Ducati Sporting Club UK > Model Specific - Discussion, Technical Problems and Help > Sport Touring: ST4 / ST3 / ST2 > oh dear - shavings on the sump plug

[John W]

I did an oil change on the ST4S last night.
current mileage = 4100ish miles (brought new in March).

I pulled the sump plug to find some small shavings on the magnet.
Now I assume the dealers didn't see anything at its first oil change 3k3 miles ago (they certainly didn't mention anything), so this must have happened during the last trip I went on (accounts for most of those miles).

Assuming this is flaking chrome on the rockers, do they just gain more clearance (valve gaps close) or what ?

I'm off on Friday for another 3kish trip, and the question is,
am I likely to suffer a major melt-down...

I rang my dealer (P&H) for advice and they said they are not aware of any chrome or rocker issues with the 996 engine (!), and that this is normal to find filings or splinters in the oil up to the first service.

Obviously on my return it'll be going in for its 6k(ish) service when they should check valve clearances and hopefully inspect the rockers.
Should I be really worried, just a little concerned, or just accept it as normal...

Cheers,
John.

[Jools]

Originally posted by John W
I rang my dealer (P&H) for advice and they said they are not aware of any chrome or rocker issues with the 996 engine (!), and that this is normal to find filings or splinters in the oil up to the first service.

Are they deaf, blind or just stupid.

There is a well known problem with the hard chroming on the rockers not being up to scratch on some 996 engines. There was apparently a bad batch of rockers found their way into production and it's a bit like playing russian roulette. Some 996 engines are fine, others chew their rockers up and damage the camshaft as well if you're not careful.

Now it is true what P&H say that any new engine will have more debris in the oil, it's just difficult to tell whether what you have in your oil is rocker chrome or just 'normal' running in stuff. It's a bit rich of them to deny all knowledge of a potential rocker problem though. Do a search on this board and you'll find it's almost universally well known - except in Crawley it seems

[rockhopper]

Chrome isnt magnetic so it wont appear on the sump plug, only in the strainer. I changed the oil on mine only 2500 miles since it was last done and the plug was all furry. Wouldnt worry about it unless you can see gear teeth on there!

[nelly]

Paul's right. If the shavings are magnetic, then they aren't chrome. The chrome shavings get caught up on the gauze filter.
I wouldn't get overly concerned about them unless there is a lot and they are pretty big.
The other thing is that even when an oil change is carried out, wiping the magnet will not usually remove all the swarf. The only way I've found to make sure it's truly clear is to use a bigger magnet to lift all the bits out of the way. That way, I know that the next time the bike comes in, any swarf that is present has gathered since the last oil change.

Aside to that, when you do take it for a service, specifically ask that the cams are pulled and the rockers inspected. It's not a "scheduled" check within the service. They may charge you for it though, but it's worth having it done.

[rockhopper]

Just to add to Nellys post, you cant check the wearing faces of the rockers without taking the cams out.

[Rushjob]

Saw my rockers in their oily little home this afternoon as Nelly was servicing my bike....all in good order!
Yeehah
Wasn't worried,honest.....
Was I Neil?

[nelly]

Nah..........not much

Pity you missed the swarf, gear fragments, sludge and springs that fell out of the sump

[rockhopper]

So did you get the flywheel done as well?

[John W]

lol, like your last post nelly

Right, firstly thanks for the reasurance it isn't likely to be chrome.
The bits were like splinters, and anything up to 5mm long by about 0.5mm-ish diameter.

I dropped into my local place that do a lot of Dukes and he basically said the same as you lot (unlikely to be chrome and not too much to worry about, unless there are flakes in the strainer).

Btw, P&H quoted 358+vat for the 6k service it'll need on my return. Fookin 'ell !! I was expecting it to be about half that...

Thanks guys. Now I can nail it every day without worrying too much about the rockers coming up through the top of the tank

Cheers,
John.

[Rushjob]

It's being done as we speak.....
It's nice & shiny & almost 1kg lighter!