WTF is this in my oil?
05-06-2006, 02:58 PM
#1
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WTF is this in my oil? So i decided to change my oil last night to get ready for the drag strip i was going to today. 
When i pulled out my plug i found a shitload of metal shavings and spring......yes.....a spring. The total thickness of the spring was maybe the size of a pencil lead. And it was approximately 1" to 1 1/2" long. It also looked like it might have been longer but broke. Since last night my car has been on jackstands 
and i have been asking people's opinions left and right. The only things i have heard that make any sort of since are: rings, and then someone mentioned that the rear-main seal has a sort of spring that helps hold the seal open or something 
. I do have a very small oil leak where my motor and tranny meet but its not enough to make it drip....just enough to collect dirt.....BUT....that oil might just be coming out from my oil pan gasket. Another thing i noticed is my car smoking after it is warm when i sit at a idle. The smoke is a blueish smoke (oil). About the past 4-5 oil changes have shown metal shavings on the plug....but i never thought it was enough to worry about. Well now i'm worried......
ANY IDEAS? PLEASE HELP!! I have never heard of anyone finding a "spring" in their oil pan.
My plan of action so far is to drop the oil pan and see whats all in the bottom. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. I guess i will also be on the lookout for a new forged shortblock.
Oh yeah....one other thing....the car ran PERFECT, oil pressure was fine, everything seemed normal.
When i pulled out my plug i found a shitload of metal shavings and spring......yes.....a spring. The total thickness of the spring was maybe the size of a pencil lead. And it was approximately 1" to 1 1/2" long. It also looked like it might have been longer but broke. Since last night my car has been on jackstands and i have been asking people's opinions left and right. The only things i have heard that make any sort of since are: rings, and then someone mentioned that the rear-main seal has a sort of spring that helps hold the seal open or something . I do have a very small oil leak where my motor and tranny meet but its not enough to make it drip....just enough to collect dirt.....BUT....that oil might just be coming out from my oil pan gasket. Another thing i noticed is my car smoking after it is warm when i sit at a idle. The smoke is a blueish smoke (oil). About the past 4-5 oil changes have shown metal shavings on the plug....but i never thought it was enough to worry about. Well now i'm worried......ANY IDEAS? PLEASE HELP!! I have never heard of anyone finding a "spring" in their oil pan.
My plan of action so far is to drop the oil pan and see whats all in the bottom. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. I guess i will also be on the lookout for a new forged shortblock.
Oh yeah....one other thing....the car ran PERFECT, oil pressure was fine, everything seemed normal.
05-06-2006, 03:21 PM
#2
After my big nitrous backfire I found a tiny spring with the exact description as yours stuck to my oil plug bolt. I didn't think alot about it and just put new oil in it and started driving it again.
400 miles later I was 3 quarts of oil low and I went to change my oil again and this time I had chunks of oil ring stuck to the plug. I'd ended up taking out the whole ringland on the piston and it scarred up the cylinder wall pretty bad.
I would pull the spark plugs out and look for ones that are covered in oil. If you find one that is black, that's probably the culprit. You could also do a compression test.
Also, I had a TON of oil in my intake, you might pull the bellows off and look into the TB/Intake and see if there is tons of oil in there.
400 miles later I was 3 quarts of oil low and I went to change my oil again and this time I had chunks of oil ring stuck to the plug. I'd ended up taking out the whole ringland on the piston and it scarred up the cylinder wall pretty bad.
I would pull the spark plugs out and look for ones that are covered in oil. If you find one that is black, that's probably the culprit. You could also do a compression test.
Also, I had a TON of oil in my intake, you might pull the bellows off and look into the TB/Intake and see if there is tons of oil in there.
05-06-2006, 07:08 PM
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Originally Posted by davered00ss
A pic of what you found would help greatly. I have heard of people finding rocker bearings in the oil. They are about the size you described.
. But i know they aren't rocker bearings, i have seen those.
05-06-2006, 07:11 PM
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Originally Posted by LS1Cryo
i have heard something similar on another post except that the little spring was in valve seal area.
.
05-06-2006, 07:12 PM
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Oh yah and just an update: i screwed the drain plug back in and pulled it out again and sure enough i found another piece of this "spring".
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05-07-2006, 01:25 PM
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finally got some pictures.....sorry they aren't real clear but atleast you get the general idea of the size.....
please help.....i have a final on monday and then i am gonna drop the oil pan and see what else is inside. God i hope its not rings!
please help.....i have a final on monday and then i am gonna drop the oil pan and see what else is inside. God i hope its not rings!
05-07-2006, 03:21 PM
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Originally Posted by EDS01SS
that looks like one of your seal springs.that maybe from your rear main seal and why your getting oil residue at the back of the pan area.
05-07-2006, 03:36 PM
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thanks for the replies.....the thought of it being a rear main seal had crossed my mind too but i have never seen a rear-main seal on a LS1 so i didn't know what one consisted of. Thaks for all the help.
Also....what all is involved with replacing the rear-main seal? Pull transmission? or do i need to drop the pan too?
Also....what all is involved with replacing the rear-main seal? Pull transmission? or do i need to drop the pan too?
05-07-2006, 04:51 PM
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thanks for the help! This will be the third time for me to pull the transmission in 83,000 miles! First time @ 37,000 b/c of tranny locked up, second to install centerforce DF clutch. and now this. Oh well.....at least its not anything bigger! Now that money can go to something more useful!
Now that money can go to something more useful! 
05-07-2006, 10:21 PM
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maybe this will help a little. i took the pan off of my motor (370 swap) and i found the same looking spring in the pickup screen. now that someone mentioned it, my rear seal started leaking about a month or 2 before. i found this kinda wierd bacause it had about 140k on it and it had never leaked before.
05-07-2006, 11:11 PM
#17
Since you said the car was smoking, I'd bet on it being from a valve stem seal. The rear main would not let any oil into the combustion chamber!
Removing the valvecovers and having a badass flashlight on hand might help you to find it, although those dual springs aren't going to help too too much.
Removing the valvecovers and having a badass flashlight on hand might help you to find it, although those dual springs aren't going to help too too much.
05-07-2006, 11:19 PM
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yeah I thought about it being the valve stem seal. But the car isn't fully tuned yet with the cam I have, so its running rich as hell, which could cause the smoke. However I will have a look just to be safe.
Originally Posted by TheBlurLS1
Since you said the car was smoking, I'd bet on it being from a valve stem seal. The rear main would not let any oil into the combustion chamber!
Removing the valvecovers and having a badass flashlight on hand might help you to find it, although those dual springs aren't going to help too too much.
Removing the valvecovers and having a badass flashlight on hand might help you to find it, although those dual springs aren't going to help too too much.
