While we are on the subject of thrust bearings.... I was just inspecting the oil filter from my 200k oil change and found a bunch of "copper leaf" in filter folds. The shavings look quite
flat to me. I'd expect crank bearing to have a slight curve to them, so I suspect these are shavings from the thrust bearing.
Any thoughts on what else these could be? How bad does this look?
Can the thrust bearing / crank bearings be replaced by pulling the pan w/ motor in place or is pulling the motor the best way to go at this. Any tricks for measuring the end play?
Thanks.

