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I was changing my engine oil yesterday, cut open the oil filter and noticed unusual particles. I’ve had the car since 2012, it has approx. 72k miles. In the past I’ve seen a little bit of metal shaving nothing too concerning but these particles are different. As you can see in the photo, they are black and firm to the touch. Anyone know what these particles might be and what impact it can make on the engine?
Cw, I am not a mechanic...will that require to drop the engine?
No, 13 10mm bolts and a prybar will allow you to drop the sump cover. To reinstall, clean the sealing surface well with a brass brush and apply a very thin 1.5ish mm bead of rtv sealant before bolting back on to 7lb ft
Yves...you are funny...my wife is an nurse practitioner. She visits nursing homes and assistant living facilities every day. Every day she looses patients, patients with families that can't even visit them to say good buy. So, joke all you want...
"Cam tensioner plastic? Might be wise to drop the oil pan and see if you have larger chunks in there". Drop engine?...What was i thinking, need another cup of coffee.
I think if fundamentals are fine like no excessive oil consumption, no unidentifiable noises, no oil drop pressure, and Blackstone shows solid results...just keep enjoy it with regular oil changes by monitoring any changes. No need to spend $10k for a few tiny particles.
I would just shorten up on the next oil change interval and see if it occurs again before I spent mucho dollars or effort. Probably won’t see it again. Just a thought.
Over many years of pcar oil changes and having a few pcars to compare, these little boogers show up in very small amounts every once in a while. A few flakes here and there could be chain guide material. The specks can range from black color or a brown color. The colors correlate to different tensioners/chains. A few specs here and there will probably clear up on the next oil change as someone said. At least that has been my experience. I saved a few shavings in a baggy. I am not too worried about it because the following oil changes showed less and less of these flakes in my situation. IF they increased with each oil change, then I would start to be concerned and consider having it inspected for a deteriorated chain guide.
Thanks guys, all good advises, as you say I am just going to keep a close eye on it. If its getting worse I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Stay safe everyone.
That looks like plastic from the timing chain guides that protect the chain tensioner paddles. What year and model of car. If a 997.1 and 60k miles or more, you should have all 3 of the timing chain tensioners replacced. These plastic bits get broken off when the chain vibrates and rattles at startup. That usually happens when the seal inside the tensioner won't hold oil pressure and the spring inside the tensioner that's a backup and provides some initial tension gets weak. I would do as recommnended and also pull the sump to look for more or larger pieces. You don't want these clogging up the oil pickup and if there are a lot of them or larger ones, it's the only thing that protects the metal tensioner paddles themselves. If the chain gets to the metal, it's game over as the chain will eventually wear, snag, and snap. Replacing the tensioners will preserve the life left in the paddle chain guards by keeping the chain from slapping against them upon startup. My car has 60k miles and I'm changing all 3 right now. Did the 2 on bank 1 already. Bank 2 is harder as it's on top of the motor so the A/C compressor has to be removed to get to that one.
Thank you Petza914, super helpful and informative. I am wondering what would be $$$ on replacement. In your opinion what is a reasonable time estimate for a job like this. I enjoy tinkering but this seems like way over my head. For now my short term plan is to do a 1-2 DE events in the next month and then drop the pan...what you think too risky?
05-07-2020, 09:13 AM
Unusual particles in my engine oil
