metal in oil.....am I screwed?

[GhiaInSC]

I changed the oil in my 1972 Karmann Ghia for the first time (I've had it for about 2 years and drive it about 600 miles a year). It had a decent amount of sludge in the oil screen and had what felt like some metal shavings (I had latex gloves on). Am I completely screwed here?

If so, should I go ahead and rebuild the engine or just wait for it to crap out? It doesn't burn oil, no smoke or any other indicators that the engine needs work.

[olspeed]

Have you disposed of the oil yet? If not get ahold of a magnet and see if you can find metal in the oil, and if it was mine I would at least drain it down enough to put in a qt of ATF and run it for a few minutes that then change it again... don't run it long, just enough to warm the engine and then change it and run the magnet through it an see what you have.
If the engine runs good with no smoke and the oil changes come out clean I would run it, also remember oil is cheap insurance even if you only drive 600 miles a year moisture will still collect in the case and contaminate the oil.
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66- Ghia
76-Beetle

[rockerarm]

Hi. Being the minimal amount of miles you drive you might wish to consider having an oil sample done and see what might be happening inside. You can find info at www.bobistheoilguy.com where they speak about oil analysis and other topics.
If you repeatedly find this in the oil it is inevitable that a rebuild is in order for you.
If the engine's compression is normal you may wish to install a filter, either a by-pass or full flow to capture anything in the oil. This filter thing sounds drastic but if you shop around can be bought and installed for not much money.
Hope this helps, Bill

[olspeed]

The oil sample thing is a good idea as it is something that most industrial fleets use to monitor the engines, transmissions and hydraulic systems of their vehicles but you must do it on a schedule and stick to it or you will have no idea what is going on. If the engine has had recent work done to it or if it has sat for a long time and not pre-lubed before start up there will be more metals and other contaminates in it than during normal operation.
Basically if you only change your oil every two years it will be useless because you've allowed the oil to degrade and the contaminates from unburnt fuel get into the oil and you will always get high readings.
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66- Ghia
76-Beetle

[swavananda]

[swavananda]

If my car sits for more than a month or two, I like to squirt some oil it the the spark plug holes then crank it to the the oil light goes out. Then Reinsert plugs and the fire it up. Just one of things, like never starting the car cold with the clutch in......

[olspeed]

ATF is a very high detergent oil and will clean the engine internally. It does thin the viscosity of your normal engine oil though so you only want to run it until the engine is warm to get all the sludge mixed in (it will also hold it in suspension)and dump it out that way you have about as clean of a engine as you can get to start off with.
I learned this from my dad who was a certified CAT, Detroit Diesel and Cummins mechanic from the early 60's through 2000 before he passed. He showed me this for my old 64 Ford Galaxie 500XL, the engine(390) would from time to time start ticking as a lifter would stick, a quick dump of enough oil to add a quart of ATF and the problem was gone.
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66- Ghia
76-Beetle

[swavananda]

[Eric&Barb]

Really should change oil every 3,000 miles or 6 months, whichever happens first. Otherwise all the crud is constantly going thru the bearings and the oil turn acidic from all the raw fuel in it.

CB Maxi 2 oil filter pump is a good way to help protect your engine bearing from at least metal bits in the oil.
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In Stereo, Where Available!

[Mellow Yellow 74]

No your not screwed and no you shouldn't rebuild the engine - just drive it and enjoy it and worry about it when there is some indication of a problem.
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1962 Karmann Ghia
1974 Deluxe Microbus
1985 Caravelle (Vanagon)

[digdug18]

[jwold]

I've taken to putting one of those really strong neodymium magnets by the oil screen in my bug to catch stray metals & shavings if any.

[GhiaInSC]

I originally thought there were large metal particles in the oil, but upon further inspection what is there is very fine. Thank you for the advice everyone!

[Eric&Barb]

[jwold]

Maybe pieces of a fuel pump stand? Those bits can break off and end up in the oil.

[KGCoupe]

I have a 2005 Audi A4 Quattro with the 2.0 TFSI 4 cylinder engine, and those engines are very prone to low oil pressure issues due to sludge build-up if the engine oil has not been changed regularly and frequently.
There a screen covering the oil pick-up tube which can become blocked with sludge.

The correct solution is to drop the oil pan and replace the screen, however that job is complicated by the fact that a suspension component passes across the center of the oil pan.
Because you must remove that suspension piece you must also first support the engine, and all of this adds up to a book rate of 6 or 7 hours to complete the whole job.

When my Audi began having low oil pressure issues a little over a year ago, an experienced mechanic friend suggested that I try using the ATF in the engine oil trick.
I did some online research first, and the general concensus was that it was an outdated trick that shouldn't be tried in a modern engine.
I trusted my friend and tried it anyway, using 1 quart of Castrol ATF specially formulated for transmissions with higher milage transmissions (which has extra detergents and seal conditioners) mixed in with 4 quarts of fresh 0W40 engine oil.

I actually ran the car with this mixture for around 600 miles, and was very pleasantly surprised that it did in fact clear out the sludge.
... and even more pleasantly surprised that there have been no indications since then that any other damage to the engine was caused by doing this.




( yet, anyway ).