[Rick Lee]

Yeah, those long pieces were metal, not caked silicone. But the wheel has no play at all. Last week I got a magnetic drain plug for the FD and put it in so I'd have some miles on it when I changed it today. The magnetic drain plug had the really fine fuzz, almost like mud, inside it. The speed sensor, however, gives me some cause for concern. I need to call the previous owner's dealer tomorrow, as I believe the FD unit was exchanged once already around the 600 mile service. Of course, my local dealer is only six hours away from the PO's dealer. I hope they'll work with me on this, though I'm sure they won't do anything yet, as there's no play in the wheel, no leaks and no symptoms other than that speed sensor. I'll email the photos to the service mgr. there. But I doubt they're into preventative warranty repairs.

FWIW, I pulled the valve covers off tonight to prepare for a valve adj. in the morning and those four bolts were torqued way, way too tight. I was very worried I was gonna end up with helicoils.