Inspect your engine block!

[lsmalley]

I was resealing my valve cover today and I decided while I was there with the cover off to do I brief visual and manual check of the rocker arms and lifters. When I got towards the front (cylinder #1) I saw a piece of something sitting on top of one of drain holes....it was a nice sized piece of aluminum! I could not figure out what had broken off or where it came from so I began to inspect every inch of the block under the valve cover and I found where it came from. It was a tab from one of the rocker arm supports. Luckily the piece did not cause any damage or fall into the lower part of the engine. The piece that broke off does not seem to pose much of a danger as it is a tab that does not really hold anything in place. But I'm glad I caught it.