Did an oil change today at 52,500 miles (I'm doing 7,500 mile oil change intervals). I pulled out the filter, and let it fall into the oil catch pan while the oil was draining from the sump.

While tidying everything up afterwards, I found that the filter had a lot of small particles in the pleats. The particles are non-metallic - at least, they don't stick to a magnet, and they feel for all the world like rock/ceramic.

I'm hoping - hoping! - that the drain pain had some grit and stuff collected in it, and as the filter lay in the oil, a lot of the particles got caught up in the filter. However, the particles all look very consistently the same material, and they're embedded deep into the pleats. Anyone know what this might be?

 

It's hard to say from the photos, but my guess is that you're seeing pieces of the polymer chain guides. This isn't uncommon, and it's most likely not an issue.

 

Thanks Dennis - will be researching that. Appreciate the lead!

 

Agree with Dennis: composite plastic chain guide/rail covering.

A small piece can break off and after going through a scavenge pump and the high pressure oil pump get ground into a lot of fine pieces.

Probably not a problem unless you start to hear cam chain noise and a drop of the oil filter housing finds more of the stuff in the filter and in the housing oil. Be sure you dump the filter and oil into a *clean* drain pan if you want to have a look.