Metal flakes in oil ! Is my engine grenading itself ?

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After changing the oil today i was going to clean my catch pan but looked closely and i could see metal flakes. Not a lot and most of them were very small. This is my 4th oil change on this car. The first two oil changes i did not pay attention but for the last two i noticed (slightly less flakes this time) .

This car was serviced at the dealer from the beginning up until recently with 8-10k OCI on 5W-40. I bought it with 79k miles from the first owner and now it has 94k miles. Im worrying, never saw that on my previous cars and they were all high mileage (200k+) cars.

Here is a picture i found of something close, mine had small flakes like this but way less, i'd say a few. Something worth noting is also the presence of very small sludgy black deposits at the bottom of the catch pan.

[Linked Image]
 
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I would recommend doing an oil analysis at the next oil change to get a handle on what type of metal is being deposited in your drain pan. It may not be serious, but for the price of an analysis you will know whether you have a problem or not.
 
If you still have the oil filter, could you cut it open and see what is caught in the filter element?
 
Originally Posted by 46Harry
I would recommend doing an oil analysis at the next oil change to get a handle on what type of metal is being deposited in your drain pan. It may not be serious, but for the price of an analysis you will know whether you have a problem or not.


Anything you can see with the naked eye and identify as metal while in the oil is many, many times too big to show up in an oil analysis. For reference, oil analysis ability tops out at about 7um, which is about 1/10 the size of a human hair.

Oil analysis will certainly miss an impending failure that is only generating large pieces of aluminum in the drained oil, but it may have shown indicators if the OP had a trend of analyses prior to this observation (lead, aluminum, etc). Since he has no prior OA tests to reference against, he should save his money for another task, since a single point of data on oil analysis is essentially useless. It won't even make him feel good.
 
Nothing visible inside the filter element. I have been told that it might be some shavings from the break-in period since the dealers always suck the oil from the dipstick tube from what i've heard. What do you think ?

I have to add that unlike the picture, the oil was not colored by thousands of extremely fine specs. Just a few slighlty bigger flakes, i have a sharp eye and noticed a few shiny things under the sun. Hard to explain, my phone would not cooperate when i tried to take a picture.
 
Originally Posted by M119
After changing the oil today i was going to clean my catch pan but looked closely and i could see metal flakes. Not a lot and most of them were very small. This is my 4th oil change on this car. The first two oil changes i did not pay attention but for the last two i noticed (slightly less flakes this time) .



What are the specifics on the car model?

Make, model, year, ect?

I have to say that looks dire.
 
Mercedes W202 C180 1998, M111 engine, 94k miles. Once again, this is a picture i found on the internet to illustrate the size of the flakes. I could count the flakes with my fingers. I asked my girlfriend and she could not see anything at first.
 
Could have been from the dealer if they over tightened the drain bolt and when you drained it, the threads got flushed out? One guess of many possibilities. The oil filter should be a good one like the Mann fleece filter. Sunlight does show small particles of metal. Old time jewelers would sit in front of a sunlit window to look for flaws in diamonds with just an eye loupe. Nothing quite like it.
 
I guess they used the good stuff at the dealer. MB filters are made by Mann or Hengst and i dont use anything else. When i bought it the previous owner had the oil changed by a local mechanic and it was a cheaper filter, that was the first thing i changed the day i got it.

Farnsworth, it is rarely sunny here, maybe that's why i saw a few specs for the first time ! I usually change my oil indoor too.
 
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I will see if they stick to a magnet tomorrow. Yes they're definitely metal particules, no doubt, i could separate them with my finger.
 
So have you been able to see if it uses much oil between changes? It seems you are changing every 3750 miles. 79-94K = 15K miles divided by 4 oil changes.

It's weird it has metal flakes in it after 3 oil relatively short oil changes. I don't have any advice.

Originally Posted by M119
I guess they used the good stuff at the dealer. MB filters are made by Mann or Hengst and i dont use anything else. When i bought it the previous owner had the oil changed by a local mechanic and it was a cheaper filter, that was the first thing i changed the day i got it.

Farnsworth, it is rarely sunny here, maybe that's why i saw a few specs for the first time ! I usually change my oil indoor too.



I thought it was changed at the MB dealership. I'm confused.
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All the oil changes were done at the dealer except for the two last ones before i bought it at 79k, i just checked all the maintenance records. I remember seeing more flakes on the previous oil change (still barely visible for most people...)

The drain plug looked like it has never been touched when i got the car. This information may corroborate the fact that no metal specs were found in the filter element, therefore some break-in particules are still sitting at the bottom of the pan ever since the car came out of the factory.

I would like to hear your feedback on this theory.
 
Originally Posted by wwillson
If you still have the oil filter, could you cut it open and see what is caught in the filter element?

What I was thinking . I would defiantly shorten the OCI .
 
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
Originally Posted by wwillson
If you still have the oil filter, could you cut it open and see what is caught in the filter element?

What I was thinking . I would defiantly shorten the OCI .


Shorten a 3/4k OCI ?
 
Originally Posted by M119
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
Originally Posted by wwillson
If you still have the oil filter, could you cut it open and see what is caught in the filter element?

What I was thinking . I would defiantly shorten the OCI .


Shorten a 3/4k OCI ?

He did say defiantly...
 
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