Metal Shavings in oil filter!!

[Hatterasguy]

What the $%$)&%$&*)%^. I just changed the oil today, and I found copper color and silver colored metal shavings in the filter element! The filter was only in there 500 miles! I changed the oil when I got the car but I hadn't run the engine in a while and it was cold when I did it. So I changed it again today thinking it would be a good flush. This is bad I cannot afford $3,500 for a short block. I'm a little angry now I thought these cars were supposed to be good. I can't beleive its that bad because the oil pressure is 1.5-2 bar at idle and at 3 the rest of the time. What should I do? Could it run a while like this? Or should I get an oil test done and see if I can fix it now? There seemed to be a fair number of shavings in the filter. I'm not to happy, I can't beleive this now I have a $1k parts car, I can't sell it knowing this! If I keep it short block time can't be to far away. Even if I fix this the transmission is still leaking and original. Ahhhhh. I'm starting to miss my Toyota at least I could get a low mileage complete engine for that for $900. At least the body's still good and the interior is nice. I'll have to keep telling myself that.
Car is a 1987 300SDL 234k

[sixto]

What's the history of the vacuum pump?

Can you pull the sump side cover to see what's in it?

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

First of all things like this don't happen out of the blue. This kind of thing almost always occurs due to something imposed on the engine, not just because it is a particular brand engine. Someone might have run it briefly without oil or who knows what?

Since the shavings are copper it sure sounds like engine bearings. You are doing the right thing by lookiing for shavings and watching closely.

If your oil pressure is still okay mayber there's hope. Keep checking that filter.

Best of luck,

[Kestas]

The color on the shavings could also have come from temper color on steel. It's an easy check -- see if the copper colored particles are magnetic.

[Hatterasguy]

I checked to see if they were magnetic, there not. I am going to run it another 500 miles and get an oil test done. The boat yard I work at does them all of the time. I can't beleive it's bearings the oil pressure is always around 1.5-2 bar at idle, and pegs when I drive it. Right now I'm just fed up with it. If it is the bearings going south I'm going to sell it localy and let someone else deal with it. I need a reliable car to get to school and don't have $4k to put in the bottem end. If I can get $5k for the car locally I'll be alright. I'll probably buy another W126 theres others out their.