How much metal stuck to the drain plug is acceptable for a car that won't see any long tours? This came out of the engine in my 25' Touring that I just purchased, with a fairly low mileage rebuild. The engine runs pretty quiet even with the spark fully advanced. The one solid piece looks like a tooth off of something. Any opinions or ideas would be appreciated. Thanks - Mike
It all looks like babbitt to me. I'm sure you know where that comes from.
Take a propane torch and see if it melts you will know for sure then.
Do you have a transmission screen? Put a magnet there too and check after a while. If no foul sounds are heard, then no big worries when touring with a cell phone to call for help should anything happen..
If a magnet picks it up, it is steel or iron. If it is more silver in color and not picked by magnet, it is babbit. in any case, you need to find out what it is and correct before you have more problems. Very small silvery particles are normal wear, but large chunks like in your picture don't look good.
Do you have contact with the previous owner? Ask if he had any problem with anything such as the starter? Those could be parts of the starter bendix or flywheel gear. If you use the starter with the key off and just crank over the engine, do you hear any noise that the starter gear makes? Like a clicking or grinding.
Anyway, if it were my car, I wouldn't drive it until I found out what the pieces are.
Norm
That is sure a whole bunch of "stuff" to be floating around in "a fairly low mileage rebuild" ! Damn !
I would check to see if there is a warranty on the rebuild before I would take anything apart so you don't void it.
I wouldn't wait for it to make noise. It'll be too late then. If it is babbitt, failure could take out the crank too. At least drop the inspection cover and check a few rods and mains.
I would take it back to the rebuilder.
That tooth is from the starter bendix. It is a part that holds the counter weight. The indentation is where it was swedged to hold it in place.
That babbitt looks more like the remnants of pouring and machining, maybe not a good job on cleaning before assembly.
Dang, you got good eyes, Jack !
I was thinking the same thing as Frank about the babbitt scraps.
That large piece looks like it came off the ring gear. Was the electrical system converted to 12volt ??? I've got a story for that.
Agree with Jack - debris from poor cleaning by the engine rebuilder.
Cleaning up blocks, pans and etc is a must in any engine work.
This happens even today with new engines in new vehicles.
It happened to me in my NEW 2010 Toyota Tundra PU.
At 347 miles the check engine light came on and after taking it back to the dealership it was determined that the blocks in the factory weren't cleaned up properly after they were machined.
There was a blog that developed and they were more than a few that this happened to.
The debris caused problems in the internal sensing system of the engine.
A free oil change seemed to clear things up.
40,000 miles later and so far so good.
I spent a night with this in my mind and this picture is possibly what your piece might be. It is part of a removable transmission band ear. and the other parts are parts of the band lining and hopefully nothing else of importance. Take off the transmission inspection plate and check all the bands. If the low and reverse have been shifting, it could be from the brake band. If you have auxiliary brakes you might not have noticed it when you stopped the car. Anyway, take a look at the end of the attached picture and see if it might look like your piece.
Norm
Jack, that's what I was thinking, maybe someone accidently got their heel on the starter button while traveling, have seen it happen. KGB
Thanks for all the input. I feel better about the babbitt slivers now. It's still 6 volt, but I'll take a look at the starter bendix though. Norman, the bands were recently relined and seem to all work properly. I will take the trans cover off and take a look in there as well.