The International Cessna^® 170 Association

Here is fede with his questions again, go to http://www.cessna170.com.ar/oil.htm and check what i found on the last oil change a few days ago, those are biggest particles, the other were too small to take photos (they were brilliant). The engine is 60 hs smoh, in two years i think is the first time the oil filter is taken out, because the last annual the mech took out only the filter with the big holes. i used my fingers to swap as most oil and particles possible from the oil pan and both filters holes. Tell me if i have to start to worry.

This is really tough to answer. What do you know about the overhaul. Was it done buy someone you trust to do a good job or could they have left a lot of this stuff in the engine. Perhaps they didn't clean the pan?

I would carefully run the engine for 5 hours and drain the oil and check the screens again and see if any more metal is found. If not run another 5 and check. If none found increase that to 10. ater a few check with no metal you are probably OK. You will have to decide how comfortable you feel flying it.

Keep this in mind. The starter and its drive mech. is inside the gear case and any grindings of the starter will end up in the oil screen.

I had a few pieces like the first one you found. After doing the checks I described and finding a few more pieces I thought a closer inspection was the thing to do. After removing the starter and inspecting it and the gears that I could see and not finding anything I removed and disassembled my engine. Good news is that I never found where the pieces came from and we think it's likely from a "dirty" overhaul. Bad news is we found all the bearings needed replacement and the crank needs to be ground. Most likely this was becuase the overhual 1000hrs ago was not done right.

Bruce, the OH was done by the previous owner mechanic, i dont know how good it was done. But i´ve been asking around, and had no good answers about that particular mechshop. My next flight is to the annual, about 2.5 hs away. Now i dont remember if the big pieces came from the oil pan or the filter, because i didnt care to write down what i found, what a stupid! Another thing, the generator shaft, broke in november last year, the gear was apart from the rest of the generator, maybe some the metal, or at least the bigger was that?