Identify metal in oil pan (maybe in oil pump?)

[Earendil]

So I'm doing my oil pan gasket. Everything is apart and I'm just wiping things off and inspecting them. So far so good. Then, as I'm wiping off my oil pump some metal bits fall. I inspect them and the pump, and I can't see that they could possible have come from the outside of the pump. I give the pump a few shakes and a few more smaller bits fall.



Really high resolution image here


They look like they are pieces of a metal ring or metal gasket. They are very beat up, especially the largest piece which appears to have suffered some twisting action. Does anyone have any ideas what these might be from? There was nothing this large in my oil pan, but perhaps they were sucked up and caught by the pump over time? Or from the pump its self? Engine is coming up on 300k so who knows what all could end up down there.

I'm not sure whether to reassemble or not. For obvious reasons I'd rather not put it back together and start it up, only to find I don't have an oil pump any more :(

Thoughts? Advice? Prayers?

[Earendil]

Well, I *think* I can chalk it up to 300k. I put it all back together and did 15 miles of test driving. She purred same as ever, no sign of low pressure or odd sounds. Still... That's a lot of metal...

[Bretts85E30]

looks like pieces of rod bearings to me do they have any copper in it at all that u can see?
if so its rod bearing pieces

[Earendil]

looks like pieces of rod bearings to me do they have any copper in it at all that u can see?
if so its rod bearing pieces

Ugh. Rod bearing? I'll take a look.

[vert_this]

I would think it would be making a lot of noise if it were a rod bearing.

[Earendil]

Okay, I cleaned the pieces up and took more pictures. Here is the inside of the circle, which obvious wear marks on it.
And here is the outside, with obvious cakes/baked on grime/oil.

The pieces are really bent out of shape, but if I had to guess I'd say they represented a circle with a diameter of 1.5-4 inches. The most error being on the high side, as it seems like likely that I haven't found all the metal bits, not that I've lost two identical rings.

The only metal damage I'm aware of to the engine is the loss of 2 inner valve springs about 3 years ago. I don't recall if the valve springs have holders/perches? I know all the spring bits were recovered, and this obviously isn't a spring.