Reading Tea Leaves (or Magnetic Drain Plug)

Changed the oil today after about 3,000 miles. Tomorrow I will drop the pan to look at the oil intake and begin the process of installing an IMS Guardian. This is only the second oil change since I got the car last August and the first with a magnetic drain plug. Didn't find any metal bits on the magnet or in the filter when I cut it apart. But there was this film on the end of the plug that I wiped off onto this tissue. It is ferrous. It almost looks like anti-seize compound. I haven't used a magnetic drain plug before, but this isn't something I was expecting. I took an oil sample before I drained the oil, but I won't get those results back for several days. Any ideas what it could be?

Seems like more than expected, but the substance itself is normal.

Fairly normal amount of material I'd say... This is usually camshaft/lifter/timing chain wear metals. Here is one we pulled today.

Quotes source post: 10266081

This. My F150 spits out that much metal every change. Looks like Antisieze compound on the drain plug and rags. Unless there is 'chip' sized piece I wouldnt worry too much. I understand the IMS bearing could spit out pieces but a sealed bearing shouldn't.

Strangely we have not had many magnetic drain plug photos in the forum. so it is hard to compare. Hopefully this thread will help more people posting their magnetic drain plug or compare. I have had similar metal fuzz on mine. I'll see if I can find a picture

The pico I posted is fine for a 5K mile service interval using the LN mag plug, which is by far the strongest available @23#. In particulate testing we have found that most of the debris is from the timing chains.

Today I dropped the pan. No metal present but I did find several brown bits that I assume are from the chain guide (?) Also one more small bit (about the size of the smallest one pictured here) as well in the oil intake tube screen. Anything to be worried about or normal for a 70,000 mile engine? (I suspect this is the first time the pan has been removed and examined.) Before closing the pan back up, I installed a new stainless baffle. I had to remove some of the red gasket to get it to fit flush, leaving a slight gap. I seem to remember reading others having to do that as well. I was routing the wires for the IMS Guardian switch and was having a hard time feeding the wire, so I removed the climate control module. Since it was out, I decided to move it to the bottom position. With the top open, I could install my cup holder cassettes and remove the CD holders. With the CD holders out, I could add back a pocket.... Next thing you know, the center console looked like this: Getting the wires for the climate control module to the bottom slot was a lot tougher than I had planned, but eventually everything went back together. I still have to hook up the power for the IMS Guardian and finish routing the wires to the back of the car. I still haven't been able to figure out where the plug is that was shown as an example of where to route the IMS Guardian wire through the bulkhead. Is it in the foot-well behind the driver or somewhere under the rear seat?

Wow! You disassembled a lot more of the dash than I have ever seen to route the wires for the Guardian.. I typically pull the two sides off the dash cluster and route the wires behind the center part easily, it takes about 10 minutes to do. These are different for every year and model of car. There are no "rules" when routing the wires, use any pass through point that you want, or you can drill your own hole if you want. Don't be afraid to get creative here, as long as the wires are not routed near heat sources or where road hazards may exist, there really is no wrong way to do this. Note: When tightening the MCD sensor do not over torque the unit. The torque value is 19 lb/ft and not 37 like the stock plug. Our latest kits (produced in 2013) include a special socket that allows the unit to be easily torqued to avoid damaging the sensor. When using a longer wrench that fits the MCD sensor its really easy to over torque and never realize it.

Thanks for the quick reply Jake. I've been wanting to install the cup holders for a while so this proved to be a good excuse. Should I be overly concerned about the brown bits?

Them brown bits ain't nuthin! You oughta see the brown bits my dog, Lucybowels, leaves when some body startles her. Damn dog! Sorry couldn't resist. Hope they are not serious.

may I suggest a UOA

My OCI last year was about 6,000 km or 4,000 miles, the stuff on my magnetic drain plug is like yours in color and consistency, it's like a black paste, but I have less than 1/10 of what you show in the first pix.

While the black goo seems excessive, I've not seen anything to concern me when I pull a mag chip detector and find that: when you start finding chips and slivers, it's time to dig deeper.

Quotes source post: 10271091

I'm hoping the black goo was just because it was the first oil change while using a magnetic plug. I'll know more when I change it next time I suppose, which should be in about 3 months. When I pulled the pan I was surprised by how much oil stayed in the pan. I can see how junk could perpetuate between oil changes.

Quotes source post: 10268073

Yup, exactly like mine

the oem x51 also have a slight gap at that location. I don't think they wanted it watertight at the bottom.

Its impossible unless the pan is machined, the tolerances from castings are so low that large gaps are unavoidable. Machining = $$

Got the report today. Thankfully, nothing significant to report. First sample is after I picked up the car and drove it home 1500 miles. I actually did change the filter as well as the oil for that one, and I put in the magnetic plug. Second sample was about 2,000 miles later just to get a better baseline since I didn't know what oil had been used before I bought the car. Then sample #3 was when I installed the new baffle and IMS Guardian (photo above that started this thread.) Anybody see any trends to be worried about? (Other than the fact that I keep filling out the form incorrectly for lube time....) Click image for larger version.