Recognize this gasket?

[neilschelly]

This isn't about engine building exactly, but someone here may be able to help me.

I found this bit of gasket in my oil catch can after an oil change. This can was used only for draining the engine itself of my '88 Carrera 3.2. I did not use it for the oil tank reservoir. Does anyone recognize this as a gasket that should probably be better utilized inside the motor? As best I can read the writing, it says the following, with question marks in place of letters which are too cut off to read:

?ON
an?
arm?
e MSD

I'm not too worried, but hoping someone here doesn't recognize it. Here's why it's probably not a problem...

I do not often use this catch can for my Porsche, and I do use it for other engines at times, so it's possible it was leftover from the last change on something else. In fact, I think that last engine was for my snowblower which has been running poorly since then. The 3.2 motor doesn't appear to be suffering any major oil leaks beyond it's own "normal" so I don't imagine there's anything catastrophic going on regardless. However, if anyone does recognize this, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks!

[cgarr]

Looks to be this part of the lower valve cover gasket




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[neilschelly]

Well, I've got the reusable silicon ones, so if that's the case, then it's been sitting there for several tens of thousands of miles now. ;-)
-N

[proffighter]

Timing chain cover gaskets looks similar too

[neilschelly]

Looking at the pictures of the timing chain cover gaskets on this site, it appears no two holes this close are the same size, but I think the diameters of the two holes in my found gasket are the same size (8-10mm, guess without measuring).
-N

[safe]

Most likely a piece of a valve cover gasket that happened to fall into the engine and has been there for a while (if the drain can was clean).

[Walt Fricke]

Yeah, likely to be from a valve cover back when. Flushed through the return tube into the sump. And with the one plug oil drain on the side on the 3.2 case, more likely to have stayed down somewhere in the sump (and out of harm's way) for quite a long time. Less likely to have navigated there from the chain box area, as there are more protrusions in the way, and less oil flow.

Most of the timing chain cover studs are 6mm, and the gasket holes are sized accordingly. Though two up top on the left side are 8s. Easy to measure the distance externally to see if a fit. I'd suspect an intake, since that is the "fall in" side, but perhaps the stud spacing doesn't fit as there are five fewer studs up top.

No harm, no foul. Not to worry that there may be more in there, as they will all be nicely sequestered.

[WERK I]

Is there any way that broken gasket would have fit through any of the drain plug holes? Doesn't seem possible.

[neilschelly]

The engine drain could fit it, and since it's sideways off the engine, it could have flowed out with the oil if it was positioned correctly. It sounds like the only two gaskets of this material it could be are the timing chain and valve cover gaskets. While the timing chain cover doesn't really have any shape that fits, the valve cover one does. Either of the lower corners in this lower valve cover gasket look like a match.


But as I said, I've got silicon valve cover gaskets. If this is from my engine, it wasn't still being used, and it definitely wasn't causing any issues for a long time. I'm not going to worry about it.

Thanks all!
-N