Oh Grant !!!!!

[njsteve]

If the nylon is gone, it is all currently located in the oil pump pickup, clogging it. That was usually the reason the engines were warrantied at 20,000 miles back in the day. Especially in the Northeast. I remember back in high school, the first cold day of the year, was always referred to as "Pontiac Extinction Day", when one good backfire would shatter the brittle nylon and send it all into the oil pan. If the owner kept trying to start it, all that cranking would just suck the pieces into the oil pump and the bearings would suffer as a result.

Are you planning on dropping the pan and flushing everything out?

(That would be a hint from a brother Pontiac-er)

[grantprix]

My friends and I have been discussing this very thing. I'm trying to not take apart more than I have to with this car, but I do understand the importance of making sure that pick up screen is not plugged. The engine appears to be very clean inside from what I've seen so far. Even the 30+ year old oil that was in it came out clean. I have flushed the oil pan twice with 6 qts of paint thinner, the first time I let it sit for five days to loosen any sludge or pieces of nylon that might be in there. I then drained it into a clean bucket and then strained it into another container and I got absolutely nothing other than darkened thinner. I did a second quick flush just to be sure and got the same result. With the drain plug out, you can see the outer portion of the screen just behind the hole and it looks clean as well. Most of the screen has a shroud over it which is very close to the screen itself and I really don't see how it would be possible for larger chunks of nylon to enter inside the covered portion of the screen. Another thing I did was run a wire tie (it would only fit in there flat between the screen and shroud) and ran across the entire screen and there were no obstructions while doing that either, just the sound of plastic running across a screen. And lastly, my friend took a close look with his borescope and saw nothing either. So, did all of that nylon get drained out with frequent oil changes? The warranty/POP booklet shows where Rex wrote down the first three oil changes which averaged 1100 miles per change. If he continued that pattern (or close to it) to 35K miles, that certainly would have helped. While the timing cover and valve covers are off, I will fill it with fresh oil and run the pump manually to make sure its working like it should and go from there. Crossing my fingers!

[mockingbird812]

I love your methodical cleanup and exploration of your goat. Keep us posted Grant!