8 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHNOT IMS Bearing, but what is it?
Leading reported evidence
Replace oil, i'm guessing 200 or less
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
We will see how many miles he has since we changed the oil, I'm guessing 200 or less.
Leading evidence: 'Replace oil, i'm guessing 200 or less' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Clean oil pickup' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
I would be pulling the sump plate duing the 1st oil change & clean the oil pickup.
Inspect filter & reinstall if you don't see anything
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
Inspect the filter & reinstall if you don't see anything.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
I would be pulling the sump plate duing the 1st oil change & clean the oil pickup.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
Oil sample results determine next oil change interval, but no more than 5,K miles.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
8 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T161109Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
Just did 60k service , 63k, on friends 2001 Boxster S. Bought new, Mobil 1 5-40 since new. 5-7k oil changes. He never opens up the filter. I did because we had it at my house and I always do.
All metal is non-magnetic, looks and feels like aluminum. Engine runs fine and is quiet. He hasn't noticed any changes in oil pressure.
Vario cam pad??
My guess is aluminum is being whittled from the cam bearing journals due to extended oil change intervals for the Mobil 1. Send a oil sample to a lab if possible.
He is on a trip. When he gets back we will pull the filter and get a sample. I want to pull the pan too. He may not want to. He is not very DIY.
Do these engines chew up cam bearings like that? AS I recall the cams run in the aluminum with no shell bearings. If so the least that he could get away with would be a/two new heads, cam cover(s) ... and cam(s)?
What else suffers when this starts? I know you rebuild these engines. What would you do if this was yours?
Complete tear down?
My WAG? Over active imagination. While the metal is real it is aluminum. Nearly the entire engine is aluminum. Over time bits of alum. (flashing mainly) will be shed and after going through possibly a scavenge pump and then the high pressure oil pump will be smashed/mashed and made into very thin flakes which crumble and well, look like what you see.
Hard to imagine how a VarioCam pad could be the source. There's a large composite plastic covering on the rail and where is the plastic?
There would be a heck of a racket, likely cam timing errors as the chain would run with considerable slack.
Absence any noises or signs of any engine trouble my opinion, obviously my non-professional opinion, is the debris is the result of the engine shedding a bit of alum. or perhaps the oil pump ingesting a piece of alum. that had been sloshing around on top of the oil sump plate since day 1.
I note the owner of the car and the car is on a trip. If he and the car make it back without the help of a tow truck that tells you all you need to know about what you found in the filter element means. Nothing.
Every engine I have disassembled has had obvious wear on the cam bearing surfaces including my engine I have owned since it had 15,K miles. So we are all imperfect, but none of the journals I have seen were bad enough to do anything more than smooth the surfaces. Once your friend gets 2000 miles on his new oil, I would pull the oil filter & take a oil sample. Inspect the filter & reinstall if you don't see anything. Oil sample results determine next oil change interval, but no more than 5,K miles. Searching forums leads me to believe Mobil 1 is quick to lose film strength & I think that is a big contributer to that wear. Searching also indicates Castrol Edge 10w/40 is a good substitute for the factory fill. I would be pulling the sump plate duing the 1st oil change & clean the oil pickup.
He is on business. The car is home.
Mac, that is a lot of aluminum for flashing shedding.
We will see how many miles he has since we changed the oil, I'm guessing 200 or less. Filters are cheap enough, we will pull the filter, send an oil sample, and see what else it caught at ~500 miles.
I've owned BMWs for 10 years now. Never saw anything like this.
All it took was 1 oil change and filter examination on my former 996 (which looked much better than those above) and repeated posts like this to scare me away. I sold it after 4 months. Not worth the worry of impending engine failure.
