I would pull a sample halfway through your next OCI and inspect/send it in.
Metal Flakes in Oil
- Thread starter 92saturnsl2
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I cut the filter open and strangely I didn't observe any metal flakes at all. Held up to the sun, nothing sparkled. In fact there wasn't much of anything inside.
I cleaned the drain pan and drained all 5 quarts of oil after about 20-30 miles, and there was still some "glitter" dispersed in the oil at the bottom, though nothing like what it was. The specs of metal are magnetic. So I'm not sure where to go from here, other than do a UOA at the next OCI.
I cleaned the drain pan and drained all 5 quarts of oil after about 20-30 miles, and there was still some "glitter" dispersed in the oil at the bottom, though nothing like what it was. The specs of metal are magnetic. So I'm not sure where to go from here, other than do a UOA at the next OCI.
That filter doesn't even look like it was used. The cartridge in my BMW always looks way worse than that at only 4k miles or so.
I'd guess that [censored] had been sitting on the bottom of the pan for a long time. I'd do an OA sometime soon.
I'd guess that [censored] had been sitting on the bottom of the pan for a long time. I'd do an OA sometime soon.
Are you running a magnetic drain plug?
Originally Posted By: dparm
Are you running a magnetic drain plug?
Nope, but maybe I should be.
Are you running a magnetic drain plug?
Nope, but maybe I should be.
It was brand new, that's why it surprised me.
Originally Posted By: 92saturnsl2
It was brand new, that's why it surprised me.
How strange. IMHO, if your filter is clean then the engine is probably ok. This may have been sediment built up over years, or some other contaminant in the bottom of the bucket, perhaps? I would be in favor of driving a few thousand miles and sending in an oil sample to be analyzed. If you have never done and oil analysis on this engine, it might be worthwhile to do one. While they are not for every situation, yours would certainly fit the "would really be nice to have" criteria. On the other hand, you could just keep driving until it becomes an issue.
It was brand new, that's why it surprised me.
How strange. IMHO, if your filter is clean then the engine is probably ok. This may have been sediment built up over years, or some other contaminant in the bottom of the bucket, perhaps? I would be in favor of driving a few thousand miles and sending in an oil sample to be analyzed. If you have never done and oil analysis on this engine, it might be worthwhile to do one. While they are not for every situation, yours would certainly fit the "would really be nice to have" criteria. On the other hand, you could just keep driving until it becomes an issue.
Likely the metal particles are too small to be filtered.
Doubt it's 'been there', and the particles are not magnetic so that won't help.
Doubt it's 'been there', and the particles are not magnetic so that won't help.
Originally Posted By: JellyBeanDriver
Likely the metal particles are too small to be filtered.
Doubt it's 'been there', and the particles are not magnetic so that won't help.
The particles were large enough to see! how could they be too small to be filtered?
Likely the metal particles are too small to be filtered.
Doubt it's 'been there', and the particles are not magnetic so that won't help.
The particles were large enough to see! how could they be too small to be filtered?
You could consider placing a few magnets(2-3 etc) at the base of the oil pan(very strong magnets that you know won't come off if you hit a pothole), and drive around for a 50-100 miles before your next oil change. If it's a huge concern, you could always drain early on this interval and see if any other 'metal flakes' come out? Simply getting a UOA wouldn't be a bad idea, but I'd try to catch it from your drain plug mid-stream while draining the used oil to be sampled. Oh, if you go with the magnet idea, just before draining the oil(literally), remove the magnets so any metals naturally rinse out if possible.
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Originally Posted By: JellyBeanDriver
...the particles are not magnetic so that won't help.
The particles that I was able to identify and move my magnet towards WERE magnetic. It wasn't even questionable.
...the particles are not magnetic so that won't help.
The particles that I was able to identify and move my magnet towards WERE magnetic. It wasn't even questionable.
Sorry, I was looking at the upper left of your oil and it looked to have a metallic sheen to it, like what I've seen draining oil in a freshly broken in engine.
I just changed the oil in my buddies 03 1.8t jetta today and there were metal shavings in the oil too. I was concerned, he doesn't know cars and thinks its normal. There was a k&n orange filter with some 5w-30 in it, i put in 0w-40 M1 with their filter. Anyway, the metal shavings were noticeable size, thin but almost a half inch on some of them. I was concerned and wanted to ask about it but since this was already posted ill ask here. Turbo concerns? 100k on the car with unknown previous own history and non-expensive oil and filters for the past 20k till this change.
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