Ball Bearing in Pre-Chamber ?

[sgoodhart]

I posted this note on the Diesel Forum but wanted to see if any of you had anything else to add before I go farther.

I pulled out the Injector nozzles in my 81 240D and then removed the heat shield. I looked down through the hole with a flashlight and noticed what appeared to be a steel ball loose in the pre-chamber. I removed the steel ball with a magnet and it looks like a steel ball bearing. It is the same diameter as the hole. The other pre-chambers do not appear to have anything loose in them. Does anyone know where this ball could have come from ? Am I assuming correctly that it should not be there ? If it's not supposed to be there could it have caused problems ?

It's been suggested that this is part of the pre-chamber that came loose. It is a perfect ball bearing that does not show any sign of being broken off. Do I need to replace the pre-chamber ?

Thanks,

Scott