mystery metal

Post by **redamnavit** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

I pulled my oil pan today to do some basic checks before I put the motor in my car and noticed this fall out when I was pouring out the remaining oil:

Its about the size of my thumbnail. I checked over the bottom end with a flashlight and rotated the engine once or twice to get a good look at the rods and pistons. The assembly rotates freely. Nothing seems broken or chipped or otherwise wrong. From the compression tests on the cylinders they hold pressure as good as new. I'm kind of afraid to ask what this may be but I figure better to know now.

Thanks all.

Post by **nab911** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

Ahh who cares

Kinda looks like the bottom part of a rod.. dont quote me at all im just making **** up

Post by **float_6969** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

Thats not cool. I don't know what it is, but it's not cool. I would find out where that came from before I start that motor up.....

Post by **boost_boy** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

Man, I have no idea as to what that might can be! If you don't see a rod chipped or bearing cap chipped, quietly discard of it and keep on going. I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it, but I am curious as to how it got there if it isn't apart of the internal rotating assembly.

Dee

Post by **redamnavit** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

I'll go over the caps and rods again but given its width I don't think its that. Here's the bottom end, btw:

I'm not going to worry about it too much at this point though. I'm not tearing apart a bottom end just to find out if I need to tear apart a bottom end if no one has any clear ideas of what that chunk of metal is.

I'll keep you all informed. If anyone thinks of anything, please let me know.

Post by **nab911** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

Check near the front and rear mains. It looks like it was a piece of a circle that could have possibly held some rotating shaft.. (read crank). It has to have been from something under this pistons unless someone put it in there to trip u out

Post by **boost_boy** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

Red,

Do me a solid favor by removing the crank girdle and getting a better view as to what might be going on in there. I'm hiping that's not a piece of the thrust washer from the main bearing family, but the only way to find this out is to remove the girdle and get nosy. Also, inspect the rod bearings, take a picture of it and let myself and the rest of the gang take a peak at it. I don't think it's serious, but I don't want to give you false sense of security as well. I'm off today and tomorrow and I do have an obligation to you and that engine, so please do these things that I ask of you so that we can see what you're working with.

Thanks,

Dee

Post by **float_6969** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

is it part of a piston oil squirter? Like the back part that has the notch so that it doesn't rotate. Do you guys know what I'm talking about? I still say to not start it up till you know where it came from. I don't think something that size could have drained down from the head, but you might pull the valve covers just to be sure. I don't see how/why someone would have PLACED a peice of metal into the oil pan, so it would have had to come from somewhere.

Post by **float_6969** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

BTW, is this aluminium/steel/iron?

Post by **boost_boy** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

There's a skid plate-type piece of metal attached to the bottom of the block, but it doesn't look anything like it. Was there any debris in the oil pan when you took it down? Let us know......

Dee

Post by **nab911** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

From the picture, looks like the color of the metal matches the color of the rods and hookups. There is no way it could have gotten by the pistons and rings. Also, what is the relative size of this thing because the picture doesnt really show it.

Post by **redamnavit** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

Dee: I'll pull the crank girdle tonight and take some pics for you. I need to pull the rod ends off to check those bearings, correct? I've got no problem taking my time examining this, so whatever's necessary is cool. Thanks for the support.

float: I'll pull the valve covers too; they were next on the list anyway. As for the metal, it feels to heavy for its size to be aluminum. I'm not sure if its steel or iron though.

Post by **boost_boy** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

It just doesn't look like a piece from these motors. It's not a piece of piston, it's definitely not a piece of a rod or bearing cap. Just do your thing man! Looking at this is giving me a headache:D LOL

Dee

Post by **redamnavit** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

Oh, one more thing. I did take a look at the oil squirters, and I believe they all looked good. Or rather they all looked the same, which is about as far as my knowledge of this engine's bottom end goes. I'll check them again to be sure.

