Hey everyone,

I know there are alot of knowledgeable folks around here so I thought I would ask for some opinions.

I changed my oil yesterday and came to discover that in the bottom of my used oil were many small flakes and chips of what look to be brass. I am not very mechanically inclined and any help or ideas of where it may be coming from would be much appreciated. Also its a 2002 3.0 5spd with 44k miles.

Thanks

 

i Dont think it can be brass was your used oil to the fill line?

 

Brass? could be from your rod or main bearings.

 

Yeah, basically all of your engine bearings are brass babit with an aluminum shell. The cam syncro may have a brass gear as well, but Im not sure. Whatever it is, it can't be a good thing. How much debris are we talking? A pinch? A hand full? Also, hows your oil pressure look?

 

His OEM oil pressure gauge will either show zero, or half scale. The sending unit is a N/O switch that closes with about 7psi of oil pressure.

 

It was more than a pinch of brass but no hand full, just very small pieces.

As for my oil pressure, the gauge stopped working one day when I only had about 15k miles on the truck(3 years ago), I guess it wrapped all the way around cause its actually under the stopping pin instead of resting on top.

The strangest part of the whole thing is that the truck is running as well as it ever has, and with no noticeable ticks or knocks or anything of the sort. I really have no clue as far as diagnosing the problem, guess I'll have to take it to a shop.

 

Well, I meant with an actual gauge, sorry I didn't specify. You can unscrew the stock sender and put in a mechanical gauge pretty easily. It is located at the rear of the engine near the top, close to where the bell housing bolts on. I would chck this before driving it any more. If there is a problem you could be doing major damage, even if it isn't ticking or knocking currently.

 

I am encountering the same problem. It's true something internal made of brass (as to what I'm not sure) is being eaten up. The brass babit is probably to blame for mine, one of the bearings is being eaten up. The alternative for me is to buy a new or remanufactured engine. Seeing as I'm sitting at over 180K, it may make it till 200K. Other than this current problem I have had no troubles out of this little truck.

All gauges show normal activity.

So for now till I'm able to do a heart transplant, I will just have to rely on luck and hope the truck lasts that long.