B767-300 and 300 ER
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Weight And Balance
Flight Crew Inflight Shutdown; Flight Crew Landed As Precaution; Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
During climb we had EICAS message Lt oil filter. QRH procedure was complied with resulting in an inflight shutdown of the left engine. After EICAS msg ATC clearance obtained for intermediate level off to deal with the problem. QRH procedure was complied with. After throttle was slowly retarded and oil filter msg remained. Engine failure/shutdown procedure was accomplished. We contacted flight control and informed them of our problem and intentions of returning back to ZZZ. They agreed and Amended Release to Read (ARTR) was obtained. We considered burning down to max landing weight but after dumping center fuel (approx. 24;000 pounds) we determined it would be an unacceptably long time to reach that weight. Best course of action was an overweight landing. Flight control assisted in working on landing performance numbers. Uneventful approach and landing was accomplished with a landing weight of 349;400 pounds. Unassisted taxi back to ramp.
After landing; maintenance showed us a photo of the metal shavings that had been collected by a magnet in the left engine oil system. Therefore; the aircraft's warning system worked as it should. In other words; the problem was not just a light or sensor or indicator.
B767-300 flight crew reported returning to departure airport after receiving a L OIL FILTER EICAS message which led to an inflight shutdown.