Brads Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Decided today to drain the oil tank (1st time in my ownership) and have noticed quite a bit of magnetic sludge around the drain plug. I have owned the car a 3.2 Carrera for the last four years but it hasn’t moved out of the garage for 3 of them as I just haven’t had the time to drive it. The previous owner was ultra fussy and had it serviced regularly so I would think that whoever serviced it would have cleaned the sump plug but perhaps not! I am concerned that there seams to be quite a bit of sludge so could anyone tell me if this is normal please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phill Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 I think you will need to put up a picture to give us an accurate idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brads Posted May 25, 2021 Author Share Posted May 25, 2021 All cleaned out now, sorry. The sump plug has a channel around the central magnet and this was full of the sludge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nige Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Bit difficult to assess as you ultimately don't know how thorough previous oil changes have been conducted. You've now got a starting point to monitor the next oil change. I would expect some sludge, it won't all be made up bearing metal so don't worry! Sludge is better than lumps/filings! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesworth Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 You can send a sample of the oil for analysis. Never done it myself though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaky Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Others on here are more experts than me, but just draining from the oil plug doesn't shift all the oil (something to do with the sides pipe, etc) and there is another draining point - I could be just making this up but sure its been mentioned on this forum before. Also, not sure its possible on an IB, but why not run an oil flush on the engine, then fill with new oil and monitor as mentioned above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverWT Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 The vast majority of the sludge will be just that, oil sludge (separated additives, carbon, etc). To confirm what is sludge and what is magnetic particles you can put the drain plug in jam jar of petrol and give it a shake, the sludge disperses and you can look at what's left attached to the magnet with a magnifying glass. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brads Posted May 25, 2021 Author Share Posted May 25, 2021 Thanks for your replies, I am a bit concerned to say the least as a friend has just had his engine go bang which has cost him in excess of £10,000 to put right. The sludge was grey in colour and magnetic (I wiped it away with a rag else I could have posted some pictures) it was about a 1/2 of a thimble full. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phill Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 That doesn't sound Ike anything to worry about. As long as there weren't bits of visible metal in the sludge you will be fine. Half a thimble full is nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brads Posted May 25, 2021 Author Share Posted May 25, 2021 Phill you don’t know how relieved I am right now after you telling me that, I am just at the end of my tether right now as I am in the middle of repairing the wife’s VW aircooled engine after a fire & my bank balance has taken a massive hit because of it. Any more & I had just as well give up on the classics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mean in green Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Had the oil been sitting on the sump bolt for those three years too...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brads Posted May 25, 2021 Author Share Posted May 25, 2021 Yes It’s not actually the sump plug but the oil tank magnetic plug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Comerford Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 These metallic deposits often look far worse than they are due to the effect of the magnet in the plug. If you take some of them and rub between your fingers you should find they are so small you can’t feel pieces/particles if that makes sense. As such they probably don’t matter. Drive the car, change the oil/filter every year and enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Rock Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 As it’s not the actual engine sump plug I wouldn’t worry. Particles in the oil tank can settle over time and deposits build up, in the place where they don’t do harm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brads Posted May 25, 2021 Author Share Posted May 25, 2021 I haven’t taken the sump plug out yet so perhaps will do that tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mean in green Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 9 hours ago, Brads said: Yes It’s not actually the sump plug but the oil tank magnetic plug. Honestly I wouldn’t worry about it, whatever contaminants were in that oil would have settled over the three years it was standing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris T Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 I agree with the sentiments above, nothing to worry about, car has been standing so change the oil and drive and enjoy it 👍 Remove and clean tank and dump plugs and monitor the situation at next oil change. Enjoy the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now