Junk on my Drain Plug

**third_shift|studios** · 08-25-2009, 09:22 PM

WTF. I smell burning oil when i'm at idle, i get a nice thick cloud of white smoke at start up after she sits for a few days at a time. This engine has a 6 month warranty on it, should I tell them what to do with it??

**Smittro** · 08-26-2009, 01:18 AM

Yes! or @ least have someone take a look for a second opy. But usually white smoke is coolant and blue smoke is oil. Just an FYI. Also that does seem IMHO to be alot of metal shaveings on the oil plug magnet. I could be wrong, But looks and sounds like something is definetly up there..

**sunsetorangess** · 08-26-2009, 04:25 AM

Was it a Rebuild or a junkyard motor? New?
What oil did you use to break it in?.. Like said above, thats a bit much on the shavings side...
J

**leez28** · 08-26-2009, 04:31 AM

looks like you have a problem , i would let them find wtf going on

**pajeff02** · 08-26-2009, 04:38 AM

OH NOOOEEEEESSSS!

Would not hurt to do a compression test, a short interval oil change to flush more gunk out of the motor, and then use AutoRx. Or, better yet, an oil analysis would also let you know what is going on by the levels of metal in the sample.

Could be that the prior owner(s) just did not perform routine maintenance. Another possibility is that no one ever wiped off the oil drain plug before re-installing it. You could be looking at an accumulation from lots and lots of miles, rather than just a typical 3,000-5,000 interval.

**third_shift|studios** · 08-26-2009, 05:12 AM

It was a used 2002 motor, had been sitting in a warehouse for whoever knows how long. I've been told that possibly the valve seals sat unlubricated for so long that they shriveled up a bit.

This is the 2nd oil change since I got the motor in june. I recall deposits on the end of the drain plug when I changed it the first time too (after 2,000mi) I've added Zmax and Lucas Oil stabilizer prior to this change. I have been using 10w30. I did the additives b/c a buddy of mine said that he noticed blue smoke when he and I were romping on the highway. So i asked my shop what to do and they suggested the additives to possibly help the valve seals.

I changed this oil at maybe 1800 miles? I noticed that when i pulled the plug, there was a significant lack of SPLASH that you typically get when you first remove the plug. You know how it normally gushes out in a huge arc for like a minute then relaxes back to a steady pour? This came out as the steady pour at first-wondering if i had such low oil that there was hardly any pressure to do that big first arc?

For this fill, i put in the Lucas stabilizer as well as 10w30. I have yet to start the car actually since i'm doing some other shit to her at the same time.

**sunsetorangess** · 08-26-2009, 05:20 AM

I would steer clear of all those BS Additives, They have cool commericials and cool bottles but they dont do you any good...
Get a good synthetic oil, i would say a 5w30 and run it for about 500 miles, then change the oil and refill it, see if its cleaned up. Sea Foam is a good choice to clean up the internals but i would wait until its completely broke in.
J

**third_shift|studios** · 08-26-2009, 05:25 AM

I truely value the guy's opinion on them. He basically said "it could work" and i'm not trying to validate anything, but I did notice the blue smoke cleared up @ WOT and the engine seemed to me a little quieter. I love how Lucas shit said "cools oil faster"

oh well...like I said, i noticed a minimal enough change to try it for one more time. I figure this oil change should last me into the cold season, then I'll attempt to tear off the valve covers and get a closer look.

**Zboner** · 08-26-2009, 07:08 AM

damn, one thing after another with that car

**INMY01TA** · 08-28-2009, 05:52 PM

My drain plug looks like that when I change mine. Always use synthetic (Redline for years, now German Castrol) and change every thousand miles or so. (twice a year, not driven much) I don't worry about it anymore.

**TA98** · 08-28-2009, 07:31 PM

Originally Posted by third_shift|studios

It was a used 2002 motor, had been sitting in a warehouse for whoever knows how long. I've been told that possibly the valve seals sat unlubricated for so long that they shriveled up a bit.

Agree with the valve seals being bad. Especially since it does it after sitting for a few days

**Lucky 13** · 08-28-2009, 10:23 PM

If you have a 6 month warranty then quit trying to fix or cover up the problem and go get it warrantied. If you wait til something gives it will be too late. Just my opinion though.

**blackSS01** · 08-29-2009, 02:25 AM

Originally Posted by Lucky 13

If you have a 6 month warranty then quit trying to fix or cover up the problem and go get it warrantied. If you wait til something gives it will be too late. Just my opinion though.

+1000

**Rk ws6** · 08-29-2009, 06:40 AM

+1 most definently

**Firebirdjones** · 08-29-2009, 09:36 AM

That's alot of "junk",,,,lol.

Definately wouldn't call that normal. I run magnetic plugs in all our cars, out of the 7 that are currently running, none of them come out looking like that. At the very most I have a grey metallic matter almost like clay that will rub off the magnet and cover an area on a paper towel no larger than the eraser of a pencil,,,,but I never ever have large pieces or slivers that you are showing.

Before even thinking about warranty on that motor, the very first thing I would do is an oil annalys to find out exactly whats chewing on itself. Then present that to your engine supplier for a warranty claim. Otherwise like most places they'll just come back and tell you it's normal blah blah blah.

**manyponies** · 08-30-2009, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by sunsetorangess

I would steer clear of all those BS Additives, They have cool commericials and cool bottles but they dont do you any good...

If there was magic on a bottle, I would not need 750K in machine shop equipment, I could just sell engine rebuilds in a bottle.

**bigrondownhiller** · 08-30-2009, 01:58 PM

Does not look right to me. I would do a compression and a leakdown test first to see if there is any internal damage showing up. What does the warranty cover, just the engine or the labor too?

**blackbirdbrain89** · 08-30-2009, 05:41 PM

the way i look at it, ok u have an eng that set for who knows how long... hen it was made they used assembly lub... good for what it was meant for.... as far as an eng that sits for 1+ year might as well not been used at all by the time the eng was started the lub would have ran down and made every thing dry and a very hard start up to come... between all the rings would take a long time to get every thing out. do a com test and run it... change ur oil every 2k and watch it... if u really want to get an idea of how bad it is put a rear earth mag on the oil filter and cut it apart and look by eye

**Firebirdjones** · 08-30-2009, 06:04 PM

Originally Posted by blackbirdbrain89

the way i look at it, ok u have an eng that set for who knows how long... hen it was made they used assembly lub... good for what it was meant for.... as far as an eng that sits for 1+ year might as well not been used at all by the time the eng was started the lub would have ran down and made every thing dry and a very hard start up to come... between all the rings would take a long time to get every thing out. do a com test and run it... change ur oil every 2k and watch it... if u really want to get an idea of how bad it is put a rear earth mag on the oil filter and cut it apart and look by eye

It was a used motor.