Mysterious Oil Pan Findings

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

paulwaul1369

TYF Newbie
Joined
Sep 18, 2024
Posts
6
Reaction score
6
For my Z71 Tahoe LT V8 5.3 I was replacing the oil pump. And you know that means you have to drop the pan to do this amongst other things like the xfer case, a cross member and the axle shaft. In the oil pan, I found this broken piece of something... some pins, andwhat looks like a lock ring. (All metal) Check out the pics and lemme know if you know what these might be. There is a backstory though. I just did a top end and replaced all the lifters, guides and all gaskets for the exhaust manifold, intake manifold, and valve covers. I'm hoping these were there from a previous job before I bought the damm thing. I did a pretty clean and thorough job. Enough of the blabbing. Here are the pics.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20240921_092823_Gallery.jpg
    Screenshot_20240921_092823_Gallery.jpg
    133 KB · Views: 4
  • Screenshot_20240921_092811_Gallery.jpg
    Screenshot_20240921_092811_Gallery.jpg
    162.6 KB · Views: 5

mikez71

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2023
Posts
1,481
Reaction score
1,745
rocker arm needle bearings. I have heard about these falling out..
Since that chunk of what I think is a rocker is in there, I'll bet it's from a previous job.
Have heard of the bearings showing up and everything still running fine...
 

strutaeng

Full Access Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2023
Posts
1,272
Reaction score
2,756
Location
Dallas, Texas
Yikes. Agree with @mikez71

Why did you replace the oil pump? Did you have oil pressure issues? Was that resolved?

Time to remove the valve cover, but you just replaced the top end and would have seen the rocker issue. So it's possible that was from a previous job, yes.
 

j91z28d1

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 28, 2022
Posts
3,222
Reaction score
4,001
yep.. I've heard of it, but never seen it in real life.

wow. definitely inspect all the rockers.
 

solli5pack

Full Access Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2023
Posts
253
Reaction score
391
Though if the roller broke apart on his new lifter, the rocker would likely have play?
I'm thinking if the roller detonated while the engine was running there is going to be quite of bit of internal damage to the cam, bearings and maybe crankshaft? Looks like he only found half the roller so the other half is somewhere up in the engine. The rocker for that lifter should definitely be acting funny.
 

mikez71

Full Access Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2023
Posts
1,481
Reaction score
1,745
Makes sense.. Too many bearings fell out and the roller was loose and banging.. Paulwaul would have noticed that!

Hopefully the previous owner replaced the cam too..

Maybe Paulwaul got a look at the cam lobes when he replaced lifters?
 

Forum statistics

Threads
132,722
Posts
1,873,178
Members
97,551
Latest member
Westernstar8806

Latest posts

Top