Can anyone tell me what this metal piece is, I found it in the oil pan while l changing a gasket. Underneath the underneath the engine looked good and when I had the heads off everything looked good up top. It is magnetic


Edit: sorry for bad spelling I think I fixed it I posted from my phone using voice because my hands were filthy.

EDIT: it kinda looks like a piece of inner valve spring.

 

No way it could be anything from the head area unless you have a piston missing or something like that. My guess would be a cam bearing but it looks to small. So it is probably something from the bottom end of the motor.

 

I would agree with the piece of inner valve spring given the thickness and shape of it and it looks smooth on both long edges - is the other end where the break was?

 

It is broken on both ends but it is a fairly smooth break.

I think it might be this. I will find out today and if it is the spring I will get some rope out and fix it.

Fricken scary moment looking in the pan. I spent 2 hours turning the engine and looking at the bottom end carefully no damage to be found.

 

Yup, looks like a valvespring dampener to me also.

 

That would be amazing then I can put the oil pan back on and shove some string in the spark plug hole, change the spring and call it a day.

I will pull the covers today and check

 

That is a amazing distance for a damper to have traveled.



But I have seen stranger things.

 

Yea I know I will inspect again tonight and look under the covers. There is also the off chance that it was something from the previous owner. I just cannot place it in my head from its size.

 

Well I mean there are oil drains in the heads, are there not? I figure it just broke and flew to a place where oil was flowing, and ended up in the pan.

 

Yes, I'm not recalling the size in a SBC at the moment but in most engines they are fairly large passages that readily accept screws and other smallish things and drain straight to the crankcase. That being why there is no return plumbing shown in that picture of the lubrication system.

 

Ok good news for me. I popped off the valve cover and found the broken dampener as well as two more pieces of it.

I could not find any other broken dampeners.

I sent an email to patriot and they are sending me a free replacement

 

I just wanted to mention that patriot had the replacement to me in 2 days free of charge with no issues.

Although they are called promaxx now.