[silveryam]

I changed my oil and found some sort of fibers in the inlet holes and am at a loss as to where they cam from. Anyone ever see this?

 

[RaYzerman]

Wow, I have never seen that before on any filter... looks like somebody's leftover paper towel??? Can't tell if it came from inside the filter or not, can't think of anything in the engine that would be that material... I'd suggest cutting the filter apart and check the filter material to see what accumulated.
What bike, what year is this, what mileage? What is the brand of the filter? When you changed the oil before, ever seen this? When was the last time anyone serviced the engine in some way and what was that service?

 

[silveryam]

This is a 2010 FJR with 97k miles and I have done all of the service since new. I haven't done any service in between the last oil change that involved going into the engine. This filter was on the engine for 6k miles (which is actually soon according to Amzoil) Amzoil sent a replacement and I changed the oil and filter again. I just rebuilt the front and rear suspension is all. I sent the filter to Amzoil for analysis who sent me an oil change kit at no cost to me thinking the material came from a defective filter. Today I cut open the filter I took off after receiving the one they sent and cut that one open. The filter media doesn't look like what I see. But granted the one I cut open had maybe 30 miles on it versus 6 thousand. Plus the fibers are in the inlet holes. And no I have never seen this before.

 

[Damir]

Wonder if your plastic funnel had a small cloth or a piece of narrow cardboard, wood shaving or something else that slipped into the engine when pouring in the oil ?

Dead baby mouse :-D

 

[silveryam]

The fibers don't look anything like that. Plus I make sure the funnel is clean before I use it. I'm very anal with the bike and how I service it.

 

[Mr_Ed]

I've used nothing but Amsoil in mine for 87,000 miles and usually change the oil around 6000 miles. I did use Wix filters the first few changes until Amsoil started specing the EAOM103 filter in it. I've never seen anything like that either. I can't think of a thing inside that engine that would look like this. I hate to think it, but does the bike sit somewhere that it could be subject to vandalism?

If Amsoil gets back to you with a theory please let us know.

 

[Little Joe]

Looks like filter media to me. Not good.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[mikester]

The fibers don't look anything like that. Plus I make sure the funnel is clean before I use it. I'm very anal with the bike and how I service it.

Look in your air box for a mouse nest!

 

[RaYzerman]

Mouse nest stuff should never make it past the piston rings and into the engine oil, or at least I'm not seeing how. The only path I can see is either through the oil fill hole or if say one had done a valve check and left some paper towel or shop towel in somewhere...

Next step, pull the valve cover..... keep reading.

If one could identify the type of fibre, might help, but it's soaked in oil... perhaps take a sample and rinse it with naptha, then isopropanol to take the oil away. Lab analysis best, but I'd like to know if it is plastic.
I don't want to unnecessarily alarm, but the stuff had to be picked up by the oil pickup screen in the pan and pumped to the filter. There is a source of plastic that could be ground up fine like that..... cam chain guides.
On the underside of the valve cover there is a "guide", right above the cam chain to prevent the chain from hitting the underside of the valve cover. Cam chain is very close to the cover here and I guess Yamaha identified slack would occur between the two camshaft sprockets. This thing is a press fit of (I think) two nubs on the 'plastic' to mating recesses in the valve cover, no adhesive. A not so great snap fit is another way to describe it. Quite rare, but they have fallen off, tight clearance to the chain so it would grind away...... either that or the cam chain is stretched to the point of intermittent contact with it..... shown here as item 6 (Guide, Stopper 2).
https://www.partzilla.com/catalog/yamaha/motorcycle/2014/fjr1300a-fjr13aer/camshaft-chain

I have had a couple fall out while cleaning up the valve cover and they will stay if pressed back in but it's not what I would call totally secure. Any I put back in, I clean the area well with isopropanol and use some RTV. A member in one of the sandboxes, after doing a valve check, could not get his engine to turn over, and this part was jammed down in the crankshaft sprocket. It must have fallen out as he was replacing the valve cover.

