I dropped the oil pan to change the gasket on a friend's 1999 XK8, and found a curved strip of metal in the oil pick up pipe screen:




The metal is thin, rigid and brittle - it broke in two as I withdrew it from the pipe: It is non-magnetic, probably an aluminum alloy.




The piece is slightly curved. On the inverse side of the curve, the metal is coarsely textured, more like the surface left by sintering than rough sand casting:




On the obverse side of the curve, it appears the metal was similarly textured, but has been polished by friction against some other part. The linear scratches look like those you would find on piston rod or crankshaft bearings:



The strip is approximately 6 mm - 1/4 in. wide and this appears to be the original width.

Could this be part of a primary timing chain guide? The upper timing chain tensioners were first generation and very badly cracked. I replaced them with the latest metal ones:



This engine runs great with no unusual noises apparent when probing around the block and heads with a stethoscope.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts on what this mystery metal piece could be.

Cheers,

Don

 

Sorry to say I can’t answer your question.

But posts like this and other similar recent posts make me want to drop the oil pan on my 2002 XKR and see what UFO* I might have down there……

Z

* unidentified floating object

 

Early on there were reports of random slivers of milling debris. Found a thin sliver of Al on a ledge above the oil pan when replacing the gasket.

 

I just happened to check. Two years ago today, I replaced my pan gasket. I did not find any debris. My best guess is that this is a machined metal chip.

 

Here is my thread that I started on a similar issue a couple of weeks ago. Looks very similar to what was found in my screen during a pan gasket change, I've had the car for almost the last 10 years with no problems, and it seems like the consensus is that it's likely some kind of manufacturing debris.


Metal Pieces In Engine Oil Screen - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

 

Thanks for all of your kind replies.

Inspecting this piece closely, it does look as though it could be swarf. The scratches on one side could have been caused by a machine tool, and the texture on the other side could be the "wrinkling" we see on swarf chips as they peel and curve away from the workpiece during machining. It's large for a piece of swarf, but perhaps this is part of a ribbon of waste metal that was peeled away by a machine tool.

Hopefully that's all it is and it's been there from the beginning. As I mentioned, the engine runs great with no unusual sounds, so hopefully there is nothing more to worry about.

Cheers,

Don

 

Another vote for swarf....

 

No answer but you were right on the edge with those plastic tensioners!
Look at all those cracks.
.
.
.

 

These tensioners were ticking time bombs just waiting to cause catastrophic engine damage at any moment! Which is why every owner of a Jag with an early AJ V8 engine MUST remove the camshaft covers and inspect the tensioners to be sure they have been upgraded to the third-generation metal-bodied versions.

You typically cannot tell if the original plastic tensioners are undamaged by simple inspection because the cracks tend to form on the side that is obscured by the intake cam sprocket. And the fact is, all of the plastic tensioners crack. If you have plastic tensioners, you must replace them with the metal ones or risk losing your engine.

Cheers,

Don