Plastic Junk in Oil Filter

[Nemesis]

I found these specs of plastic in my oil filter the other day.
They are orangish-red in color.
The square piece in the upper right is about 1/16" on each side.
They are very thin like paper thin.
What you see in the photo is about all that was in the entire oil filter.
The airplane is a 1980 K model with a Cont TSIO-360 LB engine.
I have a Merlin wastegate but no intercooler.
There has been no recent engine work - not even a spark plug removal - nothing.
Can anybody think of some thin plastic part inside the engine that might be coming apart?

Dave

[Marauder]

Any chance something fell into the oil filler tube?

[kmyfm20s]

If you use Camguard it could be the lock ring from the lid.

[Jeff_S]

Possibly something that got sucked in through the alternate air door? That provides an unfiltered path the intake manifold when it's open. That almost looks like scat tubing to me.

[takair]

Is it hard or flexible? Could it be a piece of gasket from the accessory section? Sometimes they are a little oversized and become brittle.

[N201MKTurbo]

Somebody may have used red RTV to assemble something on the engine and it is deteriorating.

[BillC]

I believe I've read somewhere that the Continental alternator has an orange/red collar(?) that can disintegrate and end up in the oil.

Good Luck,

Bill

[chrisk]

Maybe Continental can give some hints if you send it to them?  And there is always the possibility that it was introduced into the oil or oil filter during the manufacturing process.  How many hours are on the engine?  Can you describe the parts a little more? Are they hard, soft, flexible, stretchy, sharp edges?

[Wakeup]

I think it a puzzle. Put them all together and see what it makes. Troy

[jlunseth]

Its odd.  The pieced at the very bottom looks like it had a manufactured perforation.

 

I can tell you, though, that if you have stuff swimming in the oil you need to have the quick drain disassembled, cleaned, and check for debris, and probably you should drain the oil out of the pan first.  Small pieces of debris can lodge in the quick drain seal and prevent the quick drain from completely closing.  Running the engine then pressurizes the crankcase and sprays oil out of the quick drain.  It only takes small slivers to do that. 

[Awful_Charlie]

I agree with jlunseth - drain the oil, check the drain valve, and probably worth a screen inspection too. I'd be tempted to flush something through as well when you've got the valve and screen out.

 

My money would be on a retaining ring from an oil or cam guard bottle, but whatever it is, I'm pretty sure you are much better off without it in there - if it gets into the wrong place it could make for a bad day.

 

Just another thought - you are sure it's plastic? I've seen lumps of carbon that colour too, they will crumble when pressed with something hard like a screwdriver

[Guest]

Glue or sealing material from the pleats in the oil filter where the paper media is bonded to the metal end caps. A plastic ring from an oil or Cam Guard bottle can't get through the holes in a suction screen to then be ground up in the oil pump.

Clarence

[Dale Logsdon]

I have seen people use a knife to peal out the seal on the top of an oil jug and create slivers of plastic in the process. The new aeroshell oil jug is red..

[N33GG]

It's a sure sign of running LOP. Happens every time! :-)

[N201MKTurbo]

The oxidizing atmosphere in the combustion chamber caused by the deficit of fuel in a lean burn situation can cause the extreme pressure lubricants contained in some commercial anti-wear products to polymerize and percipate as red flakes.

These red flakes can cause oil leaks, impotency and male pattern baldness.

The effects of the red flakes can be reduced by using take off flaps and are aggravated by flying at night.

[carusoam]

Attempt reassembly to identify what shape it used to be...

Wash the parts to get a good look at the actual color...

Get a good close-up shot of the various original surfaces to help identify what it could have been.

Same idea, on the various new surfaces checking for teeth marks... To see where it might be being ground up...

Wash, rinse, repeat...

One way you know that you have it all is to collect all the parts and identify what it was. Weigh a similar part and compare to the weight of all the bits...

The oil test companies may be able to determine what it is from a chemical point of view. DSC differential scanning calorimeter? Can determine what it is from it's physical properties like heat capacity and melt point. IR microscope may be able to determine it's chemistry by scanning through an IR range...

Typical plastic bottle and cap parts are made of LDPE low density polyethylene. It's melting point is just above the boiling point of water. It may melt in certain parts of the engine and be hard and jam in other parts.

