metal shavings in oil pan


Mallyauto86

Mallyauto86

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Mar 13, 2011
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735
well i justed dropped my oil pan and it had metal shavings in the bottom !! the car gets used on track regulary.

but it had a full rebuild les than 3000miles ago and has had like 5 oil changes.

first time i;ve dropped the pan since i rebuilt it.

and when i say shavings i mean loads of little tiny dots of metal not like big bits. they are less than 1 mm in size

also have been running road tyres not semi slicks going to them now hense the baffled sump

but do you lads think my engine has had it ?
 
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not using any oil at all mate no knockings or anything everything seems to be runing fine.
 
Do you have an oil pressure gauge? Is it running normal pressure? Are you also running magnetic sump bung if not could be worth a purchase.
 
your bound to have some shavings in their being battered on track IMO.

even fresh built engines have some metal shavings in the sump
 
going to order a magneteic sump plug the one i have is ment to be magnetic but its obviously crap.

and no i don't have an oil presure guage yet i'm going to be getting one next month though. but the car runs perfectly fine. iddle is stable and pulls like a train.

if it's normal i'l just change the oil even though it's 500 miles old i was going to put it back in but with the shavings in there i really don't want to take the risk
 
I had metal in my oil for the first few thousand miles after rebuild but it really should go away, even on my turbo setup i produce 333whp, i turn 9000rpm, and i drive it hard however not for as extended periods as a road course but after the thousand miles which i had done about 5 oil changes i didn't have any more metal. Best is to check with your builder, he would know more about what is normal vs abnormal for engines he builds and so on, best of luck.
 
was the first time he built a honda engine so he doesnt really know. car has done 3000 miles with 5 oil changes never dropped the pan and have not got a magnetic plug .
 
It's normal to have small fragments in the oil after a rebuild. It's just all the new components bedding in. Give it a clean out and check it again in a few thousand miles. If its still persists then I'd take it back to the builder and get them to have a good look :)
 
You NEED to fit a oil pressure gauge ASAP . Other than that it's just pure guess work...
 
If they are aluminum shavings then its probably some filings left over from headwork or block work.
But if they are a brassy colour it could be bearings.......
Drop the sump, remove the crank caps and check the bearings.
And as said, put an oil pressure gauge on ;)
 
It's copper not brass... ;) also when you notice copper flakes it's to late and the engine would be knocking due to the oil clearance been excessive.

I'd start pulling the caps like said and seeing how things look anyway. It only takes a load of swarf to pass through the bearings once and there scrap.
 
i must add i did put second hand cams onto my engine when i rebuilt it though now i am running the standard ones again. do you reckon it could be debris fom the cams bedding themselves in ? as i do have one cam support that is slightly marked.
 
Have you checked to see whether this debris is magnetic?

Always use new cams and original cam caps from the head, its just not worth the risk.

I've done two oil changes (millers running in oil) on my darton sleeved B18 since building and nothing to speak of on the sump plug (although I haven't dropped the pan), the only thing I've noticed is the ARP lube in the oil, I'll more than likely be running it for the next 3000 miles on mineral oil and I doubt it will ever see fully synthetic.

If you don't want to strip the engine down to inspect it (major PITA) then buy a magnetic sump plug, use a high quality fully synthetic (you're well past run in now) and hope for the best, hopefully no more debris the next time you change oil/drop the pan.
 
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i already use Motul 300v in it mate.

and new cams ? i was upgrading to ek9 cams. i was told there would be no problems all the cap caps are from the engine. none have been changed i just swapped the cams round.
 
What oil did you use for run in and for how many miles?

If all cam caps were put back in the correct place and you're using OE EK9 cams with EK9 valve springs I wouldn't expect there to be any cam wear. You can take them out of a high miler and there will be practically no wear (pretty incredible really how good Honda cams/valve train is).

Are you using titanium or steel valve retainers?
 
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