Shavings found in oil for the first time..

[CraigLloyd]

Long story short, we moved to CA and my in-laws drove our Vibe 2,500 miles across the country to deliver it to us. Before making the trek, my father-in-law went to a quicky lube shop to change the oil (for which I had a stern talking to him afterward). In any case, when the car arrived, I immediately changed the oil and noticed these metal shavings. This is the first time I've seen them, as all my previous oil changes have been spotless.

I want to chalk it up to a shitty lube shop oil change and just the fact the car drove 2,500 miles over a two day period, but should I be worried about anything? I'm definitely going to pay close attention next time I change the oil to see if it still happens.

[SeattleJeremy]

Did you cut open the oil filter and check inside that? I've never had to deal with something like this before, hopefully someone with more experience can chime in.

[CraigLloyd]

Did you cut open the oil filter and check inside that?

Unfortunately not. Was in a bit of a hurry and just tossed it. I believe it was a Champ filter, if that matters..

[Bookworm]

It could be several things, most of which aren't good.

However, it doesn't mean that it's going to kill the car. For me, personally? I'd drive it a bit, then do another basic oil change and check for particulates again. You might even get some kerosene. (Drain the oil, let it drip, then pour some kerosene (or motor flush - it's pretty much the same) into the valve cover. Without risking any damage, the kerosene will help flush out anything sticking to the bottom of the oil pan, and sometimes loosen things in the various channels. (No, the kerosene will not damage the new oil. It burns off within a couple of minutes of running the engine. I believe that Marvel Mystery Oil contains a lot of Kerosene as a carrier)

You might want to put a fine mesh screen over the pan to help catch any chunks.

If you see little to nothing after the change, the damage is done. Heck, it could even be pieces _from_ the old filter, if it was rusty when installed. That's sort of the best case scenario - that the bits are just 40,000 miles of wear done in 2,500 miles, and it's done.

[zbyers]

It could be several things, most of which aren't good.

However, it doesn't mean that it's going to kill the car. For me, personally? I'd drive it a bit, then do another basic oil change and check for particulates again. You might even get some kerosene. (Drain the oil, let it drip, then pour some kerosene (or motor flush - it's pretty much the same) into the valve cover. Without risking any damage, the kerosene will help flush out anything sticking to the bottom of the oil pan, and sometimes loosen things in the various channels. (No, the kerosene will not damage the new oil. It burns off within a couple of minutes of running the engine. I believe that Marvel Mystery Oil contains a lot of Kerosene as a carrier)

You might want to put a fine mesh screen over the pan to help catch any chunks.

If you see little to nothing after the change, the damage is done. Heck, it could even be pieces _from_ the old filter, if it was rusty when installed. That's sort of the best case scenario - that the bits are just 40,000 miles of wear done in 2,500 miles, and it's done.

I concur with bookworm. We've ran small amounts of diesel through our El Camino with fair success. It does work as a good cleaner, plus it's a natural lubricant.

[vibrologist]

It's hard to tell from the pic what these crumbs are. They don't look metallic to me. They could be sludge. With fresh oil and going 2500 miles in 2 or 3 days the engine basically received a motor flush. But if they are metallic then bookworm and zbyuers answered your question.

[tpollauf]

You likely already recycled the old oil? If not I'd definitely send a sample to BlackStone for an oil analysis. https://www.blackstone-labs.com/?sessio ... 5%29%29%2F

They'll breakdown EVERYTHING and let you know if your engine is slowly falling apart. What also could have happened is that a "thinner" viscosity oil was installed and that, in combination with the LONG drive and sustained higher temperatures, slowly broke down lots of deposits that were sitting in your engine for a long time. You likely have nothing to worry about BUT thanks for sharing it with us.

[Bookworm]

It could be several things, most of which aren't good.

However, it doesn't mean that it's going to kill the car. For me, personally? I'd drive it a bit, then do another basic oil change and check for particulates again. You might even get some kerosene. (Drain the oil, let it drip, then pour some kerosene (or motor flush - it's pretty much the same) into the valve cover. Without risking any damage, the kerosene will help flush out anything sticking to the bottom of the oil pan, and sometimes loosen things in the various channels. (No, the kerosene will not damage the new oil. It burns off within a couple of minutes of running the engine. I believe that Marvel Mystery Oil contains a lot of Kerosene as a carrier)

You might want to put a fine mesh screen over the pan to help catch any chunks.

If you see little to nothing after the change, the damage is done. Heck, it could even be pieces _from_ the old filter, if it was rusty when installed. That's sort of the best case scenario - that the bits are just 40,000 miles of wear done in 2,500 miles, and it's done.

I concur with bookworm. We've ran small amounts of diesel through our El Camino with fair success. It does work as a good cleaner, plus it's a natural lubricant.

With the Ford Escort, and even the Mazda 323, I'd drain the old oil, pour in a gallon of kerosene, start the engine, run it for 30 seconds, then shut it off, drain the kerosene (to be filtered and reused later), let it cool a bit, swap the filter and fill with oil.

[joatmon]

good to check if the drained metal bits are ferrous, attractable with a magnet. I know firsthand that the bits of metal resulting from failing connecting rod bearings are not ferrous.

Also check the baffle visible under the oil fill cap. A zealous oil changer can bend the baffle into contact with the cam works causing bits of the baffle to be chewed off. (See viewtopic.php?f=17&t=46526 )