Whats my engine telling me? - Honda Prelude Forum

VTEX · 10-08-2006, 05:58 AM

Okay , first off all those magnetic drain plugs I bought the other day do their job.
I changed my oil yesterday and what do I see, metal shavings are sticking on top off my drain plug, they are all small particles so I think its quite normal for a high mileage engine, but still!
I didn't have time to drop the oil pan to look for more debris but my main concern is where could this be coming from (pistons, crankshafts, bearings)
It couldn't be the walls right since they are Aluminum?
Any suggestions on this would be much appreciated.
Greetz
Atila

marcucci · 10-11-2006, 02:27 PM

How much material?

If it's a high mile motor and you've never had a mag drain plug, you can expect to get some gunk out. Shavings are normal to a certain extent. They should feel like sludge (i.e. you can't isolate one shaving from the others or see individual shavings) and you should never have more than 1 mm or so thick of the "goo" on the plug.

It's coming from ferrous metallic sources - rings, crank, cams, etc.

I would not be concerned unless you can pick out or feel individual shards or it's more than a few mm of material every time you change your oil.

VTEX · 10-12-2006, 04:57 AM

Yeah, its just like the sludge you discribed.

I didn't find any big pieces of metal what would of been a sign for broken parts on it so I tought it to be normal with 235K KM on the engine.
Just wanted to make sure because I've got this feeling I'll be facing a rebuild sooner or later.
Thanks again for the plugs and for clearing that out to me.

marcucci · 10-12-2006, 12:34 PM

Sooner or later... probably later. The engine should be good for 300k mixed or light duty before you just simply run out of clearances/tolerances.

Si4WS · 10-17-2006, 10:38 PM

170k here and it just takes a qt every 3.

VTEX · 10-18-2006, 04:12 PM

^same here, mine's using maybe a bit more but I don't won't to wait until the engine reaches 300K before I do a rebuilt. She deserves so much beter, if I hear about the Japanese how are obligated to rebuilt there engine at about 50K miles I am way behind.

LUDE'Z · 10-18-2006, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Si4WS

170k here and it just takes a qt every 3.

What motor oil are you using?