Part found in oil pan
 

I’m doing my oil jet bolts. I took off the oil pan and I found this there. Engine looks perfect at 135k miles, so this didn’t happen during driving. Where did this come from, anyone have an idea?
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...a850e4155c.jpg

My WAG is the thumbscrew from a feeler gauge.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...54a7bfb65c.jpg

yes you're right! must've fallen when the previous owner adjusted the valves LOL

Very lucky :)

I bet it was mechanic po had do the valve adjust. Who among us would drop something like that into motor and just shrug it off and put it back together and hope?

Wondering if it was a dealership...

Would someone explain to me how this nut could get in the oil sump from the top of the valve train? I can't get my head around the idea but I've only had my valve cover off once.

-- Chuck

^^^

Gravity. :feint:

My guess, is it made it's way down through the front timing chain cover area. I've seen things like this before --- in other engines. Like BMWs.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...997f07603f.jpg

There are oil galleys that are large enough to allow the part to drop down to the pan. It may have been someone who just didn't realize that the screw fell off the feeler. I have those screws on each of my feeler gauges, and I loosen them each time that I switch gauges on the handles.

If this topic had been on Monday, would have been a major opportunity to mess with the OP by stating it's a critical part needing an immediate engine teardown. :p

Thanks, the photo helped show me where this could happen. Will be using individual leaves when I do this again, no nuts to come loose.

-- Chuck

This is why I remove the gauges im using from the group... and use them singular. lol

Holy Christ....

Hard to imagine anyone putting it back together and hoping.

Have you had service performed at a dealership before? I've seen some eyebrow raising things...

Bullet dodged.

I suppose its not that unbelievable. Lots of medical malpractice cases where surgeons leave sponges in the belly. Same sort of thing I guess.

Lucky man indeed. You should send a photo back to the original owner. Full disclosure and all :tiphat:

Wow. Billman and others are right: So Lucky! That nut must have bounced around like a Pachenko ball.

I have removed the individual bent feelers, not from fear of losing the nut but it is just easier to do the job with a single correct feeler.

As above and I find using pointed nose plyers with a single feeler better.

Once the part fell into the oil pan it likely remained down there, they are heavy enough to sink.

A mechanic once told me his colleague dropped a bolt into a cylinder, he turned the engine over using the starter trying to get the bolt to
"pop" out, it ended up killing the piston and valves. The shop owner called the vehicle owner to report that the car needed a new motor and charged the owner $4,000, lol. This stuff happens more than anyone realizes.

Early Porsche 911s, used to have oil filler cap --- under a pop top lid. I don't know how many ppl put gas into it.

:)

https://oi1191.photobucket.com/album...pswt4legk0.jpg

Many! Thats why porsche changed this very soon.