Metal flakes in oil

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by GTsilber

Wow tons of info here, not what I wanted to hear but not much I can do about that. So the consensus is that if any sort of metal fragments are found in the oil, don't drive and find the source of the metal? Is there anything else I can do to try and isolate the source?

Man this sucks, but not as bad as if my engine blew. Can someone recommend an m96 mechanic in South Florida?

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When you find metal bits, two things are critical: First, is there a lot of it, or just a flake or two? All engine's shed metal in small quantities, but if there is a lot of metal, there is a problem somewhere. Second, what kind of metal is it? Small amounts of non ferrous bits again is not unusual in a nearly all alloy engine, but if the bits are ferrous (can be picked up with a magnet), it is coming from something critical (cams, valve springs, oil pump, cranks shaft, etc.) which should not be ignored, particularly if it is in quantity. Running or driving the car further would not be advisable as the problem is not going to heal, and the circulating debris is eventually get to something really essential, like rod or crank bearing shells, which will put a sudden strain on your wallet.

[GTsilber]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

When you find metal bits, two things are critical: First, is there a lot of it, or just a flake or two? All engine's shed metal in small quantities, but if there is a lot of metal, there is a problem somewhere. Second, what kind of metal is it? Small amounts of non ferrous bits again is not unusual in a nearly all alloy engine, but if the bits are ferrous (can be picked up with a magnet), it is coming from something critical (cams, valve springs, oil pump, cranks shaft, etc.) which should not be ignored, particularly if it is in quantity. Running or driving the car further would not be advisable as the problem is not going to heal, and the circulating debris is eventually get to something really essential, like rod or crank bearing shells, which will put a sudden strain on your wallet.

The amount of metal is minimal, it appears to be non ferrous for the most part. The size/shape of the metal looks like broken splinter fragments from a cnc machine - little dots...you really have to look for it to notice it. I will try to get some better pics tomorrow with scale. There also appears to be some similar size plastic fragments in there as well - which is why I'm thinking it could be the timing chain or IMS bearing...I am sending my oil out for analysis tomorrow.

The car doesn't run rough, no other codes or obvious faults that I've noticed from the engine - but then again, failures appear to occur out of the blue without any warning. Any other info that I can provide to help with the diagnosis let me know...thanks for your help!