Check with your engine mechanic and/or engine manufacturer of how best to handle this situation. This won't be their first rodeo of it's kind...

Best of luck with this challenge,

-a-

[Piloto]

Check the funnel used. Maybe there was debris on it from where it was stored. Also the pieces mass density by seeing if they sink or float in water, AVGAS and oil. This will help you when comparing with suspected material.

 

José

[Nemesis]

First, thanks for the many quick reply's. I will try to touch on most or all of the suggestions made so that there is a more complete picture regarding these little flakes.

The truth is that it never occurred to me to ground the airplane. If it had been metal then my thought process would have likely been different. The pieces were so small and few and far between, I was just not thinking in that direction. While many might have been writing comments about these little pieces on Wednesday, I was flying my personal airliner to mom's house for Christmas. I put 2-1/2 hours on the fresh oil and it will have more than 5 when I get back. With more than 5 hours on the new oil and filter, it will be a good time to waste the new filter and see if it has captured any more of this junk. Thanks for that good suggestion Paul.

For a more complete description of the little pieces, they are 1/16" or smaller. The photo was taken on a white sheet of paper and I think that the orangish-red color comes through accurately. Their thickness is similar to scotch tape but they are more brittle than tape. One comment suggested varnish that had built up and chipped off of some internal part. I like that description but these writings are the beginning of the investigation, not the end. By the time I found them in the filter, the oil was already drained and mixed with other oil making a sample for Blackstone contaminated. I didn't even think about keeping the offending little chunks until I saw some of the comments here. As such, I pitched them in the trash. If I find any more, be sure that they will go to Blackstone with the next oil sample.

As far as being plastic parts from a bottle cap or retainer ring, I highly doubt that. The only oil that I use is Exxon Elite with a gold bottle and no other additives. The only funnel that I use is the same blue Phillips oil bottle with the bottom cut out that I have had for 4 years. Anybody that uses Phillips oil can say that the neck on that bottle is very narrow so as to make it difficult to introduce foreign matter. As far as I can remember, there has been nothing red in color anywhere near my oil filler opening, that includes miniature Tonka trucks, thanks Dave.

The filters that I use are Champion 48108. I don't know anything about how the internals are sealed together. I only have seen the rubber seals and such for the pressure valve. I have never cut open a new one to see it clean.

I have had no failures of any accessories. I have no parts that are powder coated. It is definitely not a remnant of scat tubing or from any RTV sealants. This engine has more than 1400 hours on it and has never been opened SMOH.

Dave
 

[Hank]

Dave, when you cut open the next filter, rinse out the inside and see what holds it all together. What's inside the can, what's left on the center post after you remove the filter, etc. if you use the same brand, you'll know if it's from filter construction or not.

[triple8s]

"While performing the pre-purchase inspection, insist that an oil and filter change be accomplished. Make sure the oil filter cartridge is examined for metal contamination. Also, if maintenance personnel find tiny orange rubber slivers in the filter cartridge tell them to suspect the alternator drive clutch is coming apart. We have seen this four or five times thus far so I wouldn't call it a chronic problem, however, it can and does occur. And when it does expect a repair bill somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,500 parts and labor!"

I was reading an article and thought I'd pass this on.

[carusoam]

The OP has a K with a Continental engine...

Could be an alternator clutch...?

Interesting find 888s,

-a-

[triple8s]

Not sure how similar they are but, if it were i? I'd pull the alternator and see if the clutch/alt drive was missing plastic pieces that matched the mystery material and also see just how much of the stuff was unaccounted for, would be a shame to have a piece lock up the oil pump and cause an engine failure.

[jlunseth]

The alt clutch is steel and black rubber and not a way for it to get into the oil as far as I know. 

[BillC]

This is the article I mentioned earlier and triple8 confirmed.

http://www.mooneypilots.com/mapalog/M20SR_prepurchase_inspection.html

[Guest]

Grounding the plane at this point would be an over reaction in my opinion, as would pulling anything off the engine other than the next oil filter.

If the particles are present next time more investigation is warranted. If the alternator drive is failing and the particles are silicone rubber from the drive they should be stretchy. If the filter were loaded with this material it would be a different situation, a few small specs is interesting but not serious.

Clarence