Lycoming IO-360 (c1c6) - What are these metal pieces?

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cjr

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cjr
Hi, my friend is just doing the annual for his Arrow III with an Lycoming IO-360-c1c6
and 2 pieces of metal were found in the oil sump - see photo below. Not fun ...

He is now trying to identify the pieces - to understand if he needs to do a complete overhaul, or not.

Anyone who can identify the pieces?
They look pretty distinct, like parts of a tube.

Notes:
- The engine has 1500 hrs, from around 1998.
- The engine runs like a dream, great and even compression on all cylinders, temperatures even
- Last year the Tacho was broken, and a new wire for the Tacho inserted. Pieces from the old Tacho?

Grateful for ideas!
 

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cjr said:
He is now trying to identify the pieces - to understand if he needs to do a complete overhaul, or not.
Click to expand...
FYI: this is the reference I use when chasing metal in Lycomings. Scroll down to the "Identification of Metallic Solids After Oil Servicing" section and it gives guidance when metal is found and possible solutions. If any further guidance is needed I usually call Lycoming or an engine shop for more info.
https://www.lycoming.com/sites/defa...ervicing and Associated Corrective Action.pdf
 
upload_2022-2-12_11-17-28.png

From the IO-360-C parts catalog, figure 1-7: https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/IO&LIO-360-C & HIO,TIO&AEIO-360 PC-406-2.pdf

#10 is the crankshaft oil tube. It's the only thing with a diameter anywhere small enough that I can find in that catalog. Those shards look more like a tiny bearing, made of a steel hard enough to shatter like that rather than getting torn or squashed. I sure hope it isn't that. It would have to break and escape through the hole through the journal.

#11 is the tube that feeds oil to and from the prop via the governor. It couldn't get past the governor's valve without making a mess of it. Maybe those pieces came from the governor itself. Was it working OK?

Not likely from the tach drive.

Best to take those bits to an engine shop and see if they recognize them. This forum will involve just a lot of guessing, and your friend needs the facts.
 
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Some good suggestions have been offered thus far. If you find yourself still wondering what they are and have no answer, you might have the mechanic call Lycoming support to discuss this. They may be able to help.
 
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Bell206 said:
FYI: this is the reference I use when chasing metal in Lycomings. Scroll down to the "Identification of Metallic Solids After Oil Servicing" section and it gives guidance when metal is found and possible solutions. If any further guidance is needed I usually call Lycoming or an engine shop for more info.
https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/SB480F Oil ServicingMetallic Solids Identification After Oil Servicing and Associated Corrective Action.pdf
Click to expand...
Great reference, thanks!
 
Dan Thomas said:
View attachment 104582

From the IO-360-C parts catalog, figure 1-7: https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/IO&LIO-360-C & HIO,TIO&AEIO-360 PC-406-2.pdf

#10 is the crankshaft oil tube. It's the only thing with a diameter anywhere small enough that I can find in that catalog. Those shards look more like a tiny bearing, made of a steel hard enough to shatter like that rather than getting torn or squashed. I sure hope it isn't that. It would have to break and escape through the hole through the journal.

#11 is the tube that feeds oil to and from the prop via the governor. It couldn't get past the governor's valve without making a mess of it. Maybe those pieces came from the governor itself. Was it working OK?

Not likely from the tach drive.

Best to take those bits to an engine shop and see if they recognize them. This forum will involve just a lot of guessing, and your friend needs the facts.
Click to expand...

Thanks, will definitely need the engine shop expertise, but your input helps us along the way.
 
Some expert advice you’re receiving here! Definitely agree with the suggestions. It’s steel alright. A good engine shop should be able to narrow this down.
Question: How exactly did he discover this metal? You mentioned it was in the oil sump but I’d want to know exactly how it was captured, or retrieved. Were they screening the oil flow or something?
The reason I’m asking is because if they simply found it in the bottom of the oil drain bucket there’s a real possibility it’s FOD and not actually from this engine. I’ve seen a lot of foreign junk end up in the old nasty shop buckets.
 
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