Fine Metallic Oil after Oil Change S50

[dailyrider]

Hey guys. Just did the first oil change on my new to me 91 318is with a 95 S50. Found the drained oil to be pretty metallic. The oil itself still looked pretty light in color vs dark/burned so I cant tell if the oil is giving the metal a gold look or if it is gold/bronzey metal flakes. Cut the element on the oil filter and couldnt find any suspect material.

Just had a pretty good checkup on the car. Compression wasnt top notch but just about 160 across all. Spark plugs looked good as well. Engine has apprx 150k on it though.

Car runs great and doesnt make any strange noises.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Pics below of the oil and one of my ride...just cause:D

[Nutzy]

I can only think of two sources for that; bearing shells and valve guides. The first being copper and the latter being bronze.

Other than that....???

External source?

Does it have a HD clutch or something? Spend lots of time clutch in stuck in traffic?

[dailyrider]

Its certainly not copper. Could be bronze but very hard to tell with the oil in such good shape...nothing sticks to a magnet.

Yes is has stage 3 clutch that needs a bit of riding to get off the line. I didnt get the impression from the PO that the car was driven all that much and I have put 2k on since I bought it just about a month ago. I dont beat it hard but I do run it through its paces fairly regularly.

Pardon my ignorance but how would clutch dust/debris end up in my oil drain pan?

Thanks for the response!

[nrubenstein]

This basically calls for oil analysis.

[dailyrider]

Yep, oil analysis kit is ordered. Was just hoping someone may have seen this condition before. Ive seen this on my bikes but they cycle oil through the tranny so its a bit different.

[Nutzy]

Its certainly not copper. Could be bronze but very hard to tell with the oil in such good shape...nothing sticks to a magnet.

Yes is has stage 3 clutch that needs a bit of riding to get off the line. I didnt get the impression from the PO that the car was driven all that much and I have put 2k on since I bought it just about a month ago. I dont beat it hard but I do run it through its paces fairly regularly.

Pardon my ignorance but how would clutch dust/debris end up in my oil drain pan?

Thanks for the response!

Real heavy clutches can punish the crank thrust bearing face at idle.

[dailyrider]

Real heavy clutches can punish the crank thrust bearing face at idle.

Second guy today who has mentioned thrust bearing. The PO thinks he used an OEM thrust bearing when he did the clutch. He used a FX Stage 3 clutch and LTW flywheel.

I think ill dig into this avenue a little more while I await my oil analysis kit.

[Nutzy]

Understand that we are talking about the main bearing here, the one that holds crank end float. We are not talking about the TOB on the clutch itself.

The particles in your pic look like a brass color, but the bearing backing material is usually steel-copper-white metal. Valve guides are usually bronze. It is odd for sure because these are the only sources I can think inside the motor for metal of that color. Why would a guide start chomping out? Don't know.

[dailyrider]

Understand that we are talking about the main bearing here, the one that holds crank end float. We are not talking about the TOB on the clutch itself.

The particles in your pic look like a brass color, but the bearing backing material is usually steel-copper-white metal. Valve guides are usually bronze. It is odd for sure because these are the only sources I can think inside the motor for metal of that color. Why would a guide start chomping out? Don't know.

Herein lies my lack of knowledge Im sure im getting mixed up here. Im going to put 1k on the new oil (Mobil 1 15w50), clean my oil drain pan to an OCD level and drain to see what I get.

Damn oil filter looked fantastic when I sectioned it...nothing trapped in the pleats at all...no debris anywhere.

Ill report back with oil analysis and any other findings.

Thanks all for the responses!