first guess will be the best guess. My original guess was that I had an oil pump or bearing failure. With a new oil pump in hand I dropped the pan late yesterday afternoon. It appears that the problem was not the pump. I found a "chunk" of cast brass/bronze of irregular shape roughly 8mm long and 5-6mm in diameter resting comfortably in the bottom of the pan. Appeared to have come from a circular casting. Along with this were a few small chips of the same material and a fair number of "flakes" (very thin) of perhaps lead or aluminum (would not pick-up with a magnet). Just as the pan came off my bride arrived to have me clean up for dinner out so I have investigated no further.

Any ideas out there as to which bearing the chips might be from; thrust bearing perhaps?

Will probably be next spring before I have the time to yank the engine OR would anyone want to swap this inop 300SD, with a fair amount of new hardware for a decent 190D. (I have driven large cars all my life but I find that I much prefer the 201 to the 126).

Jim

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2005 C240 4matic wagon (daily driver)
87 190D - 225K (on loan)
85 190D - 312K (on loan)
2011 Subaru Legacy AWD (Wife's)