Top Reasons for Metal Shavings in Your Porsche’s Oil

Of the many problems that can occur under the hood, issues with the oil of your vehicle can be detrimental, especially to a car as performance-based as Porsche. The importance of oil is understated to every vehicle, and ensuring that your oil is free of pollutants should always be your first priority.

Metal shavings within your oil can be extremely dangerous to your Porsche and negatively impact the power you have come to love. There are a number of reasons metal shavings can end up in your oil, but let’s first cover what oil does to understand its importance, and then look into what some of those common causes may be.

What is the purpose of oil?

Think of oil as the perfect lubricant for the parts of your vehicle. You have large numbers of metal parts trying to work together to bring about impressive power every time you put your foot down on the gas pedal, but metal pieces grinding roughly would damage the parts of the car and would produce annoying noise.

The oil in your vehicle helps to lubricate those pieces, but it also cleans the engine when it passes through. Over time, gunk can build up in the engine which needs to be cleaned out. As oil passes through the engine bay, it pulls these particulates to it and takes them out of the engine. It then runs through an oil filter where these particles can be dropped off and eventually removed.

This entire process keeps your engine squeaky clean and running smoothly, something that is extremely important to vehicles such as Porsche. As you may have guessed, however, sometimes those particulates can bypass the filter. If this occurs, your oil may become polluted. This could result in bad particles entering the engine bay which, if accumulated, could damage the performance of your engine and result in extremely costly repairs.

The best way to avoid any issues with your oil is to get it changed at the proper time. This varies from car to car but the general time frame is somewhere between every three to six months. Check your owner’s manual to see what is recommended and follow those guidelines to avoid any problems with your oil.

Causes of Metal Shavings in Oil

Unfortunately, even if you follow all the rules of keeping your oil clean, things can still get into your oil that needs to be removed. There are many reasons you may notice metal shavings in your oil but, regardless of the reason, take your car in to get an oil change right away and diagnosed for any potential problems that the shavings may have caused:

Worn Engine Bearings

As mentioned, the oil runs through the engine periodically to ensure that no debris stays behind. If there are bearings in your engine that have become worn over time, they may begin stripping metal off as the oil runs over them. This would result in metal shavings being present in your oil and can be a difficult source to diagnose, given that dissecting the engine may need to occur.

Issues With Metal Components

Besides worn metal engine bearings, there are numerous metal pieces within the engine that could have issues arise. Oil naturally takes metal shavings away from the engine, but they should be smaller than the eye can see, rather than visible chunks. This is indicative of some metal piece under the hood being stripped.

Old Oil

Failing to get your oil changed at the proper time can lead to oil sludge which can become quite sticky. This may rub against metal and cause shavings to emerge in the oil holder of your vehicle.

Germany’s Best Inc For Your Porsche Needs

When it comes to keeping your Porsche’s oil-free of particulates, no one is better than Germany’s Best Inc. We have experience working on a variety of European vehicles and can solve your Porsche needs quickly and professionally.

Our technicians have served clients all around Berkeley, Emeryville, Piedmont, and Oakland, CA. There isn’t a common problem they haven’t seen before. Allow us to diagnose the issue and fix it so that you can get back out on the road quickly with confidence in your Porsche. Please give us a call or come visit us today.

* Porsche Macan image credit goes to: DNK-KolyaN.