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Oil filter full of metal shavings 6.0 Ford

43K views 32 replies 9 participants last post by  G555DP1 
#1 ·
Driving down highway and it started smoking (black smoke) turned to blue while trying to limp home and quit. Has not run since. Checked oil filter and it is full of metal shavings. Help
 
#2 ·
I will not be able to help, but I would suggest listing year, mileage, any other issues and maybe even your list of mods(if any) and any previous work done so that the people around here who have knowledge can help better.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the reply, this unit has been a pain in my butt since I bought it. It is 100% stock and has only 100K on it. Purchased as a new 2004 in the F250 4 x 4 with the 2003 model year stuffed in there. Only used rarely to pull a 14000# 5th wheel on trips of no more than 50 miles. This has been a real disappointment to me and most probably my last Ford Truck. Had the ICP sensor changed at 40K and then the FICM at 90K and now this. Was at a dealer in MI and told it would take $2000 just to start repairs with no promises as to bottom line. I had to try to limp home. I'm a decent wrench and will just tear it down myself. I always wanted to know what made these tick. Norm
 
#5 ·
Dealer told me that I needed #8 injector and EGR and maybe #1 injector. I did remove the driverside valve cover and at that point it looked like a hospital operating room. After putting back together, it had a sluggish crank so just 'cause I am a nice guy I thought I would change the oil and filter and here I am. Did not even give a hint of starting. Norm
 
#6 ·
First thing I would do is find out what kind of metal is in the filter. whether it's steel or whatever will tell you where to start looking.

if it is steel I'd start by taking out the high pressure pump, looking at the IPR screen and inspecting the low pressure pump. Really I don't know if high pressure pumps can fail in this manner ???? but it's a place to start. If the pump is fine and you suspect lifter/cam then you might as well yank the engine at that point
 
#7 ·
This would be a walk in the park if I could just find an OEM service manual to assist. I do a lot of 2 cycle engine rebuilding by ear now but at least had service manuals at one time. I just do not know enough about the inner workings of these compression units.
 
#9 ·
#10 ·
Did the dealer do cylinder cutout tests? How did they come up with the number 1 and 8 injector issues? Did it have logged cylinder contribution codes?

If you found gold looking metal it sound like bearing material. If it has a dead miss and is logging cylinder contribution codes I would start with doing a compression check on that cylinder.
 
#11 · (Edited)
They used the dealer only IDS scanner which I would like to get a hold of for my personal use. It has gotten to the point where cost is no longer an obstacle. I am tired of being held ransom by these dealerships etc. All the metal is silver in color so I think that eliminates bearings. I will refill crankcase with oil and install a new filter and just crank a few time to fill engine with oil and park for winter. I just picked up a 2011 GMC to go along with my 1991 GMC that has never seen the inside of a shop and it has 500,000 on it. This is going to be a bit more complicated than a bottom end rebuild. Visit my site at CHRYSLEROUTBOARDS and click on the "Ford Diesel" button from homepage. Norm
 
#12 ·
It occured to me in my waking hours this morning that what has happened here is the HPOP has failed and that is where the metal is from. Over the last couple weeks I remember saying to myself that damn oil pressure is taking longer and longer to show an acceptable reading on the oil gauge. It used to jump right up there after starting and just recently was taking a good 15 seconds but then managed to carry good oil pressure even when hot. Any comments would be appreciated - I am already kicking myself in the a__. Norm
 
#13 ·
Well, the 'gauge' on the dash represents low-pressure oil. So your HPOP may very well be fine. However, if you were in fact having low pressure oil pump problems, that would cause all kinds of possible engine destroying issues.
 
#14 ·
well I have had at least the drivers side valve cover off and it is nice and clean, and the reason I had that off is because dealership quoted me replacement of #8 and #1 injectors. It was still running and I was trying to nurse it home when it quit. It is not seized but cranks like it will never fire. With the ferrous metal shaving I was just guessing it might be the oil pump coming apart. I need all the input I can get before I jump into something I have never done before.
 
#15 ·
Before you jump in and start tearing stuff apart I would figure out why it isn't running. It's probably and oil related issue, but could be a low pressure or high pressure problem.

I would start with seeing how much oil pressure it's building while cranking. Is the oil pressure gauge moving up when cranking? On your truck the oil pressure gauge is more like a dummy gauge. As soon as it builds 7 psi then the oil pressure switch closes and the gauge moves up. It's not a variable pressure reading sensor. Best thing to do is put a manual gauge on it. You can either take out the oil pressure switch or the oil temp sensor and tap in there, or there is a comp check fitting on the front of the oil cooler housing, just under the intake. It's a b*tch to get to though.

Another test is to pull the oil filter out, hold down the oil filter drain valve, then have someone crank the engine. Oil should start filling up the oil filter housing almost instantly. If it starts filling the housing up then your low oil pressure is probably fine and you have a high pressure oil leak.

If you have a bad enough high pressure oil leak it will cause it not to build enough low oil pressure to never move the gauge in the dash. So even if you're not seeing the gauge move in the dash don't assume it's a low oil pressure issue. Do the test with the oil filter out to isolate the issue.

