Metal flecks in oil after winter storage

[chicagoporsche]

Hi everyone any help on this one would be appreciated. I have a 99' 996 with 75k on the engine. The car is no garage queen and driven quite regularly and the fluids have been changed religiously. The car was hit this past fall and has been in the body shop since last Novemeber (about 3 months). While in the shop I am not sure how often the engine was started. Having just received the car back I decided to change the oil and noticed glitter like flakes in the oil filter housing (Plastic cover inside the base) and in the oil drain pan (not many but enough to get me concerned). I am thinking that it could be normal and could have been caused by some no lubricated oil starved parts grinding when the car was started after sitting for such a long period of time. My car has never leaked a drop of oil, ever burnt oil, never used oil and never had a RMS problem. What do you guys think? The car runs fine, does not smoke or make any strange noises either. Thank you in advance.

B

[geza]

Some of the flakes may be a result of the hit in November - rotating parts have inertia, and if the hit was while the engine was running, camshafts, pistons and the crankshaft could have spiked a thrust load against their mating surfaces that could cause what you describe. Maybe it is a sign of the age of the engine, and maybe the other factor could be the hit dislodged some residual fine metal build up in the oil galleries/oil bypass valve/filter relief valve and deposited them in the filter housing after a run around the internals.

Your engine should be fine, and if you wanted a oil metal content sample check, your Porsche dealer may be able to direct you to a lab that does it. Many Caterpillar dealerships have that capability - they use a spectrograph to determine the metal contaminants. Only issue is they don't apply Porsche specs to what they find, only Cat specs.

[chicagoporsche]

Some of the flakes may be a result of the hit in November - rotating parts have inertia, and if the hit was while the engine was running, camshafts, pistons and the crankshaft could have spiked a thrust load against their mating surfaces that could cause what you describe. Maybe it is a sign of the age of the engine, and maybe the other factor could be the hit dislodged some residual fine metal build up in the oil galleries/oil bypass valve/filter relief valve and deposited them in the filter housing after a run around the internals.

Your engine should be fine, and if you wanted a oil metal content sample check, your Porsche dealer may be able to direct you to a lab that does it. Many Caterpillar dealerships have that capability - they use a spectrograph to determine the metal contaminants. Only issue is they don't apply Porsche specs to what they find, only Cat specs.

Thank you very much for your reply I found it very helpful. One other note is that I had 15w-50 weight oil in the car as it just came from a hotter climate. Perhaps the low temps here in Boston cused the oil to become too thick and cause some un-needed friction in the lifters when started after sitting so long in the cold?

[geza]

If you look at the Mobil 1 website, the cold pour point of M1 15W50 is very close to that of M1 0W40. I use M1 15W50 here in Chicago, but the car is garaged in the winter months.....the issue of this thin vs. thicker engine oil seems to be somewhat controversial, but the bottom line is that in the owners manual, synthetic 15W50 is good for use where ambient temps. are 50F or above. 0W40 seems to me to be the OEM answer to having a global oil for use in all ambient temperature conditions - getting away from seasonal oil questions/issues/potential warranties.

One could argue that the greater film thickness of 15W50 would be an aid to a car sitting for a while, since it will cling and remain on the journal/sliding surfaces with a greater residual effect than a 0W oil.

You may want to check the oil again when you change it next.....preferrably pouring it into a waste container with strong sunlight to really get a good look through the oil stream- you will see the sparkle of the particles as you pour the oil into the waste container. I have always been a little suprised by the amount of this material sparkle I see in the oil of every other car we have owned.....may not be the issue that you are initially concerned about.

A lab test on the oil sample with comparison to Porsche contamination specs would be the only definitive way to give you complete peace of mind if you are at all concerned. It would be a good indicator of the overall condition of the moving parts/bearings in your engine.

Edited February 23, 2006 by geza