Found Metal in Oil Filter – What’s Ferrous Besides IMS Bearing?

[Jvarghese]

Just did an oil change after a 3,000-mile interval on my 189k-mile car, and some things caught my attention:

-The oil looked pretty dirty coming out.

-I’m running the LN Engineering spin-on filter adapter.

-After cutting open the filter, I found a few small non-ferrous (aluminum?) bits near the paper.

-More concerning: a noticeable amount of ferrous material in the pleats, which I confirmed with a magnet.

-I saved the filter oil in a bottle and already sent it out for analysis—now just waiting on the results.

Main question:
Besides the IMS bearing, what other components could be shedding ferrous material into the oil at this mileage?
At this mileage if I have to do the IMS what else should I replace while I have engine and transmission out?

Would really appreciate thoughts from anyone who's seen this kind of debris before trying to stay ahead of any major issues.

Thanks! - here are some pictures