While cleaning up the motor to put the heads and intake back on, I found 2 very small plastic pieces in the lifter valley. They look like pieces of a small plastic tube of some sort. They're about the diameter of a drinking straw.

Anyone know what these are from? Maybe part of the low oil sensor? Although if they were, not sure how they would have made it past the oil pump's screen?



Thanks,
Thomas.

 

maybe a valve seal???

 

Maybe a chunk off the oil pump drive thingy?

 

I'll second that, diameter of a drinking straw seems to indicate th oil pump drive plastic sleeve coupling..

 

You can get an all metal pump drive shaft when you replace it, which you need to do. It looks like a piece is still missing...

 

if that is the oil pump drive sleeve, how did it end up in the lifter valley?

 

main cap has to come off for the metal one to go in from the bottom

How would it get up top anyway? nowhere for it to go up......

 

Motor built on Friday or Monday.

 

Thanks guys .... not sure it is something from the bottom, as it wouldn't be able to make it up through the screen.

Valve seal sounds reasonable, as I replaced the valve seals 22k miles ago when I installed the 1.7 rockers. Maybe I broke one when taking them off and pieces fell in without me noticing.

Oil pressure before the head gasket issue was very good. 60-80psi at cold start, and 30-40 at warm idle with 0w40 castrol german synth.

Thomas.

 

the oil shaft collar has a ridge on the inside and made from hard plastic. Do those pieces have that ridge?

 

I don't see a ridge on the inside of these pieces; they're very smooth on the inside.

Thomas.

 

prob a piece of a valve seal.

 

Right about pump drive, it wouldn't be up top. Good catch. My first thought was valve seal. But valve seals are a lot bigger than a drinking straw. Unless only the ID is 'roughly' that size, then the description fits.

 

could be something that fell off of the intake manifold, (vacuum hose ends).
It it hard plastic or soft plastic?

Karl Ellwein

 

My ARP shaft slid right in through the bottom.