2005 FE550. 3rd owner, 358 hours, 13000km, unsure when it was last rebuilt, or ever. I’m getting lots of metal sludge and shavings on my drain plug magnet and I’m trying to track down the source.
The plug in the picture is after 1.8 hours (fresh oil) and there’s quite a bit of stuff on it. The largest chunk was 2.5-3mm long and was super thin, so it didn’t seem like it came from a blunt force trauma.
I inspected the top end and the follower bearings seemed OK. They turned freely and I couldn’t feel any radial play (by hand).
CFBs:
The cam looked OK to the eye, but the close-up photos are actually showing a lot more pitting and wear than I noticed in person. Still, nothing as bad as other examples of “cam failure” that I’ve seen. The profile was still intact and looked OK at arms length.
Does the cam (especially the intake) look worn enough to cause metal sludge and shavings in the oil? OR should I start looking further down into the engine? (I know, if the cam is really worn, the bottom end likely will be too)
Intake:
Exhaust:
Thanks
The plug in the picture is after 1.8 hours (fresh oil) and there’s quite a bit of stuff on it. The largest chunk was 2.5-3mm long and was super thin, so it didn’t seem like it came from a blunt force trauma.
I inspected the top end and the follower bearings seemed OK. They turned freely and I couldn’t feel any radial play (by hand).
CFBs:
The cam looked OK to the eye, but the close-up photos are actually showing a lot more pitting and wear than I noticed in person. Still, nothing as bad as other examples of “cam failure” that I’ve seen. The profile was still intact and looked OK at arms length.
Does the cam (especially the intake) look worn enough to cause metal sludge and shavings in the oil? OR should I start looking further down into the engine? (I know, if the cam is really worn, the bottom end likely will be too)
Intake:
Exhaust:
Thanks