Metal shavings in the oil pan (1 Viewer)

[Live4SkimLC]

So I bought my rig to the stealership a lil bit ago, and after they fixed a a rear main seal issue, they told me I had metal shavings in my oil pan. I could only think bearings are going, but I told them I wasn't worrying about it yet. Well, I was just curious if what I thought is right and what my cheapest option is to do :\

 

[IdahoDoug]

Did they show them to you, or does the dealer need to make a boat payment compliments of you? Just sayin....

DougM

 

[jamisobe]

Cheapest probably to pull the lower pan (easy) and see what you can. You could put a strong magnet inside of the lower oil pan, run it for a while, and then open it back up after some miles to see what it collects. Maybe there is nothing. If there is something, the next cheapest course of action might be to pull the upper pan and inspect your rod and crank bearings. If you see a problem then change out all of your bearings.

A magnetic oil plug would be nice to have.

 

[cody c]

Did they show them to you, or does the dealer need to make a boat payment compliments of you? Just sayin....

DougM

Well said!

There is a reason we refer to dealerships as stealerships on this forum...

If I were you I'd drive it like I stole it and slowly and just add oil, slowly put money away for a SBC or cummins. If the motor doesnt get worse than maybe its not from something important. You could also try a magnet on the oil pan to try and capture any other particles.

Sorry if you dont like non toyota parts in a toyota but I got no love for the 3FE. As much as i love my toyota's i still feel the 3FE was the weak link.

 

[elhombre]

How many miles are on it? Do you have good oil pressure?

 

[jvazquez53]

Metal shavings???

 

[jamisobe]

Sorry if you dont like non toyota parts in a toyota but I got no love for the 3FE. As much as i love my toyota's i still feel the 3FE was the weak link.

The 1FZFE is far from being anything close to a 3FE.

 

[Live4SkimLC]

my clock is about to roll over to 200,000 They did show me the shavings. As for oil pressure, i havent really noticed anything significant, but my oil light comes on after a while, i always thought it meant low oil, so i assumed an oil leak? I love this engine, was hoping i could keep er going

 

[Live4SkimLC]

also, the sooner i get this fixed, i can fix the small rust spot on the roof, get some new leather on the front seat, and give her a lift. I've had this thing for 6 years now. I'd like to get this new issue resolved

 

[Beowulf]

Get a UOA from Blackstone before you pull the engine for a rebuild based on a "metal shavings in the oil" report from the dealer.
-B-

 

[IdahoDoug]

Have others who've removed their oil pans (both) found shavings? It may be perfectly normal, such as the shavings often found in the front diffy from manufacturing. Is there a factory magnet in there? Also, bearing materials may not be magnetic.

DougM

 

[medtro]

I have seen shavings in the oil pan, and they were from the rod bearings.

 

[IdahoDoug]

I guess more to the point, were the shavings in a healthy engine having the pan taken off for maintenance, or did the FZJ engine you found shavings in have a fatal issue? I can't imagine rod bearing shavings NOT producing a fatal engine issue, but looking for clarification.

DougM

 

[medtro]

Not sure if it is classified as fatal or not. The engine would run with knocking noise. New rod bearings took care of the problem.

 

[cool breeze]

maybe someone running a magnetic oil plug like mentioned can tell how much/ fast it accumulates. im also curious if they're worth the purchase ?

 

[SBFJ60FIG]

While...as I see it problem #1 is having any rear main work done at 200k...sorry, I know that's water under the bridge right now.

At this point no one...not this blackstone thing, a genie, your palm reader, uncle Larry who worked as a Toyota wrench for sixty-five years can prognosticate what this engine is going to do and when. Further, I've worked in a lot of shops....and I don't know what they did for you, "rear main work"?? But nearly all techs I've met DO not go sifting through motor oil looking for metal.

So run it...and if you're really curious do your own oil change next time and strain the oil coming out of the motor and see what you can independently find.

And no matter what, let's say the bearing are getting worn, there isn't anything you can do about it. And not driving it won't make things better. It will just pause whatever is going on in the motor. So keep driving it...find a good independent shop...and stay far far away from dealerships.

I know...I've worked in plenty...and in service!

 

[sdbrassfield]

I have never changed oil in any of my vehicles (own primarily GM and Toy) over the last 30 years and not found metal in the bottom of the pan of drained oil. You normally have to really look close as they are pretty hard too see, but they are there. I would not classify them as shavings but very small, shiny, flecks or flakes of metal. That is normal. If you are seeing large(r) pieces you may have a problem. I would not go by what the dealership is showing you.

Do the blackstone anaysis as beo suggests.

 

[Tools R Us]

Shavings in a motor can come from a bunch places, some destructive to the motor, others not so much, most not magnetic. Main, rod and cam are all alloys that are not magnetic, unless it's bad enough to get into the bearing shells or crank, cam, if that bad almost always includes significant oil pressure loss and noise.

Timing chains are prime suspects for making shavings, not so much the chain, but something coming in contact with it. Most common is a guide failing allowing the chain to contact the cover or something coming loose and contacting the chain.

Magnetic debris is most often from gears, cam, oil pump drive, distributor drive, etc. These are most often very fine and may not cause pressure loss or noise.

I have built tons of motors and have found lots of "stuff" in them, like tools, spare parts, bolts, etc, sometimes from the factory. Have seen valve cover baffles come loose and rub on cams, chains, etc. The oil circulates throughout the motor, washes debris to the pan, so the source could be from anywhere. The shaving could also be from an old event and no longer an issue?

If it were mine and not showing a loss in oil pressure, increase in noise or overheating, I would drive and monitor it closely. Would have an oil test done and cut the filter open to check for and determine the type of debris. I would want more info on what the problem was before deciding to open the motor and have a better idea what/were to look for it.

 

[akarilo]

There are plenty of things that could get you worked up about a 200K+ mile engine. Long story short, do regular preventitive maintainance and drive it. If you have a catastrophic failure, deal with it then.