I removed the windage tray and oil pump as a unit from a 603.971. As I put away bits and pieces for the night, I found on the garage floor a 1cm by 2cm shard of the windage tray separate from the tray. I loosened the bolts then spun them off by hand. The tray came of cleanly and easily though I might not have noticed the shard already separated. I fished out of the oil pump screen some bits of o-ring, RTV and a couple of metal shards. I can't tell if the shards came from the windage tray. I haven't gone deeper into the pump.

There was a member who was against these windage trays and insisted that anyone fool enough to reinstall one should use thread locking compound. IIRC the bolts go on dry at the factory. But now I wonder if there is merit to that sentiment. What causes a windage tray to disintegrate? The engine has been apart before so maybe the tray was damaged then. The bolts are evenly spaced and in plain sight. It's not likely someone missed a bolt and yanked the tray. There would at least be indications that it got bent and was reshaped. This tray is straight.

Sixto
87 300D