Metal shavings in vtec solenoid. HELP.

young_

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Not sure how common this is but when I typed into google "metal shavings in" metal shavings in vtec solenoid was the first suggestion. I'm guessing it's a somewhat common occurrence? Bad or not bad, common nonetheless.





I know it's not good, but my question is, HOW bad is it? I'm pretty sure this is the first time this gasket has been replaced in the car's lifetime so it may not even be a problem as of now. I have no idea how long those shavings have been trapped in there. The car has 174k miles on it with the original motor. My understanding is that something is, or was at one time, slowly wearing apart. Any ideas? Simple checks I can do?

There are NO shavings on the dipstick, NO shavings in the oil pan, and I do routine oil changes.

Any and all help is much appreciated, as always.
 

JohnS.

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I'm curious as well. I should probably change my gasket out considering my motor has 221k miles on it and it's never been done. I'll have to see if mine has metal shavings as well.
 


Ej8Kid

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Wow, to be on the safe side get a magnectic oil drain plug.
 

young_

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Wow, to be on the safe side get a magnectic oil drain plug.
What is this, how does it work, and how will it help?
 


young_

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Its that plug in your oil pan. A magnetic one will help collect metal shavings.

That looks bad. lol but aight, so it'll pretty much collect metal shavings as the oil circulates? Sounds good. Can I pick up one of these at any autozone/ parts store?
 

JohnS.

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I thought the OEM one was partially magnetic from the factory?

If you can't find them locally, I know MFactory sells some that are apparently very strong.
 

Trekk

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Napa and autozone type shops tend to have them in stock, but most of the time, the people behind the counter are morons. Best bet is to take the plug with you, so they can check the size of it.

Also if you want an idea of what shape your motor is in, w/o pulling it a part you can send a oil sample to these guys, it cost $25.
http://www.blackstone-labs.com

This is a sample from my car.

 

obracer12

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you can get a blox set of magnetic plugs for your trans and motor to collect metal shavings... to be honest it is very common in mechanical systems for there to be some material loss..

change your oil regularly and get the plugs and you should see far less.

From the looks of that amount of metal, it's from your rings/valves and maybe a little from your bearings.. it's very common and not that bad.
 

2slo4u

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and its pretty fun putting the plug back in cause it just sticks to everything
 

krooked32

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helped a buddy put in a full magnetic plug set. took us an extra added minute or so wrestling the damn thing into the threads. sucker just kept pullin onto everything. its pretty entertaining
 

young_

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helped a buddy put in a full magnetic plug set. took us an extra added minute or so wrestling the damn thing into the threads. sucker just kept pullin onto everything. its pretty entertaining
This sounds hilarious. Yet helpful :D What all comes in a plug set? radiator drain plug too? Because I'm not sure exactly how THAT would help.

But anyways, the oil leak is gone now that I replaced that gasket, and I'll be sure to keep a close eye on the metal. Appreciate it
 


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