metal in oil
 

just hit 1.1 mil mi. never anything done to engine. 11.1 det ser 60. changed oil yesterday. 02/07/08 on the drain plug, was very super thin, fine flat slivers of metal. I would compare the sizes to school glitter. they were so super thin that, I only noticed after wiping oil off magnet area. these little flat peices would cling to magnet. there was not a lot of metal. the metal covered very little of the the outer edges of magnet. will be a week before i get get appoint to get looked at. any idea of worst /best case senario? yeah i know this is a broad question with many possibilties. also. I do decicated run 100 mi radius. would it be too much of a risk to run another week until shop time ? thank you. p.s. the metal appeared to me so small that it, or at least i could not measure the diameter & the thickness seemed almost transparent , it was so thin. if this is any help.

I woould look into the possibility of having the metal analyzed by a professional service facility. You should determine where the metal came from before having your engine ripped apart. I guess the challenge here may be finding someone to do it. It may take a microscopic look to make the determination.
Also I would save your filters and any other "evidence" you may have that could help with the analysis.

A virgin detroit at 1.1 mil attests to a good PM schedule at any rate.

Good Luck! Let us know what you discover.

Might be the bearing in the front side of the air compressor.

My compressor was working fine but was a little noisey so I decided to change it. Much to my suprise that it was shot. The end of the crank shaft on the compressor would wiggle about 1/4" and there was allot of metal laying in a depression in the front cover.

This was on a S-60 You could take the power steering pump off and then stick your hand inside the front cover and pull the drive gear that come off the compressor that drives the power steering pump. Than wiggle the compressor gear to see if it is wore out. And look for metal shavings, I had a piece as big as my thumb nail!! and allot of small stuff.

Pulling the power steering pump would be allot easier, it weighs maybe 5lbs and the air compressor -------- man I don't know but I strained my gonads getting the old off and new in.

Mike

well it will be a while before i can get in shop. i had new or rebuilt compressor installed about 1-1/2 years ago. that was one of the things that the shop foreman told me it could be.

Mike, what kind of noise did this bad A/C compressor make? I have tipping/clanking noise in the engine and no-one can tell me what it is... What kind of noise did you experience? thanks.

Hi Tracer It wasn't a real loud noice. When the hood was open and the compressor was ingaged you could hear some clattering and a louder knock than ussual.

I couldn't hear it while I was driving just when hood was open & I was standing on the side of the engine that the compressor is on.

Mike

UPDATE!!
 

well after finding metal in my oil. ( what i would describe as gold dust) i went thru with a new oil change & put 8,000 miles & then dropped it off at shop. they found no metal on oil plug. dropped pan & found no metal. did a gear train insp & found no meat on the magnet at or near timimg sensor. all gears, bull, crank, auxillary, & others gears all o.k. while truck was in shop i had bottom 1/2 worked. @ 1.1 mill miles. shop mgr said it was time to do it.



he also said the fine metal 1 could be normal wear for the high mileage & or could be washout from an injector that i had go out a while back.


next pertains to clutch only..

i also had new clutch put in. 1st one in 1.1 mil- miles. question about that now... i was used to the way the truck operated before. when I drove for 1st time the clutch freeplay was approx 8-10 inches. & it was hard trying not to jerk as i took off.( bobtail.) so when i got home, i adjusted the clutch. to where freeplay was 2-1/2 to 3 inches. is this correct ? i took a load today & it seems to work o.k. i can definately start off nice & easy with out jerking. however when at a stop. when i put clutch to floor & try to put in gear, sometimes i have to let up on clutch just a inch or so, then it will go in gear. is this normal ? or should it just go right in when clutch pedal depressed to floor? other wise it grinds if i dont let up just slightley. thank you.

That could be a symptom of a properly adjusted clutch actually. I would suggest in the future get a professsional to adjust it. You adjusted the clutch itself correct? Not the linkage? The linkage is the incorrect way to adjust the clutch.

What you're describing is a complete stoppage of the input shaft and everything attached. What this does is since absolutely nothing is moving, it might be harder to put into gear. It's nothing to worry about at all, it just means your clutch brake is working very well.

What I do is try to get it into gear a split second before everything completely stops. If you're too late, just back out the clutch a bit until it rubs a touch, then put it into gear.

Do you not believe in oil analizing samples?

lol i guess not. after driving the same truck for over 10 years & still going with over 1.1 mil miles. & replacing the original clutch for the first time..... i look at it this way.. i want to keep doing what i have been doing all these years. & all these years NO oil analysis. maybe i'm a lil superstitious too... if ya dont look in the mirror... ya wont be frighntened.... :lol: