Oil change - found some bits in the pan
 

Is it normal to have a bit of swarf come out during an oil change for a 100k mile car?
I did a 3rd oil change by myself, after 8months and 4000 miles, and this time round I decided to sieve the oil as it came out with a fine sieve - except I forgot to do the same when emptying the filter housing. So I dont know if the bits are from this oil change or previous - sieve didnt catch anything I found them in the oil pan when I was panning for gold :)

The black bits are crunchy and fragile.

Any shared experiences much appreciated.

That's called tea leafing and is caused by using low quality oil and cheap petrol. give it a forte oil flush and only use quantum synta 5W30 and VPower or BP Ultimate.</p>

Thanks Conan, its reassuring that its normal. I always use Quantum / Castrol Edge 5w30 and V-power, except about two years ago in Europe I had to use some French fuel in an emergency, maybe that was the cause.

There where also 3 tiny aluminium bits, nothing to worry about?

Castrol Edge is not a good choice. while it meets the VAG standard it is not as good as Quantum. it's also dearer. the aluminium is a tad more of a worry. if it where me I would whip of the sump and check the oil pump filter. flush and change my oil.

Thanks, thats a bit more to think about. I'm going to visit Ben when I get back from holiday abouts some other work so I could ask him about this too.

I am confused about Castrol, I remember on Tyresmoke there was a lot of oil discussion, one post said Castrol makes Quantum as well, but they gave the opposite advice, that Edge is better than Quantum because of the additives. Confused.

It may not have been on tyresmoke it may have been a post on rs246. I tried to find it but just came accross this post, I think the conclusion at the end was they are the same:
http://forum.rs246.com/viewtopic.php...83919&start=45

Thats the other thing I forgot to mention. I dont know if its a good thing or a bad thing, or even if I imagined it, but since switching to Castrol Edge (from Quantum) I have not had to top up the oil noticibly in about 10,000 miles. With Quantum I had to top up between oil changes.

Hey Mike - Quantum and Edge are both made by Castrol. Quantum is the trade name for Castrol's oil...Edge is the retail brand but effectively they are the same. Castrol Edge replaced the previous Castrol SLX range but they are all in all the same specifications and blended from the same plants...just different names so wouldn't worry about one being better than the other. Agree that retail prices (Edge) is more expensive...but it is much harder to get hold of Quantum as a normal consumer and is usually only sold to franchised and independent workshops.

Oli

I use castrol but 10W60

sorry! looks like false alarm on the aluminium bits.

I forgot to mention I also had to replace the oil filter drain plug because I chewed it up last time because I didnt push the hex all the way in and because its a helfrauds hex so the fit was a bit loose.
So this time I chewed it up some more getting it out, and that was all taking place above the oil pan. I test fitted a couple of the bits back into the gouges of the plug under a magnifying glass and they seem to fit.

I'm turning into a complete engine hypochondriac :ROFL: