Check it out...

[Paul Merolla]

So last year I finally got my oil to stay under the rings and went a best of -.700 in 1,700 ft. DA.
At some point during the season I had 3 lifter c-clips disappear...luckily, everything stayed put and I didn't have any disasters. Fast forward to yesterday...dropped the pan to check bearings and look for the c-clips. I found 2 c-clip halves stuck to the drain plug, but that was it. Then I pulled the #2 main cap...
I know what I need to do, just thought I'd share with the rest of the class.

[Alan Nyhus]

Paul, were they the round wire retainer clips or the flat style? -Al

[Paul Merolla]

Al, they were the round wire bent into a "U" shape ones. I'm puzzled how they could've made their way into the bearings, though...

[Sean Marconette]

Paul,
Do you have magnets installed by the oil drain back holes in the block? Sorry to hear about the issue.

Sean

[Paul Merolla]

Originally Posted by Sean Marconette

Paul,
Do you have magnets installed by the oil drain back holes in the block? Sorry to hear about the issue.

Sean

I sure wish I did! (and will from now on)

[ss3011]

Do you have the filter adapter modified so all the oil goes through the filter ? How do the gears look on the oil pump ?

[GTX JOHN]

The wire retainers drove us crazy..............We replace
them with "Tru Arc" style snap rings before installation.

[Paul Merolla]

Originally Posted by ss3011

Do you have the filter adapter modified so all the oil goes through the filter ? How do the gears look on the oil pump ?

Yes, the bypass is plugged on the adaptor...haven't taken the pump apart yet. I need to pull the rear main cap and make sure the plug is in there that sometimes gets left out.

[Mike Taylor 3601]

Paul,
You had small foreign object go through your bearing, but your clips from lifters couldn't have made through there,if got one of those in oil pump it would locked up oil pump.
You just had something small ,piece metal,alum.,dirt get in to bearing,good chance came out of oil galley in crank itself. If haven't ran brushes through oil galleys before,do that you be surprised what will come out of what looks like a clean oil galley in a crank or block.
Mike Taylor 3601

[Paul Merolla]

I got the motor apart yesterday and my suspicions were confirmed...the well plug was not present, so oil hasn't been going through the filter on any of my runs in the past 2 years.
The pump gears show that the clips went through:






And, with no filter, they went through the oiling system and did their thing:





Tomorrow I'll take the crank to the machine shop and find out if it's junk.