Reply to "Call for help 1 hour North of the SanFrancisco Bay Area (Santa Rosa)"

I saw this thread initally, then lost track, so just read back through it and here's my 2 cents.

There are a lot of us running an Aviad pan and pickup with the mesh provided, so I don't beleive there is anything fundamentally wrong with the design.

There is mention of roller needles in the oil pump; which side intake/pickup or output? I don't believe the act of pouring new oil in would have dislodged pieces on the bottom of the oil pan. The oil has to flow down through all the oil ways under gravity at ambient temp, just not going to have much impact in the oil pan IMO. You may have dislodged pieces stuck in oil gallies or the heads, a theory which would be supported if any of the pieces are on the outflow side of the pump.

The use of a magnet is only addressing the sympton, if you are losing metal pieces you have bigger woes coming, it's just a matter of time. If you can convince yourself it's from a prior problem then a thorough clean and flush of all the oil passageways is absolutely warranted before re-assembly IMO.

If you do use a magnet it doesn't need to be in the oil pan, you can place it on the outside and it will do just as good a job of collecting ferrous pieces in one place, without the worry it too becomes part of the problem.

The particles in oil raises the quetion of oil filters again, are you using a std by-passing filter or a non-bypassing, the latter providing greater insurance.

I would not recommend just changing to a thinner oil without some further investigations. If this is a NASCAR motor what tolerances was it built to and recommended oil grade? Too thin and you could do just as much damage if bearing clearances are set for a thicker oil, which race engines often are.

Good luck,
Julian