Forget the clean pan, drain the oil through a piece of cheese cloth.

I think the old Hays or Chilton's manuals used to have a section of what to look for for different types of damage.

IIRC;
Thin metallic flakes, usually not magnetic were bearings.
Black pieces of magnetic metal were cracked rings.
Very fine metal shavings/filings (Magnetic) were oil pump.

I will try and arrange for a compression and leak down test. So is it very likely that little black chunk I posted a pic of above could be a chunk of a piston ring? It was magnetic, but not very. Magnet picked it up, but it easily fell off.

First thing I thought of when I looked as those pics was a ring. I hope I'm wrong.

If in fact my rings are bad, I know for a fact the engine will be toast. There's no way they could go bad and not damage the wall...

It depends on how deep and/or wide the scratches are. You "can" get lucky sometimes and the bore won't be too far gone. The filter you just put in looks smashed like it was not fully seated in the housing. Was it? Sometimes it feels seated when it needs to go in another 1/4"

Since the car is parked for the time being, i would pull the oil pan. It's not terrible hard to do. If you have some bearings or something similar wearing prematurely like you think, you WILL see evidence of it in the pan. Good luck.

Aaron

I will be doing a compression test tomorrow, but can somebody walk me through it? I am also buying a cylinder inspection camera, but the one I found doesn't take pictures, so I well take a picture of the screen and see what it shows up like and post it here. As far as leakdown, I can't find anybody that loans them out, so I am hoping a friend at a local shop will borrow me his. Seeing as the car still runs great, I am hoping maybe that little rock like thing was nothing major. Is it possible that it's carbon buildup?

I would def hold off on the cosmetic stuff you are doing to your car until you figure what's going on. Sorry for the bad luck you are experiencing

You will have to pull one of the plugs out of each cylinder (see the DIY spark plug change thread if you don't know how), unplug fuel pump (not sure which fuse you could pull to accomplish this part), and then put the compression tester end in the spark plug hole and crank the engine over a few times. Do so for each cylinder.

Doing the leakdown will be a little bit more difficult as you will need an air compressor, and also will need to make sure you are on the compression stroke for each cylinder you are testing. So it is a little bit more involved.

Make sure that the inspection camera you are buying will fit down into the spark plug hole. Most of the cheaper ones you can buy, have a head that is too large to move around. And buying a good borescope is a bit pricey, especially if just using it once.

If that was a piece of carbon that somehow made it into that area, it would not be magnetic at all

Good luck.

Aaron

Personally, i would pull the pan before doing the above stuff. I kind of doubt it is part of a piston ring.

Aaron

As far as leakdown, I have a compressor. I just think it would be a pita to get each cylinder perfectly at TDC with no valves open. The piece was magnetic, but only a TINY bit. It picked it up, then I moved it and it fell off, but I lost it in the process. And the camera has a 3' length, and the monitor is pretty small. The cable is very thin too, it would def. fit in the combustion chamber.

Thats exactly what I am doing. Wheels and tires were already paid for so I have to get those, but the rest is on the back burner for now. I figured it its deemed a loss, I can get a built bottom end from BI-Performance for about the same as a used motor. I would rather do this, than buy an other motor for obvious reasons.

You think it's from the extra 2500 miles? I've been doing my oil change yearly 3500-5000 miles. I think this year I will do 7500 and 2 years. My car sits 5 days a week ha.

LOL no...that is silly...

Especially if youre using synthetic. It can go twice that with no trouble.

I wonder if you are just unlucky with internal problems due to an early 03 build... Otherwise it seems as though it can be just the fact you have chewed up threads where the filter was and that is the debris you see.

It still breaks down over time though. I would still do it once a year even if your not meeting the milage speciation. I think I only put 2k mi on my s last year but its still getting a oil change.

wow, been reading through the thread, good luck to you man, hope it all works out

/\ God damn!

Personally I liked the last girl he had in his sig, the one in the silverish dress with the huge earrings. She was amazing. Who was that Hyperion?

Oh and to the OP, I don't think it is a ring, I think the black chunk is from the threads on the oil filter housing and shavings/flecks maybe some bearing wear. Leak down/compression tests will tell you much more though. Keep us posted.

Regards

I ordered some valve cover gaskets, voltage regulator, two oil filters and a filter wrench, and spark plugs. All for not even $250. Then my wheels and V12 Evos will be in today, but I may leave them to sit there until I figure the engine won't get damaged from driving. I also ordered one of those chaepie OBD2 bluetooth adapters for the Torque app, just to monitor the car a little more closely. I will be doing the compression test today, but still cant find a leak down tester.

Guys, help me out. I can't decide whether I want to paint the engine bay.. I would do the valve covers, surge tanks, airboxes, and other small things. MAYBE supercharger, I don't know yet. I just ordered some surge tank gaskets in case I want to paint it. I would most likely do black airboxes, red surge tanks and the grey ////AMG lettering on the surge tanks, to try and match the tectite grey. Advice from people who have done this would help. I would use high heat enamel paint on it all.

I looked up some threads about it but didn't find much info on the actual paint process. How long would I have to wait between coats, and final drying time? I just want to give the engine bay another reason to make me admire it for hours and keep it clean. I am removing the hood insulation and plastic vent thingy as well.

Don't waste time doing anything to the car until you're sure the car is in 100% running condition. Compression test!

I know, I am just assuming nothing is wrong and that this is a fluke. Lol

You know what they say about assuming...