I changed the oil on my truck today and found some metal small metal shaving inside the drain plug.

Would anyone here have heard of this and what does it mean?

I cleaned them off and proceeded to finish my oil change. The truck only has 60k and its a 2001.

Thank for your knowledgable replies

 

could mean something is coming apart made of iron inside your engine.Depends sometimes on how fine the material is,fine mush or chunks.I would dump oil a early little and see if your still making any metal.Maybe just pull the plug with a cold engine and examine and stick it back in.Gears sometimes shed a little as wear . I'm not sure if any of these trucks have magnetic plugs.You can probably get one aftermarket if they don't .Oil sampling is another way to find out whats going on.Some have said these engines are still breaking in at 50,ooo miles.

 

As far as I'm concerned but metal in the oil pan is not a good thing. It means there is metal to metal contact.

Not good...

 

Cheep check, remove oil dipstick, and with the sun shining on it, or a bright light, look at the oil, small metal chips will shine, or reflect light. Sorta like a metalic paint finish. Just hope it don't have that much metal.

gud luk

 

What kind of oil are you running? Metal "mud" on a magnet is common, the bigger the chips, the more the worry, but it sounds normal to me. Another good reason to change oil more often.

If you are mechanically inclined drop and clean the oil pan.

Please fill out your signature.

 

Metal shavings in the drain oil is usually a sign something is failing. You have to identify what it looks like and the color of it to determine if it is a failure starting or some debris from manufacture that didn't get washed out. Also determine if there is more than one type of metal. All these clues are necessary to more accurately identify a failure in the making.

 

Its small , maybe about the size of lint on a sock or pants.

I took a magnet and it stuck to it about 10 to 15 pieces.

So far i decided to drive the truck another 3000 miles and change the oil at that time and examine the plug again.

That will take me about a month or two if no other problems occur.

Anybody else have ideas it would be appreciated.

PS ; i use dealers diesel oil10w40 and their filter.

 

If it is the size of the lint I get on my pants, that's pretty big and 10-15 pieces is a lot. Are there any noises or oil leaks? I don't know if the 01's have the kdp problem but it sounds like the debris you get when that starts.

 

Was the drain plug cross threaded?

John

 

No i remember checking that and it wasn't crossed treaded

 

When you said dealers 10-40 oil and filter that threw a red flag for me. I don't recall diesel oil in 10-40 since the good old days. Check to make sure the oil is CH-4 rated or CI-4.

 

Sorry no my mistake the oil is 15w40. Its my first diesel and i am not use to it.

 

I think you are on the right track here. Just monitor the situation, and try not to worry about it. Some metal shavings are normal and like a previous post said they could have been left over from the machining of the block or components. You could also have an oil anaylisis done for monitoring purposes, but it is my opinion you don't have a propblem.

Off subject alittle, I had my tranny serviced at 125K miles. The shop dropped the pan and called me back to the shop to take a look. It had CHUNKS of metal in the pan. Some were 3/4 an inch long. The shop tech was so freaked he would not change the fluid because it would cause more damage. I took it to a fast lube place and flushed the tranny fluid anyway. That was 40K miles ago, and still no problems.

Don't baby it!, drive it like you stole it! And try not to think about it. Clean the pan if you can.

 

Definitely gert an oil analysis at your next oil change!! That will give indication as to where the metal is coming from (identified by type of metal present in the oil)


I can't think of any normal operating parts that would leave "chunks" in your pan.

 

Are they metal slivers or chunks? Slivers very well could be from the drain plug. Those motors are built with care. Change the oil again very soon 1000 miles or so and see if it is there again. Peace and godspeed to your motor.