Metal Shavings in Oil Pan

[AR74]

So ..... I went to change the oil pan gasket today and once the pan was dropped I noticed what looked like sparkley colored oil in bottom of pan . There were also a few very small bigger shavings and a small piece of black plastic pieces . How bad is this ? Anything else to check in the bottom end while oil pan is off ? Also I just ordered a crap load of parts for it , water pump , radiator ect.... Should I continue forward or expect a rebuild before continuing ?

[AR74]

I'd like to add , I do not know the history of the motor , I've only owned it for about a month and it has been parked until I had plan on doing the maintenance on it ( Water pump , T-stat , Radiator , Belts , hoses and motor mounts ) . The van has 257K miles .

[highwind]

time to find another 4Y with everything and rebuild it. meanwhile continue driving it.

[AR74]

time to find another 4Y with everything and rebuild it. meanwhile continue driving it. Thanks for your opinion , that's what I was thinking also but just wanted to hear other opinions as well .

[highwind]

Thanks for your opinion , that's what I was thinking also but just wanted to hear other opinions as well .

dont pull it now. find a 4y and rebuild it and then pull the engine. Even seeing just "speckles" of metal is bad.

[brentlehr]

Clean everything up and get as much of the metal and stuff out as you can. The pan is off so you have access to the oil pump.... might not need to be serviced but could be. Use a good quality oil filter and change the oil about every 1500 miles for a bit. If you have good compression and no strange noises just drive it. You'll find out quickly if it burns oil and needs top end work that can be done without engine removal.. Unless you have audible engine knocking and/or extreme loss of power and/or overheating, don't worry too much. It might have many miles of life left before a rebuild. I've never pulled the pan on my van at 196K miles but fully expect debris when I do.

[AR74]

Clean everything up and get as much of the metal and stuff out as you can. The pan is off so you have access to the oil pump.... might not need to be serviced but could be. Use a good quality oil filter and change the oil about every 1500 miles for a bit. If you have good compression and no strange noises just drive it. You'll find out quickly if it burns oil and needs top end work that can be done without engine removal.. Unless you have audible engine knocking and/or extreme loss of power and/or overheating, don't worry too much. It might have many miles of life left before a rebuild. I've never pulled the pan on my van at 196K miles but fully expect debris when I do. Thanks , I plan on doing just that . I eventually want to rebuild the engine or rebuild another but later if possible if this engine will last a bit longer . Thanks for the help guys !!!