Metal Flakes in Oil. What now?

[tdstuart]

2015 Mustang GT. The motor has 101k miles. Did an oil change today after 5k miles from my last. Noticed metal flakes in oil. Cut open the filter and found some small chunks of metal and more flakes.

Most of it seems to be magnetic. Planning to get the oil analyzed and get a magnetic drain plug.

What should my next steps be? I don't mind pulling valve covers or getting a borescope to check cylinders. Pulling the heads off seems like a large task though.

Any help would be appreciated! I don't have the money myself and don't want to get money from my parents to buy a new block and new parts. Would rather see how big of an issue this is, see if I can fix it, or see how long the block has. The block is aluminum so I don't think the actual block is being worn down. Could be pistons/bearings right?

Here are some pictures:

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[Rapid Red]

Maybe send the oil out have it anolized, that can id some possibilities, lower end bearing, rings, ect.

 

[tdstuart]

Maybe send the oil out have it anolized, that can id some possibilities, lower end bearing, rings, ect.

Ya getting a sample kit from black stone to send it in. Is it the metal content that would be able to pinpoint to part? Pretty sure it is mostly steel as the pieces (atleast big) are all magnetic.

Also going to check my oil from my last oil change to see if there was metal in it…

 

[jwt]

No idea but if magnetic then not block, not big end bearings, pistons so timing chain, phasers?

 

[tdstuart]

No idea but if magnetic then not block, not big end bearings, pistons so timing chain, phasers?

Hopefully. Would be nice to not have to pull the motor to atleast find the damage.

anyone have recommendations on what to do and what to look for?

 

[tdstuart]

Has anyone had this happen to them. Mustang or other? Trying to figure out what the next steps should be.

currently planning on pulling the oil pan off to see how much metal is in there. Then start with the valve covers to see if I can see any damage to cam bearings or timing chains. If I don’t see anything there, then I would pull of timing cover. If nothing there then I would probably pull the engine to checkout the crank bearings.

How would I know if I need to rebuild the whole engine?

 

[jwt]

If you don't know how to diagnose this yourself ( I wouldn't) and your oil test is inconclusive I'd be looking to talk to a engine shop.

Or assume the worst and consider this as the engine Gods hinting it's time for a refresh/rebuild or engine swap.

 

[tdstuart]

If you don't know how to diagnose this yourself ( I wouldn't) and your oil test is inconclusive I'd be looking to talk to a engine shop.

Or assume the worst and consider this as the engine Gods hinting it's time for a refresh/rebuild or engine swap.

It’s the fact that I need to diagnosis it myself as I don’t have the money to do a rebuild or buy another engine. I’m sure my parents would give me money but that is last resort option for me.

 

[NGOT8R]

Has anyone had this happen to them. Mustang or other? Trying to figure out what the next steps should be.

currently planning on pulling the oil pan off to see how much metal is in there. Then start with the valve covers to see if I can see any damage to cam bearings or timing chains. If I don’t see anything there, then I would pull of timing cover. If nothing there then I would probably pull the engine to checkout the crank bearings.

How would I know if I need to rebuild the whole engine?

I’ve had a damaged #2 cam cover bushing on my 2019 Harley Davidson Sportster. I discovered a ton of brass/copper metal (which looked like glitter), during an oil change and knew right away that it was bad. I’ve since rebuilt that motor and after an oil change following a break-in, had metal particles present. I chalked it up to casting pieces finally letting go. The oil has been clean ever since.

I know your car has 101K miles on it, but it is possible that some of the weak casting material could have worked its way loose and ended up in your oil filter.

Having said that, here is the amount of brass/copper flakes that I encountered during my catastrophic failure.

 

[tdstuart]

I’ve had a damaged #2 cam cover bushing on my 2019 Harley Davidson Sportster. I discovered a ton of brass/copper metal (which looked like glitter), during an oil change and knew right away that it was bad. I’ve since rebuilt that motor and after an oil change following a break-in, had metal particles present. I chalked it up to casting pieces finally letting go. The oil has been clean ever since.

I know your car has 101K miles on it, but it is possible that some of the weak casting material could have worked its way loose and ended up in your oil filter.

