Metal in Oil?

1866 Views 8 Replies 7 Participants Last post by exavid, Jun 24, 2005

Newfiewinger

Discussion Starter · Jun 22, 2005

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I found what I think was 2 small shards of metal during my regular oil change. Bothwere about the size of a smallgrain of sand, very small. Is this a serious problem?The bike purrs like a well oiled kitten.

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Grant

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twisty

· #2 · Jun 22, 2005

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Newfiewinger wrote:

I found what I think was 2 small shards of metal during my regular oil change. Bothwere about the size of a smallgrain of sand, very small. Is this a serious problem?The bike purrs like a well oiled kitten.

Grant, you didn't give us the bike model you found the metal in.

In any case weather or not it's a problem depends on what type of metal it is.

If it's steel it probably isn't a problem as it could have easily come from the trans gear dogs. Every time a trans is shifted there is a slight chance of chipping a small amount of metal from the engagement dogs. If the metal is babbit or aluminum then it could be a problem but it could also have been in the engine from new & just washed out now.

It it were my bike that themetal came from I would carefully drain the oil filter, then cut it open, then see what the filter element filtered out. If the filter element is free of metal particles then you probably don't have a problem.

Twisty

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exavid

· #3 · Jun 22, 2005

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Cutting open the oil filter is a good idea. You can check the particles with a magnet, with an integral transmission and a wet clutch it's always possible to get the odd flake or two. If you are really concerned it doesn't cost that much to have an oil analysis done which will tell you how much and what type of metal is present in the oil.

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Newfiewinger

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 22, 2005

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Its an 84 ASP, with 112000 kms. I will cut open the filter and also get an oil analyzis done. Thanks.

Grant

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FitzAl

· #5 · Jun 23, 2005

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Newfiewinger wrote:

I found what I think was 2 small shards of metal during my regular oil change. Bothwere about the size of a smallgrain of sand, very small. Is this a serious problem?The bike purrs like a well oiled kitten.

Thanks

Grant

I wouldn't be personally worried too much. Maybe change oilo and filter and check it at the next change. I would be more worried if there was an amount of finer ground filings in the oil.

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Andrewl

· #6 · Jun 23, 2005

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Has any aspect of the bikes performance altered. (gear changes, engine noises, clutch sticking etc)

If the answer is no to the above I wouldn't think you have anything to worry about. The oil filter is doing its job.

My geuss is that the metal has come from that horrible clunky gearbox that the 1200's are cursed with. (I ride a 87 aspy)

You did very well to spot the metal, unless grains of sand are bigger on your side of the world.

Andrew

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rcmatt007

· #7 · Jun 23, 2005

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Andrewl wrote:

Has any aspect of the bikes performance altered. (gear changes, engine noises, clutch sticking etc)

If the answer is no to the above I wouldn't think you have anything to worry about. The oil filter is doing its job.

My geuss is that the metal has come from that horrible clunky gearbox that the 1200's are cursed with. (I ride a 87 aspy)

You did very well to spot the metal, unless grains of sand are bigger on your side of the world.

Andrew

so far, I have seen (mine being one of them) at least two threads on the bike having problems being stuck (and then unstuck) in third gear. Mine seems to be working now. Several years ago a national tranmission chain used to put metal filings in the tranmission fluid drained off to get people to rebuild their transmission.

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Renegade

· #8 · Jun 24, 2005

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My thinking is that any metal in the oil is not a good sign, no matter what the cause. I realize that it may not be problem now, but it's a heads up that something unpleasant is going on inside the engine. Look closely at the oil filter and if there are a lot of metal particles trapped there, the engine should be torn apartand inspected. If you can catch a bad rod or main bearing now, the cost of repairs will be far less than if the engine blows on you while driving out in no mans land some weekend or late at night.

I found one steel chip from a GL1500 in the oil. Inspection showed it came from a machining burr that was not removed from the crank shaft at the factory... No damage anywhere inside, but worth the look see...

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exavid

· #9 · Jun 24, 2005

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Some metal in the oil or filter isn't as threatening as it would be in a car engine. It's most likely from the transmission or clutch. A filter analysis would go a long way to determine if it's bearing material or steel. Basically if there are no other symptoms there's not much else you can do about it anyway. Keep an eye on it, maybe change the oil and filter after 1000 more miles and take a look at the filter again. If it's still showing metal then there might be a problem. It's entirely possible that some metal from the transmission, clutch, starter, primary chain, etc. was buried in some gunk and a change of oil brand or some such loosened it up and it got into circulation.

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