something strange found in my oil crankcase

[cristi-mic]

Hi everybody !! This time i'm coming with something more serious : today i took out the oil pan (it was a little broken from a "field trip" ) to weld it , but had a big surprise : i found a little piece of metal (a small cylinder 3 cm long and about 7 mm thick, with small canals at both ends) - looks like it may be from the distribution chain tender . Then i took out the valve cover , but everything seems ok , and the engine runs perfectly . Can this happen (the bolt that holds this tender to come loose ) ? What could happen ? And why nothing already happened ?
Waiting impatientlly , cristi from romania

(w123 240 D '77)

[ricali]

Could it have been from a previous repair?
Are you Romanian or from Moldova?
I am learning to speak Romanian from friends who have recently move to the US. My favorite food is plachenta (not sure of spelling). Buna Zera

[cristi-mic]

Hi , thanks for your answer ! I'm from Romania , Tulcea to be exact (just at the gates to the Danube Delta) .
FRankly , I was thinking about the same thing concerning that piece of steel , because my engine runs smoothly , and there is no parasit noise from the timing chain . Still , could it run without the little bolt that holds in place the chain tensioner ? Or , could this bolt take off so easily ? I wonder ... I would appreciate the opinion of somebody who already taken apart the timing mechanism ...
And yes , placinta is ok (platcinta to help you pronounce it) , and also sarmale , tochitura .....
Waiting for further input ...