I once had one that took forever to build low oil pressure and took about 30 seconds of cranking to start. When it was warmed up and running oil pressure would drop to less then 10 psi. Turned out the HPOP was coming apart and gushing out oil out of the back shaft seal.

If the low pressure system seems ok then I would suspect a high pressure issue. It would be best to verify ICP readings with a scan tool. If ICP isn't building to 500 psi then it won't start. With all that metal in the system it probably got in the IPR. You could try pulling the IPR and seeing what the screen on the end of it looks like.

When it was running did it seem like it was missing real bad? Like it might have had a dead hole?
 
#16 ·
I really appreciate your input on this. I believe I may have messed this up myself by trying to limp home from the Ford dealer but just could not afford or justify having them tear into it without some kind of estimate. When I left the dealer it started like a champ, and after stopping several times and restarting it on my route I felt confident I could make it home (200 miles). After about 25 miles it started to puff more black and developed a miss and shortly thereafter (10 miles or so at 60mph) it started that ugly blue smoke and a definite sound like spark knock and then lost all power and shut down. It is not seized but when I try to crank it over it sounds like it is laboring. The flat bed service home was $600 but better than having it apart at a dealer. I have only removed and replaced the driver side valve cover because that is where the laboring seemed to be coming from. It is nice and clean. The discovery of metal in oil came after all this because upon checking oil level it appeared to high, however did not show water or smell of diesel. Crankcase had almost 6 gallons in it. I was going to just add the exact amount of oil (per the owners manual - that damn dipstick gives erroneous readings anyways) and a new filter to see it that made any different first. I am not afraid to take this apart once I understand what makes it tick - have raced and rebuilt several big block Chevy's in my youth.
 
#17 ·
It almost sounds like you had an injector come apart or something has happened to one of the cylinders. If an injector acts up and dumps fuel in the cylinder it will sound just like piston slap or rod knock does in a gas engine. Driving it more might have wiped the cylinder but that's just a guess at this point. If Ford told you #8 was bad then I would start with that cylinder. A compression test would tell you real quick if that's the issue. Pulling the valve covers isn't going to show you much, especially if you didn't get the oil rails out of the way and inspect the rockers.

Do you have any way to check codes?
 
#18 ·
Well I am pushing forward, I do not see any metal at all in the valve train area. Went out the other day and bought myself a new GMC so now I can use this as a learning tool and post all the info I come across to help others. Valves and push rods appear to be intact and unfortunately I now live in a real remote area (up in northern Ontario, moved here from the Motor City when I retired). Will have the injector out tomorrow, had to drive 60 miles just to find a #40 torx that was long enough to reach. Not really sure where I will go from here as I have not determined how to check compression yet. Information on how to check compression would be appreciated. I really do not want to pull the heads at this point as water leaks are the only thing that has not gone wrong yet. Do not have a scanner that will communicate with this system but it is on my Xmas list - the VCM IDS by Rotunda is what I will probably get ($2800 + or - a few$) but up here I would have a monopoly on repairs to these beasts. Unless of course you have some other reader that might work. I have used the prementioned IDS before and they are quite good. Closest Ford dealer is more than 200 miles away.
 
#20 ·
Checked out their site, price is right but it looks like you might have to spend up to $1400. for all software. Could not determine if single application (6.
0) would be available. Going to call them after the long weekend. Thanks, Norm
 
#21 ·
AE is under $400 for the ford bundle, thats all you need. Its 1400 or more if you get EVERYTHING, but that would cover imports as well, and obviously you don't need that.
 
#22 ·
Have not figured out how to do a compression test yet, but it is coming. Did find source of metal - #8 injector tip went away. Posting this pic just because I can't be the only one who has not seen this. Can't detect any metal in cylinder with small flexible magnet and contours of top of piston feel identical to the others. Will probably try to vacuum out this cylinder anyways, stuff in a new injector and see just what happens.
 
#24 ·
2004/2003 Ford F-350 with 6.0 Wrecker/tow truck.

my baby started pop like popcorn maker then started running real nice seen it was smoking only black when gave it fuel. turbo covered in oil and fuel . the shop where work bing done found metal in filter . Im figering injectors and turbo is there anything else i should be looking at rockers and covers look ok. Please help me fix my baby... Dave
 
#25 ·
Well I tell you what happened to mine. Started to smoke black and got worse. I tried to nurse it home and ended up finding metal shavings in oil filter after it quit and would not restart. I do all my own work so ended up finding the #8 injector end had broke off causing the smoke and I am afraid I have some piston or valve damage. Will tear it down when it warms up. This is apparently a common thing with that year injectors (they have up graded them since). Visit my website at www.chrysleroutboads.com and click on the "Ford Diesel" button to read more. Norm
 
#26 ·
thats scarey still runs. so hopping my baby not to sick.

when we did fire it back up to find out things. lots of fuel out tail pipe and turbo. sounds like injector or a few in jectors oil seems to be ok. from pump.
rocks and almost everything under covers seems ok. almost looks to clean.
guys are talking about a duramax swap. not something i'd like puts it to far from ford for my blood. want try and stay true to ford. anyone know where the metal could come from other then pistons. runs nice "smokes,fuel getting in oil, No lose of power, please help Dave
 
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