How much metal should I find in an oil filter?

[supton]

I'd prefer to see none, and it's a bit of a first for me.

Photos are not coming out yet, will try different lighting. Thought I'd do a cut and post, after changing oil in the 2003 CRV, which has 180k on the clock. While trying to separate the pleats I started seeing silvery things in the light... I grabbed a strong magnet and could watch them "fly" at the magnet, so definitely ferrous. Cylinder walls getting scraped from cold starts? I would have though non-ferrous bearing material first to show up as wear material. Valvetrain? not sure if it's had clearances checked in a while.

Magnet is about 6mm in diam, so these flakes are "itty bitty". This is after waving over like a half of the filter--it's by no means loaded up (actually not a lot of carbon in there, but 5k OCI's).

 

[MRC01]

Ferrous could be chrome (cams or piston rings), steel (cylinders), iron (valve guides). If the bits aren't magnetic and don't crush between your thumbnails, they're probably non-ferrous metal like aluminum, copper or bronze

A few tiny specs are normal for a high mileage engine. You say what's shown came across half the filter media, so I wouldn't worry about it. If that came from a single pleat, you have a problem.

 

[supton]

Yeah, about half.

Ok, will just monitor, not like I was going to do a teardown anyway. Should go looking for a magnetic plug, that might do something here I think.

 

[FowVay]

I'd at least pull the valve cover and check out the timing chain and sprocket. You can't see the crankshaft sprocket but you might get a glimpse of something.

 

[meep]

What weight oil. With that mileage, go up a grade and then keep on keeping on?

 

[DemoFly]

You can see a lot on those K series engines with the valvecover off.

You'll be able to make a sanity check on the cams and you actually can see the teeth on both cam gears. Cam gears are ferrous.

You'll likely drive yourself crazy trying to find a smoking gun when it could be no big deal.

 

[supton]

Mostly 5W20, sometimes I dump a bit of 5W30 in. Uses a quart over 5k? more if it sees highway, doesn't care for the high rpms I guess.

Will pull the valvecover maybe next weekend.

 

[fantastic]

Sounds reasonable from your notes & 5w-30 could fill the gaps better at this mileage. Have you seen a uoa on this engine yet?

 

[supton]

Have you seen a uoa on this engine yet?

Just this one, lol. Pretty sure i cut at least one filter prior.

The vehicle saw lots of short tripping in its life. Oil seems gassy to me, and it only musters 23mpg.

 

[CR94]

I rarely find any metal particles when I search with a magnifying glass. Just tiny carbon particles.

 

[The Critic]

I wonder if this is an early K24 with the infamous cam lobe issue.

 

[Sedin26]

Mostly 5W20, sometimes I dump a bit of 5W30 in. Uses a quart over 5k? more if it sees highway, doesn't care for the high rpms I guess.

Will pull the valvecover maybe next weekend.

A quart isn’t bad. I found that my 05 used way less oil when I started using 5w40

 

[supton]

I wonder if this is an early K24 with the infamous cam lobe issue.

Hadn’t heard of that, but 30 seconds looking indicates so, as it is a 2003.

Might explain why this thing seems dog slow!

 

[supton]

So which rebuild in a can will fix this? Restore? Lucas? maybe some concoction of the two?

 

[Mainia]

So which rebuild in a can will fix this? Restore? Lucas? maybe some concoction of the two?

View attachment 200592

The Critic hits the nail on the head. Wow, what is the process happen here all of sudden at high mileage? Is it wearing past the hardening layer? So do you have a game plan, replace cams, or junk the CRV? Cams and shim buckets/lifters $$$

 

[supton]

The Critic hits the nail on the head. Wow, what is the process happen here all of sudden at high mileage? Is it wearing past the hardening layer? So do you have a game plan, replace cams, or junk the CRV? Cams and shim buckets/lifters $$$

I'll see if I can get a couple more photos, then put back together--I may have tackled this in the wife's garage bay instead of mine, while she was gone... time to move quickly before she comes home!

180k, rust isn't bad, but... maybe button up and only use locally? even still, that's like 100 miles per week if my daughter just takes it to school and home. Maybe it'd last another year with zero intervention? seems wrong, but...

 

[The Critic]

I'll see if I can get a couple more photos, then put back together--I may have tackled this in the wife's garage bay instead of mine, while she was gone... time to move quickly before she comes home!

180k, rust isn't bad, but... maybe button up and only use locally? even still, that's like 100 miles per week if my daughter just takes it to school and home. Maybe it'd last another year with zero intervention? seems wrong, but...

New cam, chain, tensioner and guides. Done before lunch - it can be done in about 4 hours. I would repair. The metal can destroy the bottom end.

 

[supton]

New cam, chain, tensioner and guides. Done before lunch - it can be done in about 4 hours. I would repair. The metal can destroy the bottom end.

Well, maybe you but for me it'd be like 4 days. Need to run for a gasket ($43! sheesh) then go from there.

 

[dumkid]

If you're putting new cams, might as well get the big chop lopey idle cams /s

I'd just grab some from a good donor engine or buy new ones. Maybe they sell better quality cams.

 

[supton]

Maybe they sell better quality cams.

One would hope, but then again, these did 180k. The car won't make another 180k so the same junk quality would be just fine.