I received a new owners welcome gift in my oil filter.

[Rydfree]

As a couple of people have already mentioned, if the dealership had performed the oil change you would have never known about the issue. Ignorance is bliss.

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[MayhemMike]

I want to know what type of camera you used to snap a pic of where the filter mounts….was it done with an inspection camera because I can’t see how you could get a shot like that with a regular camera due to the contortion required.

 

[not on the rug]

Anyone else notice the german hand grenade parked in the driveway next to the Bronco? If some metal machining shards from an oil filter keep this guy up at night, imagine how many panic attacks and sleepless nights he has owning a BMW.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE BMWs and own and will own them forever. But they are absolutely not reliable in any way. Neither are Fords for that matter. Dude...owning a Ford and a BMW with this type of nervous temperament is not a good match. Sell them both and buy some Hondas.

 

[McLovin80]

I looked in the oil feed with my borescope and could see no evidence of anything further up the passage. There is nothing obviously wrong as you can see above. But how will I ever be sure that this motor isn't going to grenade while I have my wife and kids inside?

If you didn't already, you should stick the borescope into the drain plug opening to take a peak to see if any metal is in the bottom of oil pan.

 

[Vynull]

Anyone else notice the german hand grenade parked in the driveway next to the Bronco? If some metal machining shards from an oil filter keep this guy up at night, imagine how many panic attacks and sleepless nights he has owning a BMW.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE BMWs and own and will own them forever. But they are absolutely not reliable in any way. Neither are Fords for that matter. Dude...owning a Ford and a BMW with this type of nervous temperament is not a good match. Sell them both and buy some Hondas.

Not for nothing, but BMW is definitely not the bottom of the barrel anymore in terms of quality.

 

[not on the rug]

Initial quality is a lot different than overall/long-term reliability

 

[userdude]

I remember years ago I worked with an electrician who had a lot of mechanic work under his belt. I was in my mid-20's and had worked on all my (and my girlfriends) cars but didn't know that much. It was the Bay Area and Bimmers galore! It was also just after the dotcom bust and there were literal mall parking lots full of returned or repo'd BMWs. They weren't hard to find.

So I asked him one day, what was up with that?!? He laughs and tells me it's probably because they're so poorly built, they had pencil-thin tie rods!! Cackles like a madman. Who would want such a flimsy car?? I'm like, yeah!! I don't even know what he's talking about...

Of course, I do now!! Thanks Ford! lol

 

[CactusBob]

As I see it, the filter did its job.

 

[chtucker]

Our brand new 2001 Ford Excursion 7.3 Excursion had the drain plug fall out 100 miles after its first oil change at the dealer with only 3000 miles on the truck. There was ZERO compensation, care of desire to do anything. Ford and the dealer said "call us if there is a problem".. it was insanity. Wrote a check for that truck. Never trusted it afterwards.

 

[wjtinfwb]

no, all free. The strip came out of the feed hole. Not tangled in the filter media

If it came out in strips like that, I'd say its unlikely it made its way up into the engine. If it had, you'd likely have been on the back of a tow truck by now, or at least heard some very concerning noises. Good on you for chaanging your own oil, this is axactly why I do my own whenever possible. Good advice to make Ford aware so you have a paper trail and as mentioned if there's a problem it will certainly make itself known before your warrant time and mileage is up.

 

[MilesTeg]

Not for nothing, but BMW is definitely not the bottom of the barrel anymore in terms of quality.

JD Power is the most corrupt organization in the entire car industry. Every award, every ranking is 100% pay to play.

 

[BroncoChallenger]

Yeah I know its a strong reaction, but FFS it is a brand new car. I am going to get the oil tested. The only thing that makes me feel SLIGHTLY okay, is that the metal has no discoloration (heat) so as you said likely a manufacturing defect. But come on, how can I NOT feel bad about this?

A piece of metal like that (which is aluminum) is 100% from machining of the oil filter adapter that didn't wash out when it went through the final cleaning before being shipped to assembly. It was likely 'wedged' in there where it couldn't be seen with a quick eyeball inspection, so it passed. It is on the feed to the filter side, so it wouldn't have traveled through the motor at all.

It almost certainly did NOT come from the block.

It's frustrating, that I 100% understand. However, having lived in the manufacturing world my entire life, one has to remember that they live off of 95-98%. Meaning 95-98% of their product has to meet spec, and they'll call it good. Some Tier 1 suppliers shoot for 99%. But because of mass-production, there will ALWAYS be some fallout, and your OFA happened to fall in that 1-5% (I don't know what the manufacturer of that component uses) that the manufacturer is allowed. It sucks that it happened to be yours.

That said, because it COULDN'T go anywhere but into the filter, and the filter should be catching anything that would have broken off of it, I'd say you're safe. Change your oil again in a thousand miles or so to be sure, but I doubt you're going to have any issues whatsoever. At least, not stemming from this unfortunate circumstance.

 

[BudgetBronco]

Thank you. This is the exact thing I was thinking - that I would never have known had I taken it to a dealer. I'll email them - thanks for the lead!

This is a very interesting thread! Please reply back and let us know what response you get from the filter manufacturing company.

FWIW I agree with the prevailing sentiment: highly likely not an issue. The oil looks really good. To give yourself even more confidence not an issue, have that oil analyzed by Blackstone, and the next oil change too.

 

[JaredH790]

I wouldn't want to see that either ... on the upside, I suspect it is not hurt. If it were mine, I'd document it with the dealership like you have (let them take a look and see if they recommend looking in the pan via borescope for anything else) and carry on assuming there is no issue. Now, if there is an issue, it will most certainly show up before the 5yr/60kmi powertrain warranty is up at which time you address it then ... that is really all you can do from my perspective. May your luck improve in the future!

 

[timhood]

If it came out in strips like that, I'd say its unlikely it made its way up into the engine. If it had, you'd likely have been on the back of a tow truck by now, or at least heard some very concerning noises. Good on you for chaanging your own oil, this is axactly why I do my own whenever possible. Good advice to make Ford aware so you have a paper trail and as mentioned if there's a problem it will certainly make itself known before your warrant time and mileage is up.

Actually, I doubt that little bit of metal would have done more than lightly scratch a cylinder wall and maybe increase oil consumption slightly. Source of my reasoning: I've seen a vehicle eat a broken spark plug and go on to live 100K more miles with no engine issues beyond increased oil consumption that is still considered within many manufacturers' tolerances for what is considered normal.

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