Chunks in oil

O

onlydarian

Member
Apr 8, 2025
34
Did an oil change on my 80 Z28 yesterday and found quite a few chunks, however the magnet didn’t pick up much so I’m not sure what all those particles could be? The filter was also pretty clean, so I’m kind of stumped. Considering doing an oil analysis, but figured I’d check here first. Thanks!
 

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CorkyE

CorkyE

Veteran Member
Lifetime Gold Member
Nov 4, 2004
12,631
Ringgold, GA
You said the magnet didn't pick up much, but did pick up some?
Appears to me there is more material in the filter than thought.
Can you get your hands on an inspection camera and go up the drain hole?
Do you have an oil pressure gauge, not just the idiot light?
If the engine is running leaps and bounds better than when you bought it, the engine may have lived a sedentary lifestyle before and your shaking things up.
 
O

onlydarian

Member
Apr 8, 2025
34
CorkyE said:
You said the magnet didn't pick up much, but did pick up some?
Appears to me there is more material in the filter than thought.
Can you get your hands on an inspection camera and go up the drain hole?
Do you have an oil pressure gauge, not just the idiot light?
Click to expand...
Yes it did pick up some. I attached a picture of a paper towel which shows what the magnet picked up. What would I be looking for with the camera? And no oil pressure gauge
 
CorkyE

CorkyE

Veteran Member
Lifetime Gold Member
Nov 4, 2004
12,631
Ringgold, GA
Looking for other material in the pan.
Pressure gauge should tell you if bearing are (going) bad. You can get an inexpensive mechanical gauge to test with.
 
J

junkyarddawg

Veteran Member
May 20, 2016
617
Central Florida
Looks like a fair amount of carbon in there which will vary from case to case but in general you should plan on pulling the pan to inspect, clean and reseal based on condition and findings. The carbon can eventually restrict the flow of oil into the pump as the screen becomes clogged and this can be the beginning of the end for the engine. There are different ways to look at this and various repair levels can be applied based on actual conditions and findings but if you want to make sure that you have all the bases covered the removal of the engine is the best way to go or if you don’t want to know about the overall condition of the engine, or not in a position to go deeper into it, then just leave it as is and try to enjoy the vehicle with a fresh oil and filter change.
 
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