I changed my oil yesterday while I was replacing my secondary air system components. The old oil filter looked perfectly normal, but I decided to cut it apart to see what might be caught between the pleats. Little bits of rubber. No metal flakes at all, but something is disintegrating in there. Anybody ever seen this? 1999, C2 cab w/ 60,300 miles.

 

It might be sealant from the oil pan.... If it is, it's no big deal.

 

Timing chain guides?

 

when was the last oil change, was filter done then, what type of oil, any recent repairs?

looks like sealant but might be bits from an oring from the oil fill tube if it was replaced, maybe some other place?

 

Great Pic!

 

I like the sealant from the oil pan explanation. It's like rubber. If it's a harder plastic then I'd think the timing chain guides are like that.

 

Could also be from the rubber "dry sump" box in the oil pan?

 

how plyable is it.. is it more hard plastic or rubber band ish?

 

The rubber bits are kind of soft, not like crispy plastic. The last oil and filter change was Mobile 1, 0W-40 about 4,000 miles ago.

Unfortunately the rubber bits remind me of a main bearing type of rubber after it gets a little hardened. Or, it kind of seems like rubber bits from rubber timing belt, which this car does not have.

At the last oil change, I did the 60k service which was actually done at 56,500 miles, which was about 4,000 miles ago. At the 60k service I also replaced all the spark plug tubes and O rings. This time I put in redline 5W-40.


weird

 

Hope it's nothing big, but it sure looks worrisome

 

The timing pads plastic is hard and more brown then black in color. I would drain the oil and drop the pan to see if there is more and if you can figure out what it is.

Rick
99 996C4
87 944S

 

Are there o-rings on the dip stick and oil fill tube? If its rubber then maybe thats what they look like after being chewed up run through the cam passages.

 

I wish Jake Rabi shed some light in here, but I think these
particles may cause problems if they plug something and create
hot spots.

 

One of the many reason why I think owners should do Used Oil Analysis, with a lab like Blackstone, for example. May have caught this sooner, and know more about the actual content of the contamination. These UOA cost about $25 including postage.

Cefalu, hope this gets worked out for you soon.

Lastly, this (cutting open the oil filter) is another good step to perform when doing a PPI.

 

I just ordered a kit from Blackstone last week... Having an oil analysis is like getting your cholesterol checked- better to be safe than sorry!