 

[silveryam]

Thanks! I'll look under the valve cover. Unfortunately I don't have the oil filter, I sent it to Amzoil for analysis. The stuff that was there seemed fibrous like you would imagine filter media to be. It was more or less strung together and not tiny particles however when I changed the oil the second time I poured it thru a painters filter funnel and did find a few black, hard particles that kinda fit the material you describe. When I lift the valve cover I'll know for sure.
BTW the engine sounds fine. No unusual noises. It may be time to get that new bike. LOL

 

[bounce]

This is a 2010 FJR with 97k miles and I have done all of the service since new. I haven't done any service in between the last oil change that involved going into the engine. This filter was on the engine for 6k miles (which is actually soon according to Amzoil) Amzoil sent a replacement and I changed the oil and filter again. I just rebuilt the front and rear suspension is all. I sent the filter to Amzoil for analysis who sent me an oil change kit at no cost to me thinking the material came from a defective filter. Today I cut open the filter I took off after receiving the one they sent and cut that one open. The filter media doesn't look like what I see. But granted the one I cut open had maybe 30 miles on it versus 6 thousand. Plus the fibers are in the inlet holes. And no I have never seen this before.

Regardless of what Amzoil says, will they be there if your motor has problems? Will they go to bat for you with Yamaha Corp? Will they stand up with you in a court case to get your damage repaired? Will they pay for repairs if their negotiations on your behalf fail? All for whatever pittance savings you made over an OEM filter?

 

[RaYzerman]

Thanks! I'll look under the valve cover. Unfortunately I don't have the oil filter, I sent it to Amzoil for analysis. The stuff that was there seemed fibrous like you would imagine filter media to be. It was more or less strung together and not tiny particles however when I changed the oil the second time I poured it thru a painters filter funnel and did find a few black, hard particles that kinda fit the material you describe. When I lift the valve cover I'll know for sure.
BTW the engine sounds fine. No unusual noises. It may be time to get that new bike. LOL

INterested in what Amzoil says.... if you find the damper block worn down, that's likely it, all I can think of. You will need a new one and at almost 100k, I'd suggest invest in a new cam chain ~$40. Check the main guides too, just for fun. Likely some grooves in them, but you decide if you need replacements. Oh and how old is your CCT? Consider replacing.
After all this is done, put another 97k on it.

 

[Mr_Ed]

I've been trying to think of what else in that engine is fiber, and I'm wondering about the clutch friction plates. I've seen some burned clutches make a mess of the oil, but that was years ago.

 

[silveryam]

The engine internal parts are all original. It's not making any unusual noises and is running well. I too struggle with what could be fibrous like that. The chain guides are a good place to look if nothing else I can check that box. The only thing that places doubt is this seems to be fairly tight fibers and not particles nor chunks. I really appreciate the constructive input guys!

 

[mikester]

That's a heck of a lot of fibres. Have you considered that they came in the filter itself? What brand of filter?

 

[rbentnail]

That's a heck of a lot of fibres. Have you considered that they came in the filter itself? What brand of filter?

I'm kind of leaning that way too. It sort of looks like the media in the filter swelled up. I've seen some electrical cable insulation jackets swell like a jelly balloon when exposed to petroleum products.

 

[Mr_Ed]

I'm kind of leaning that way too. It sort of looks like the media in the filter swelled up. I've seen some electrical cable insulation jackets swell like a jelly balloon when exposed to petroleum products.

That's the inlet of the filter. If if swelled and came out it would have had to get past the anti-drain back valve.

 

[rbentnail]

That's the inlet of the filter. If if swelled and came out it would have had to get past the anti-drain back valve.

Yeah, but I can't imagine the engine still running if a rag or two was left in it as someone suggested. If those fibers came from a situation like that imagine what the transmission internals would look like. No, I still think it's a filter problem.

 

[Mr_Ed]

Yeah, but I can't imagine the engine still running if a rag or two was left in it as someone suggested. If those fibers came from a situation like that imagine what the transmission internals would look like. No, I still think it's a filter problem.

If it is filter media it had to go through the engine to get back there unless it did manage to belch it out by the anti-drain back.

We had a guy on the ZRX forum who left a rag in, and no, the engine didn't last long. A bit of blue paper towel may not do a lot, though. I'm a bit impressed that oil continued flowing enough with that many inlet holes blocked, though. I wonder how long they were blocked.

 

[mobilemike]

Whatever it is it most certainly is caked on the oil pump pickup screen . I would not be running that engine until I pulled the pan and cleaned the pickup screen.