How screwed am I?
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Pulled the oil pan yesterday, oil pump nut was on there tight (took it off for safety wire/loctite) and there was nothing in the pan. Crank sprocket and oil pump sprocket in good shape. Nothing looked wrong with the crank/rods that would indicate a problem and I could still see crosshatching on the #1 and #2 cylinder bores. Stuck a magnetic pickup everywhere and didn't find any shavings. Didn't pull the windage tray as it didn't seem necessary at that point. Got a look at the timing chain guides and they are not broken or misaligned so I don't think I need to go through the trouble of pulling the timing cover.
What I did find was the other piece of that plastic cap I pulled out on Saturday, it fell out of the oil pickup tube as I was taking it off (replaced with a z3 2.8 tube). I'm pretty convinced that it was foreign so I'm glad to have found all the parts of it. I'll post some pictures of things later today. At this point I have no idea where else to look without pulling things like the cams.
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yeah, that plastic piece looks a cap which wouldnt be found anywhere inside the engine. i looked through realoem and didnt see anything that stood out in the diagrams. maybe someone just dropped it down the oil filler and when the engine was started it contacted the chains/cams on the way down it took a little chuck out somewhere and those are the shavings you see?
Dan
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yeah, that plastic piece looks a cap which wouldnt be found anywhere inside the engine. i looked through realoem and didnt see anything that stood out in the diagrams. maybe someone just dropped it down the oil filler and when the engine was started it contacted the chains/cams on the way down it took a little chuck out somewhere and those are the shavings you see?
That's what I'm thinking, the material didn't look like anything you would find in the engine either...I wonder how long it's been there. It looks like it was crunched at some point so it definitely got in the way somewhere. As it sits right now, the car had been running really well so I don't think I need to do any additional work as far as tearing it down. I am going to put the car back together and just keep an eye on things. The magnetic drain plug should be good for collecting any leftover shavings (it is from turner, the magnet is VERY strong) and now I don't have to worry that it is the oil pump or something like that in the bottom end. I will pull the valve cover in a month or two to see if any new shavings accumulated there as well.
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Got the car all put back together and back on the road. It is running great with no horrible noises or anything you would expect with an engine that has decided to become a lathe so I am pretty confident that these shavings were related to that plastic piece in some way and have accumulated over a long period of time. I found nothing in the pan and no unusual wear anywhere that I could see. I ran a magnet through nearly the entire length of the exhaust cam and this is all I could pull out. For size reference, that is a very small magnet, probably under 1/4", I cleaned everything obsessively so any new shavings I find down the road wouldn't be residual from an old problem.
I will be sending a sample of the oil at the next change for analysis (already got my sample kits from blackstone) and pulling the valve cover to reinspect everything in a few thousand miles. I almost wish I found something that was wrong but I'm glad I didn't find anything horrible. Thanks for all the help and suggestions!
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good plan. after you watch it for a while and get no new pieces, you'll be happy you found nothing. they also make magnetic gizmos you can clamp to your oil filter housing to capture metal shavings if you are inclined.
Dan
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