decided to cut open my oil filter too

[schoir]

Originally Posted by JTP

Changed the oil today and cut open the filter. 50k miles On engine and 5k since the last oil change.

I found little bits, 1-2mm in size, of hard brown glassy particles on the filter along with a few specks of bright red bits. No metal shavings but there was one piece of tan soft rubber, like a portion of a rubber diaphragm. Very soft and stretchy.

Are the brown pieces from the chain tensioners and is it "Normal" to find them on your filter? I probably had one or two pieces on every other pleat.

JTP:

I don't want to alarm you, but I would rather err on the side of caution.

I'm not sure about the origin of that piece of "tan soft rubber, like a portion of a rubber diaphragm", but you should investigate whether that piece of material might possibly be part of the rubber seal on one side or the other on the IMS bearing.

Regards, Maurice.

[JTP]

Maurice,
thanks for the input. When I saw it I was really worried and thought of the IMS seals but this piece feels like latex, very soft. And from all the photos of the IMS I've seen the seals are black and the outer flange seal is orange. I'll try to take a photo and post it.
So you wouldn't worry about the hard brown specs?

[BerneseMtnDog]

Last oil change I did I also found some rubbery pieces. Looked to my eyes like some sort of engine case sealant "squeeze out" that had come loose.

Steve

[schoir]

Originally Posted by JTP

Maurice,
thanks for the input. When I saw it I was really worried and thought of the IMS seals but this piece feels like latex, very soft. And from all the photos of the IMS I've seen the seals are black and the outer flange seal is orange. I'll try to take a photo and post it.
So you wouldn't worry about the hard brown specs?

JTP:

Take a few high resolution photos and post them here so that everyone that may have been down this road can give some input.

It's not good to find anything other than dirty oil in the oil filter, but it's better for it to get caught by the filter than circulating inside the engine.

As to the "hard brown specs", it depends on the size and on the number of them, but pieces of the IMS bearing seal are the ones that should raise immediate alarm bells. If you are certain that you have not found any pieces of the seal, then at least you can have peace of mind from that issue, but I would still carefully monitor the underside of the engine for any newly-found oil leaks, as that may be another telltale sign.

Perhaps taking those little pieces of "hard brown specs" in person to an indie for identification of their origin (maybe comparing them to the material of other plastic parts normally found inside the engine) would also help put your mind at ease.

Regards, Maurice.

[Topless]

My wild guess is the bits-O-brown are wear from chain tensioners. Color and material look right. A little might be normal, a lot means new tensioners before pop goes the valvetrain!

[clickman]

Originally Posted by schoir

pieces of the IMS bearing seal are the ones that should raise immediate alarm bells.

What would pieces of the seal look like? What's it made of?

[clickman]

http://forums.aircooledtechnology.com/showthread.php?t=3086


http://forums.aircooledtechnology.com/showthread.php?t=4206

[JTP]

Here are some photos of the glassy brown bits I found on the filter, along with the soft rubbery tan piece. There's also a red fleck I found. These are most of the large pieces, there are some small flakes of brown plastic on the filter I didn't collect.
I'm going to Charles Navarro's seminar next weekend so I will take these samples with me and get his opinion.
Scale is in inches, I didn't have a metric ruler.

[clickman]

JTP, your glassy brown/black bits look just like mine. Looking forward to seeing what Charles has to say. My bet is chain ramp. And of course, no one can really answer how long they'll last before failure.

[schoir]

Originally Posted by JTP

Here are some photos of the glassy brown bits I found on the filter, along with the soft rubbery tan piece. There's also a red fleck I found. These are most of the large pieces, there are some small flakes of brown plastic on the filter I didn't collect.
I'm going to Charles Navarro's seminar next weekend so I will take these samples with me and get his opinion.
Scale is in inches, I didn't have a metric ruler.

The hard brown bits look like they may have come from the chain tensioner guides.

I don't think you can get better advice than the opinion that you will get from Charles Navarro.

Regards, Maurice.