Gray oil and Metal shavings in my Oil Pan.

[io_RobbieRodgers]

The title says it all. I let my friend drive my car to Whataburger while we were out having a good time, and he tells me my car keeps stalling out in 2nd when he gets back. Turns out he bottomed out, but as he's also owned an E30 in the past, I would have hoped he'd have the good sense to tell if he was driving a car without any oil in it.

I had it towed home, and I got the oil pan off today to check the damage. There was gray oil (seriously gray, not even a hint of normal oil color) sticking to the bottom of the connecting rods, and metal shards in the pan. The rest of the oil that had leaked out looked fairly normal. I at first assumed the shards were just pieces of aluminum and JB weld that had come off in the impact, but now I'm paranoid that he drove for a while without any lube and shredded the crank bearings.

Have you guys seen this before? What's your opinion? I'm going to cry if I have to shell out another $200 to fix this...

[Ceeker]

I can't say I have but since the oil pan is off it will be relatively easy to throw a new set of crank bearings just to be safe for good measure..While you're at it clean out the pan and a fresh gasket. Also take out the pick up and pump and get those cleaned as well. Afterward, new oil and filter and run the car for a bit and the dump the oil and put fresh oil in.

[Kershaw]

how many miles? it's pretty normal for engines to wear over time. and that means tiny tiny tiny metal pieces in your oil. it's the reason oil changes are done. rofl. but the stuff at the bottom can build up and not drain out once it reaches a point where it's too heavy to do so.

[scottinAZ]

what motor?? did the oil pan get shredded?

If the pan busted and the oil all leaked out, shitcan the engine and start over......

if the pan was intact, change oil and pray....

[atldohc]

What exactly was the damage to the oil pan? And did you not check the level before pulling the pan off, or had it all spilled out by then? Even if the car is low on oil as long as there's enough on the bottom to submerge the oil pickup then the engine shouldn't suffer any more damage. Unfortunately it sounds like he ran it until there was an actual change in driveability, which of course isn't a good sign. You would think he might stop and take a look after using someone elses car and banging the oil pan on the ground. :shock:

[io_RobbieRodgers]

It's an M42 with 115k.

I had just JB-Welded the oil pan not two months ago, so the metal shavings are definitely a new development. I'm guessing most of the oil leaked out after two-three hours, judging by the oil spills on the two park spots it was in during the time period. The crack's pretty big, but it doesn't run the entire length up the side of the pan, probably could be fixed again, but I'm probably just going to get a new one.

Should I replace just the rod bearings? Or the Main bearings too?

[jlevie]

Gray oil and metal shards are a sign of bearing failure. That usually means damage to the crank journals. Removal of the engine and complete treat down and inspection are indicated.

JBWeld is never an acceptable repair of an oil pan, though that might not have anything to do with the bearing failure since you did drain oil from the pan. A car at anything near normal ride height isn't in danger of bottoming out unless there is a serious "off road excursion", but if you have slammed the car...

[io_RobbieRodgers]

The car is on stock suspension, though that probably IS the factor that led to it bottoming out. The M42 is notorious for hanging way too low on the car. The front shocks are completely blown. I just ordered bilsteins to correct that problem before I found out about this little doozy...

[scottinAZ]

consider the bearings dead, and hope to god the crankshaft isnt damaged. otherwise replace said blown shocks, and the engine with it

[Ceeker]

My bmw master tech buddy swore by keeping the oil topped up in M42 engines. Although they love to rev high; he found these engines when low on oil tend to starve a bit up top resulting in cam chain and dampener issues. I had to change my mains on my m42 as the rear bearing likes to wear due to down shifts. They were designed without a back race on the bearing. The constant downshifting added load to this surface causing it to wear thin and then you start hearing the slap go on as you shift up and down. that is what ended up happening with mine. This can easily be updated as I did when I ordered mine aftermarket. Drop the main caps, remove what's left of the bearings if anything and inspect crank journals. If there is no scoring or etching on the machined surfaces than you may have been spared. From the sounds of what you've described it doesn't look good. Inspect before deciding on what path you choose to take.

[io_RobbieRodgers]

I just removed the one main cap I have access to with the lower pan off, tiny bit of wear, but the one i'm worried about is the next one down, I'll find out as soon as my ex brings over my engine support bar to get the lower pan off. Anyhow, will I be able to visually tell if I have to regrind my crank journals? Or could the damage be so microscopic and still cause failure?

The idea of having to take out my crank is bringing me to tears, and it's very nearly making me consider taking one of the two M50s I have lying around and dropping it in... it'd probably cost about the same, but then again I've never done a swap before and the wiring aspect is pretty intimidating.

But on the other hand, I like the gas mileage on my M42... and pairing the 4.27 diff to 200hp might be too much for me to handle.

[scottinAZ]

if the crank is fubar, you will see it right off. Measuring is a good thing to do, but obvious damage is what you are looking for.

If I were you, and the M42 was shit, it WOULD be swapped. wiring isnt as bad as many make it out to be. a little time, a little research, a little attention to details, and its done.....

[Ceeker]

you will be able to see with a good "trouble light" (Grin) if one is showing minor wear there is a good chance the others might too..oh the suspense is killing ME!!!!!

[io_RobbieRodgers]

I'm estimating that the crank isn't damaged, and the valvetrain looks good too. There's a way to pull the crank without pulling the engine I'm assuming? Just take the front off the car? I can't afford an engine hoist.

[Kershaw]

another way to get the engine out of the car is to undo everything and the jack the car up really high, letting the engine stay on the floor.