Got some shavings in my oil drain passage or worse

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I was replacing some broken exhaust manifold studs on my 91 Galant VR4......2.0 Liter 4g63 AWD Turbo.

Behind the center exhaust stud is an oil drain passage. RTV must be put on this stud or you will get an oil leak.

This center exhaust stud was broken and I needed to use an easy out to get it out. I was able to get the stud out and needed to tap the hole. The tap broke when I was backing it out.

I am sure that I will have plenty of metal shavings from the initial tapping and drilling or even pieces of tap (hardened steel) by the time I am done getting the tap out.

My enthusiast forum essentially suggested that I shouldn't worry too much and to just drop the oil pan and spray some valve clean in the valve cover. It was mentioned that the shavings are in an area that is not a pressurized oil passage just a drain oil passage. Never really stopped to think about what that meant but it sounds good to me. (Guessing that this part of the oil system has nothing to do with the oil pump).

I just had my turbo rebuilt so figured that I would take care of the broken exhaust manifold studs at the same time. I don't want to wreck my new turbo or my engine with these chunks of metal!

I figured that I would come here as well to discuss as well since we talk alot about oil here.

What steps should I take to get the metal out?

Would the above be sufficient?

Thank you
 
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Aluminum is non ferrous metal...

Anyhow, the oil filter should honestly catch any drilling debris, its not exactly tiny flakes of metal anyhow. Spraying it out with parts cleaner though I concur- it probably won't clean it out very well without a substantial amount of it being washed through the block.
 
I would probably do my best with brake clean to spray out any junk. Sounds like it should just run right into the pan, which you can then drain out. Change the oil before starting, then just to be safe I'd do a short oil change, say 500 miles with some cheap oil just to flush anything out that you may have missed. That should be plenty to keep everything clean I would think.
 
Since this is a drain passage, the shavings will go straight to the oil pan. They will most likely stay at the bottom of the pan, or will be picket up by the filter. I would just try to catch as much as possible during the tap removal and let the oil filter do the rest of the job.
 
I'd also yank the valve cover, which likely will reveal the back of the hole. You may be able to clean it better and spray flush it down to the pan, then drain it without starting.
Let it drain a good long time. Then maybe add a few qts and do it again [also without starting].

What a donkey way of doing things! An exhaust stud into the oil???
Not many sealants can take that heat, BTW. Make sure you use a high temp sealer.
 
Yep, I yanked the valve cover...take a look at how the story went.

It really is a donkey way of doing things!!

Any thoughts on the sealer? Good point, I am going to use "the right stuff" but now I am not sure it can take the heat. RTV red is supposed to handle it, but many don't like it.

Also would rather have sealant that can take crankcase pressure based on the minor disaster that happened.
 
If I change the oil without starting the car, wouldn't the oil just go straight to the pan missing the rest of the engine?

I bought some cheapo 15w-40 oil and a purolator filter from walmart for this purpose but wasn't sure if I could run it on that change for a while or change the oil without running it.

I ask because when I pulled the oil pan, I noticed that some of the filings made it to the bottom end of the motor. I used brake clean to the best of my ability but I obviously could not see the entire bottom end of the motor.

I know alot about cars, but not about the inner workings of the engine.

The oil pan is back up and the valve cover is back on.

Thoughts from here?

Thanks
 
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This is what I would do: drain oil from the engine (if any) and pour a couple of quarts of light oil, diesel, ATF, etc. inside the engine to rinse it without starting the engine. Drain the rinse oil. Remove the pan to clean manually from any shavings. Invest in a magnetic drain plug and/or put strong magnets on oil filter. Pour your 15w40 oil for short OCI. You should be fine.
 
So I started up the car. I guess brake clean and looking everywhere I try to find shavings paid off since the motor is running just fine.

I changed the oil with SuperTech 15w-40 oil and a purolator oil filter.

Plan on running the car at idle for an hour total before changing oil. I have M1 15-50 ready along with an M1 filter.

The question is....should I change the filter too or just the oil?
 
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