apetro94

Last weekend I change the oil on my '95 Del Sol S with a D15xx engine (not sure what the last two numbers are) and I noticed a few small pieces of metal in the pan I dumped the oil into. I'm kinda freaked out because I've heard of metal in engine oil being the kiss of death to any engine regardless of make or mileage.


The engine and body both have 159xxx miles I eventually plan on swapping the engine to a B16 or B18 for more HP but I can barely afford a B16 rn and was really planning to do a swap possibly next summer. What are the odds the little D series will keep buzzing through this winter in the Midwest? (go to school in Iowa, from Chicago) I purchased the car about a month ago from another college kid and based on the cat delete and stupid rice can the previous owner had installed I get the sense he didn't treat the car all that well. The title shows he owned it for two years and the oil I dumped out of it was the dirties I've ever seen and it wouldn't surprise me if the idiot never changed it. At the time of purchase the tires where nearly bald and the front disk pads where worn to the metal...I've since replaced these. What do you guys think the prognosis is for this worn out old D engine? I've been taking care to drive smoothly and not beat on it, keeping RPMs below 4K and shifting as soon as possible, no crazy clutch drop starts or anything that would otherwise tax the engine unnecessarily.


I have nightmares of the engine dying in December somewhere between Iowa and Chicago, how likely is this to happen? Any input or past experiences would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Schister66

I'd invest in a magnetic drain plug and change the oil more often to see if those filings were a one-time thing or if they're continuing to pile up. If there continues to be filings in the oil, i'd start saving your pennies for a rebuild / new shortblock. Although the fix isn't that bad, i know what you mean about having to fix it in the winter - i'm from MN and winters aren't kind to us here.

For what its worth, it will at least give you some indication (rod knock) that things are heading south in a hurry. If/when this happens, its time to cancel any road trips back home until its fixed or you could end up stuck on the side of the highway in bumfuck IA.

drkyle96

Were the metal pieces in the oil pan the only issue you are observing? Are we
talking small filings or larger pieces like bearings?

Are there any other engine conditions (rough idle, poor start, poor mileage)
that concern you?

It may simply be that the PO didn't change the oil in awhile. Drive it a short
distance (i.e. 500 miles) and change the oil again. If you observe metal again,
then you may have cause to be concerned. If not, then it may be nothing to
worry about.

apetro94

Thanks for the replies! The metal shavings are the only issue I have currently. Other than the metal in the oil I would assume the car is in excellent condition given its age and mileage, the engine starts, idles, and drives smoothly doesn't chug or knock. The metal I observed was very fine shavings >0.5mm.


As I said the PO probably never changed the oil, the oil pan nut was rusted on and took WD40 and my large Rugby playing cousin to wrench off. The oil was black as tar and not uniform in consistency. I'm going to assume the metal shavings do represent some damage internally but is the engine likely to keep going in its current state given good maintenance? Also does anyone have an educated guess as to which part of the engine this metal came from ie. cylinders, cams, valves, etc?


Also how much do engine rebuilds cost as a possible stop gap fix, I'm looking at about $3K to put a B16 series in it eventually and that's if I do the work myself with the help of a friend. I wasn't planning on doing that this summer, but if rebuilding the D series is close to that then I'd rather just do the swap sooner.

Schister66

Rebuild cost will depend on the extent of the damage. You might catch it early and only have to replace bearings / gaskets. If its too far gone, you'll need to machine the crank and when you start digging in, you'll want to replace oil/water pump, etc which again adds to the cost.

$3k for a b series swap is more than enough - you could probably do it for half of that.