when the engine is shut off the oil is (or should be) hot. Some lifters are under compression and this is going to over time squeeze oil out of the lifters' internal chambers. Depending upon other factors it take some time after engine start before the lifters refill with oil with no air pockets. Until this air pocket free refill occurrs lifter noise is to be expected.

My Porsche techs tell me for engines that see intermittent use and days or more between engine starts Swepco 502 oil treatment can quiet the engine down and this suggests less wear/tear is occurring. I've tried this stuff but my cars see regular use and I didn't notice any difference in startup noise.

A bottle costs under $10 (barely) at my local dealer. You might try a bottle if you want and see if you notice any decrease in lifter noise upon startup.

Or, you could just drive the car more often.

Two weeks between uses... you ought to be ashamed.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

Where is Jake Raby when we need him?

 

Well, I drove my car to work yesterday (wow 5 miles), and with a 40 degree morning, it started and ran with zero lifter or chain noise. No unusual mechanical engine sounds at all. Maybe the change from 0W-40 to 5W-40 did the trick. I still need to figure out the source of the plastic bits though.

 

I'd not be driving that car until I knew what the issue was. But, that's just me.

 

Do you still have the oil that came out of the drain plug? maybe filter that through a coffee filter. you might find larger bits of rubber that give you some clue as to where this came from.