agerada

Hi All

I did an oil change yesterday 3,000 kms since I purchased the car. At the time of the PPI in June I had the dealer change the oil but didn't get a chance to inspect the filter.

Upon examination of the oil filter I came across a few very small pieces and bits. (see attached pic).

They all average about 1/8" (1.5mm) in size and some are light brown almost like see-through ceramic, some are dark brown and there is one alloy shaving.

Its the brown bits I am concerned about, any ideas what they may be from will be welcome.

I do have a magnetic sump plug which had nothing attached, understandably as the motor is mostly of non-ferrous material.

My car is a 2001 3.4 C2 Tip.

All the best
Anthony

agerada

image

Hurdigurdiman

Possibly part of the race bearing cover of a sealed IMS bearing. Anything found inside the oil filter is not good. Your guess is as good as mine as to what else it could be especially the metal piece. If it was mine, I would stop driving it and get it looked into by a qualified mechanic. Just in case it is the IMS on the way out.

chsu74

The brown bits are from your cam pads as the chains run over it. Mine was beaten up after 99K miles in Post #2 (3rd pic)

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...with-pics.html

agerada

Thanks chus74,

I must add that the image I uploaded is magnified and exaggerates the size of the pieces. The inch ruler gives a good idea of the real scale.

In terms of the cam pads you mention, can I take it as normal wear and tear and what would be involved in replacing them?

BTW my motor has done 23k miles.

street rod

Original motor?

fpb111

Do you trust that the dealer changed the filter in the first place?
Run it another 1000 kms and pull & inspect the filter. You only lose ~3/4 qt oil. If it has more junk time to dig deeper. If not pull it in another 3000 kms and check again.

stakeman

Newbie to the forum and 996. I just bought a 99 and had a PPI everything checked out. That being said I did an oil change and opened up the filter and found quite a bit of metal shavings as well! I'm a little concerned and considering going with the new IMS bearing but would like to hear more feedback from others out there. I honestly think that there will be normal wear bits and pieces in every motor but I've never inspected any of my other vehicles filters before. I addressed this with the service supervisor at the local Porsche dealer and he didn't sound overly concerned??

agerada

Yup, original motor.

philooo

the brown stuff are chain pads for sure, not really great news but it seems they wear quite a bit.
I don't think you can worry about it as it is vey heard to change them

the worrying part are the quite big metal bits... I am surprised they could actually travel in the oil filter lines.

I have seen that before in the oil sump but not in the filter.

keep us posted.

Imo000

Its not that difficult to chage the cam pads. There is room in there to do it with the motor in the car. My '99 had these pads so worn down that finally a large chunk broke off and then got lodged between the chain and sprokcket. This caused the chain to skip and bend valves. The pads are only $20/ head but the labour will be alot. If you keep ignoring it, the pad will break.

Shark Attack

simple.. looks like some black and yellowish shee-ot with a small pc of metal too.
Any other questions.. I only post a joke becasue I feel the questions have been answered.

Yes cam pads for sure and Im betting bearing race cover on IMS. Id have that IMS checked

rb101

That's a lot of chain pad material for 23K miles.

Macster

Weird.

Those bits look too big to have come through the oil pump.

The brown "plastic" pieces look -- as others have said -- to be from the cam chain tensioner/guide rail coverings. In the engines I've seen apart there can be two colors of plastic. One a light brown like medium caramel the other darker almost a burnt caramel color.

The "shaving" piece... if it is non-ferrous chances are it is a piece of alum. flashing that came loose from somewhere inside the engine.

What bothers me though is how those pieces ended up where they ended up and how they remained so large.

No ferrous bits though...

Has someone been at the engine? Worked on shortly (or not so shortly) before you bought the car?

Sincerely,

Macster.

agerada

The photo is deceiving because it's magnified to get a good view of the pieces. They are actually really small.

I have uploaded another pic of the bits to put their size into better perspective.

Nobody has worked on the motor, stock standard, compression test at PPI was within spec.

The consensus is that they are chips from the chain pads. The car's previous owner hardly used it so the pads might have become a bit brittle. Seems like fair wear and tear, something to keep an eye on in frequent oil filter inspections.

The metal shaving does not worry me, it was a solitary, super-small bit. There again, keep a good and regular eye on that oil filter.