Having said that, here is the amount of brass/copper flakes that I encountered during my catastrophic failure.

Ya it’s also possible that since this is the first time the car is being driven hard in its life (bought at 91k miles), it has broken some metal loose / the more frequent oil changes have revealed metal. That’s why I plan on pulling the oil pan to see how bad it is. Then engine runs fine, but I’ve also seen posts of peoples engines running fine with missing timing gear teeth.

Just praying whatever the issue is, the engine won’t need to be rebuilt.

 

[ice445]

Ya it’s also possible that since this is the first time the car is being driven hard in its life (bought at 91k miles), it has broken some metal loose / the more frequent oil changes have revealed metal. That’s why I plan on pulling the oil pan to see how bad it is. Then engine runs fine, but I’ve also seen posts of peoples engines running fine with missing timing gear teeth.

Just praying whatever the issue is, the engine won’t need to be rebuilt.

0% chance of that. This motor has probably lived a very hard life with lots of high RPM shenanigans. Unfortunately this is something that needs to be addressed immediately, because whatever is self clearancing is likely to continue doing so, and every little bit of metal has a small chance of marring important surfaces, like cam lobes, oil pump gear, bearings, etc.

If I had to make a blind guess, the fact it's magnetic would have me taking the timing cover off and starting my intense observation there. A weak tensioner or a broken guide can allow the chain to dig into things it shouldn't. Also a good opportunity to remove the oil pump and inspect the gears.

 

[tdstuart]

0% chance of that. This motor has probably lived a very hard life with lots of high RPM shenanigans. Unfortunately this is something that needs to be addressed immediately, because whatever is self clearancing is likely to continue doing so, and every little bit of metal has a small chance of marring important surfaces, like cam lobes, oil pump gear, bearings, etc.

If I had to make a blind guess, the fact it's magnetic would have me taking the timing cover off and starting my intense observation there. A weak tensioner or a broken guide can allow the chain to dig into things it shouldn't. Also a good opportunity to remove the oil pump and inspect the gears.

The past owners babied the car. I can tell because the mpg dropped from 22mpg to 14mpg. But you are probably right that it isn't just metal being cleared out lmao.

My current plan is to take off the timing cover and check timing gears and chains. Then I might pull the valve cover off and check cam bearings (those are steel right?). Really hoping it's not rod bearings or crank bearings.

Does anyone know of a video on how to do take off the timing cover? I've worked on motors that are outside of an engine but never had to deal with cooling systems before. I assume I need to remove the radiator and fan to get clearance? If it doesn't look too bad ill do it in my garage this week but if it looks like a real pain in the ass I will have to wait a few weeks to take it to my school shop and do it.

 

[tdstuart]

Small Update: Looked through the oil from my last oil change and as far as I can tell there are no / minimal metal shavings. I collected the smallest amount when filtering the first 4 quarts but nothing on the last 4 so I think there was really nothing. So whatever is happening likely just started in the last 5,000 miles. Gives me hope that I can save the motor.

 

[Jackson1320]

The past owners babied the car. I can tell because the mpg dropped from 22mpg to 14mpg. But you are probably right that it isn't just metal being cleared out lmao.

My current plan is to take off the timing cover and check timing gears and chains. Then I might pull the valve cover off and check cam bearings (those are steel right?). Really hoping it's not rod bearings or crank bearings.

Does anyone know of a video on how to do take off the timing cover? I've worked on motors that are outside of an engine but never had to deal with cooling systems before. I assume I need to remove the radiator and fan to get clearance? If it doesn't look too bad ill do it in my garage this week but if it looks like a real pain in the ass I will have to wait a few weeks to take it to my school shop and do it.

You remove the valve covers and everything on the front. It’s a good amount of work. If a shortblock is needed you can get one from a f150 for under 1k

 

[tdstuart]

You remove the valve covers and everything on the front. It’s a good amount of work. If a shortblock is needed you can get one from a f150 for under 1k

So you have to take off the valve cover to take off the timing cover? If so fuck lmao. I’ve almost got all the stuff stripped off to where I can get to the timing cover bolts.

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