Post by **undertaker** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

redamnavit wrote: As for the metal, it feels to heavy for its size to be aluminum. I'm not sure if its steel or iron though.

check it with a magnet

Post by **redamnavit** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

undertaker: I should have thought of that. All I have right here is a magnified screwdriver but its not sticking at all. Maybe it is aluminum after all...

nab911: The whole piece is barely larger than the size of my thumbnail. The interior radius of the curved part fits nicely on a BIC pen.

float: I pulled the valve covers and everything appears normal there. I'd have been amazed if something got down from there but it was worth checking.

boost: pix are forthcoming of all of this, but here's my overview. I pulled the girdle and the crank caps. Nothing is chipped, and the main bearings themselves are clean, no scoring that I can see. I checked over the oil squirters and the only one that looks a little different is #2 (from the front), but I don't see quite how the chunk of metal matches its difference in appearance.

I didn't pull the rod caps because I'm a moron and forgot, but I can do that without removing the girdle again so its no big deal if you'd like me to.

Let me get these pix shrunk down from their 3MP size and I'll post some links to them so you can see what I saw.

Thank you again everyone for helping me out here.

Post by **redamnavit** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

OK, pics:

Main caps w/ bearings:http://home.comcast.net/~redamnavit/maincaps.jpg

And the interesting part. The first pic is cylinder 1, which looks like 3 and 4. The second pic is cylinder 2, which looks a bit different (?).

http://home.comcast.net/~redamnavit/squirter1.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~redamnavit/squirter2.jpg

the rod caps:http://home.comcast.net/~redamnavit/rod ... dcaps2.jpg

That's about it. I've got a few others at random angles if there's a special area I should be checking out. I'm still a bit baffled though.

Post by **cortina-mk1** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

need something next to it to get a comparison on size...

Post by **redamnavit** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

cortina-mk1 wrote:need something next to it to get a comparison on size...

Fair enough...

Its about 1 inch long, or smaller than the top of my classic GWAR zippo.

Checkered-Member · Post by **Checkered-Member** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

Can you indicate the density, does it feel heavy for it’s size?

Does a magnet stick to it?

Post by **boost_boy** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

Your bottom end looks solid. A bit sludgy, but solid and compression and leak down tests were in better than normal ranges. I think this piece can very well come from your turbo's drain? I'm desperately seeking an answer for you. I don't see a piece like that living in the bottom end of the CA. Nothing down there but hard-core stuff except for the bearings. I would be wary of the turbocharger. Could very well be the culprit.

Dee

Post by **redamnavit** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

All I've checked on the turbo so far involved pulling off the heat shields and the 02 housing so its still suspect. That piece of metal is just the right size for the turbo's oil drain too. I found it in the upper part of the pan too, not down in the sump... Like I needed an excuse to upgrade the lovely CA T25. I'll yank it off tomorrow night and see if I get some answers there. I feel alot better with a potentially junked turbo than a potentially junked bottom end.

Oh, and I finally found a strong magnet. The chunk of metal is definitely aluminum, or not ferrous at any rate.

Post by **JDizzle** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

Sorry to get off topic but Dee can you shoot me back a reply to my e-mail. Thanks.

Post by **redamnavit** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

Okay, I pulled the turbo. The exhaust blades look great, the intake look like someone chucked a few pebbles in there. When I took it off a fair amount of oil came out of the intake side as well.

So far I've pulled off the exhaust housing. It looks like to dissasemble the intake side I'd need a serious set of snap ring pliers? Any advice on how to tear this thing down or at least examine it? I'll pull off the oil drain tube next...

UPDATE: Ok, I pulled off the tube, and dropped the chunk of metal through. It fits through the tube. Also, I held the wheels still and shook the turbo and... eh, nothing. I thought there was something rattling inside but it was the metal plate directly behind the exhaust blades.

After searching a little, I think it might be a piece of this:

The pic is of a T25 rebuild kit. Which would mean my turbo is probably toast. Opinons?

Post by **Nismo_Freak** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:40 pm

I was gonna say turbo thrust bearing but I have NO idea how it would make its way all the way there. If so that's damn weird and the first time I've seen that.

When I first saw the pic I said "looks like a turbo thrust bearing".

Time for an upgrade!

mystery metal

mystery metal

Nissan Forums

Infiniti Forums

Datsun Forums

Technical Forums

Classifieds / Marketplace

Nissan Motorsports

General Forums