Metal shavings in oil pan?

mdb205 · 12-12-2012, 11:43 PM

Hi there, I just dropped the oil pan in my 65 289. In the pan I found a pile of metal shavings. They were pretty big. The biggest one was almost a square inch. I'm not sure where they are coming from. The car was running fine and nothing unusual was going on. I anyone has any idea as to what the metal shavings are from it would help me out a lot. Thanks.

awhtx · 12-13-2012, 12:20 AM

If "the car was running fine and nothing unusual was going on" why did you drop the pan? Metal in the oil is never a good thing to find but it's usually very fine particles. "Almost a square inch" sounds like a "friend" dropped something in your engine for you. Are the shavings magnetic or not. That will give you a clue as to whether it's bearing material (non-magnetic) or not.

mdb205 · 12-13-2012, 12:45 AM

I dropped the pan because the gaskets were leaking, and the metal is not magnetic.

awhtx · 12-13-2012, 12:52 AM

I'd pull the connecting rod caps and main bearing caps off and see what the bearing inserts look like.

GT350R Klone · 12-13-2012, 02:29 AM

Well, not sure what it would be, besides bearing material.

Mustang_zulu · 12-13-2012, 02:44 AM

The chunks would tell me it's not bearing material... But it's still a big problem..
Could it be timing chain gear teeth? Make sure you clean it out well...
If the engine is running fine I'm sure it's been there for a while.
You might want to put a heavy duty magnet in the pan not to get in the way of the puck up.
You can also buy a new oil drain bolt that has a magnet on it and you can keep checking it for more metal.
Can u post pics of this large pieces?

7Dpilot · 12-13-2012, 07:19 AM

send a pic of the chunk!

sixtysevenGTconv · 12-13-2012, 07:34 AM

Anything odd with the oil pump or its gears?

Boom · 12-13-2012, 08:37 AM

Yeah a pic would really help us identify the chunk. if you're doing gaskets I rec the Fel-pro permadry one piece rubber gasket. Works great, no mess and installs quick.