I am guessing that the rough, discolored side is the raw casting side, and the other side is smooth and shiny as it is the side that was shaved by whatever tool was used. Since that side is so smooth, the oil does not stick to it as it does to the rough side.

 

See if post #14 helps.

 

Pics as promised, scale reference was my CF card from my dslr.

 

I can understand the swarf but how did the ECM flash memory get in there? The sump isn't even on the CAN bus.

 

Edit: Please also see my post #30 above, as this one is poorly worded and maybe misleading.

Steve, the chip is there to record any incursions by sump zombies, the very worst kind ...

Matt, how about using one of those oil analysis places or a local university to get a read on exactly what the material is. This might help narrow down the possibilities.

oops, forgot ... and it would be good to give whoever a sample of the oil pan metal itself, if you think it's possible the two are the same. I'm thinking of the shavings being created in the process of machining to create the smooth surface of the oil pan that mates with the block.

 

The shavings look like they came from a surface cut and not an internal drilling. Measure the width of the remnants and best guess on the length and that might give you direction.

 

Is 8GB really enough to store a normal days worth of error codes?

 

The grave situation would be a spun bearing. Haven't heard of (m)any of those on the forum. I am not saying it is but the things that would make me want to investigate: A) those shavings seem to come from a piece that was initially fixed somewhere and exposed to heat AND oil before they were removed (something cooked on one side). If they were there from the creation of the block I would think they would have the same appearance on both sides (as others have hinted or questioned). B) The dimension appears to be about the normal width of a bearing tab? C) The "grooving" nature of the chips as XKRacer described D) Your noise. Odds are it isn't but I am a consummate paranoid and tend to think of the worst scenario and then work my way back to, "Oh I just need air in the tire".

 

Is it just me or can everyone else see the small bit still stuck in between the oil pick up screen and the snout?

I wonder how the pieces got in there? how may miles have rolled on past with no problems? If I was a gambling man (and I am) i'd be putting it back together and run it. Get it out of my mind and don't look back till you hear the screaming and screetching right before the boom from under the hood.

Like most Jaguar problems there doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason just an invoice at the end of the day...

Barry

 

Matt,

I just realized that my post this AM was poorly worded and probably misleading.

I wasn't suggesting you get an oil analysis, but the guys who do those have equipment to measure the concentrations of various metals in a fluid, and they could surely tell you what your metal bits are made of.
This would seem to me a very good thing to know. If it's material used to make bearings, that's ugly, but if it's the material used to make the oil pan, you're probably in the clear.

Good luck.

 

Don't about "that" xeno..... I wouldn't even want a marshmallow hitting my main bearings (or ANY bearings for that matter).

(Cringe)

 

I know those shavings! I've seen them many times. Every time I pulled an oil pan down, those shavings were in the screen. I would not worry about it. I guess the cleansing process for the blocks was less than perfect. Heck, it could still be, I have a 5.0 opened up at work, I'll take a look at the pickup screen and report back.

Those are most definitely from the initial block machining. They got washed out in the oil passages and ended up in the sump screen. Consider this, if those were damaging shavings, then you would HEAR something different.

 

And there you have it, mystery solved! I was hoping a jagtech would stop by to confirm other sightings.

Great thread, I liked all the detective work performed, the conspiracy theories presented (some of you are truly paranoid) and enjoyed the entertaining sidebars as well. I'll follow up when driven to see if the noise is still there or was truly related to aluminum vs screen suction movement. They are very lightweight; all were IN the pickup, none were actually at the bottom of the pan.

 

So I am assuming this noise is nothing like what one would hear from engine damage. That is good news.

PS- I resemble that last remark!

 

Then again, would it have been that the particular engines you opened up were opened up because they were badly built? Opening up the V8's is not really all that common.

 

Those cuttings were made by a milling machine operation on the block. The cutter was a flat one of the same width as the cutting, and hard to say which area it was working in. Judging from the average length of the cuttings, the cutter was machining a hole the circumference of the cutting length. If I had to guess, it was the openings for the cooling system, water pump, etc.

 

The thing about that is, if there's something internal that was mechanically ground by normal operation it would have most likely caused a failure by the time you would see those bits.

 

Nah, whenever I did a timing chain job, i'd drop the pan and remove any debris that may have ended up down there from the tensioners breaking. I did have a couple oil pan gaskets leak so down came the pan then as well. Mind you, not all of them have shavings in them.

 

I had my pan off after a nitwit tire guy jacked the car on the pan. There were no shavings in it.

 

OMG!!!! Really??? Unbelievable, but true.
Vector