Hello everyone today i went to get an oil change and they found small metal cylinder pieces attached to my magnetic cap. they are all identical and there was about 15 of them. I have absolutely zero engine noise but my car does seem to need to be balanced do to some rumbling at higher speeds or turns. Other then that there is no noise. I hear nor feel anything wrong with the engine. My oil was changed about 2 months earlier and these peices were not found. the people had no idea what it was because they are not shavings they are identical cylinder peices of tiny metal. any ideas?

car is a 99 z28 ls1

 

BTW each of these pins are not hollow they are solid metal no holes in either end

 

Rocker arm bearings?

 

i googled this and they seem to be the exact things that were found in my oil pan.....any suggestions on what i should do? does this have to be replaced? how much does it usually cost? what should i do about thinking some of these are lose floating around?

 

Sounds like the infamous rocker arm needle bearings. Reseach it at ls1tech.com and you'll find tons of info and what to do about it.

 

k well i understand what happened but it seems as if the needles are nothing worry about because there to big to fit through to get filtered through the motor....so in time with oil changes and such they will come out....is this ok to drive for another week until im able to have the money to get it repaired?

 

NO it's sounds like the failed rocker arm hasn't caused any other damage to the motor but it or they could. Either find the money for a new set of rockers, get some used ones to replace the failed ones, or park it until you can get it fixed.

 

I'm sure that they came out sometime during a little spirited driving, but honestly you don't know when... could have been a 2 months ago or could have been yesterday. I wouldn't risk it now that you know about it.

Get a new set of rockers. They are easy to change on an LS1.

 

thanks for all your help guys

any ideas how much this is going to cost me if i take it to get repaired rather then fixing it myself..?

 

Either way you will need to pay for new rocker/s.

Figure you pay labour to take off the coils, remove the covers, locate the bad rockers, unbolt them, replace the rocker, put the bolt back in, tq it, cover back on etc etc.

Id say you can expect to pay 2-3 hours labour. Its an extremely easy process, you need a rachet with 10mm sockets to remove coils, 5/16" socket to remove the cover, and loosen rocker bolts, then a tq. wrench to get the bolts back to 18 lb/ft.

Id seriously recomend you do it yourself and save the $200+ Labour

 

Rocker arm bolts are 22 lb/ft.

www.ls1howto.com has a write-up for rocker arm replacement. It is for aftermarket adjustables, but it will still help.

Where are you located? I've got some low mile used rockers in great condition, cheap.

 

I'd either get the Comp replacement bearings or send them to Harland Sharp and have them replace them... Then you can forget about them.

 

located in northeast, pa

should i be worrying about these pins? im being told by numerous people, no....but i still worry? should i drop the oil pan? could they be filtered through the motor. i was told there 66 and couldnt be filtered through

 

Pulling the oil pan off is a big PITA. Usually most of the needle bearings stay in the rocker, not all fall out. And when they do, most get caught in the casting ridges and flashing in the oil pan under the baffle and are for the most part harmless. You could drain the oil and stick a flexible pen magnet to try and fish out what you can if it bothers you.

 

ok, thanks