Cog teeth found in oil sump...?

[JohnnyRevs]

1987 944S 16v:- Changing the oil & whilst draining, found 2 small items stuck to the magnetic oil-drain plug. If you can see the photo, they're about 5mm in length.
Any idea what they could be from to wind up in the sump? They look like teeth from some cog or other.
'Have no idea how long they've been there as this is my first oil-change on it and not sure when it was done previously. Mileage on car is 110K.

Appreciate any suggestions and ideas on any potential work that may be required, short of stripping the engine.

Thanks!

[944 Ecology]

Remove your valve cover and check the camshafts for missing teeth.

[JohnnyRevs]

OK, sounds like a good idea - will let you know what I find.
Thanks

[Dean924s]

I would probably not drive it until you figured it out especially if it is a 16V car. cams/valve/heads are not cheep on those. One of the biggest reasons I have not owned one of those.

[JohnnyRevs]

Mixed results:-
Good news, I think, on the tensioner mechanism & cogs: I pulled the cam cover and checked and as far as I can tell all the teeth appear to be in place & it all looks to be in pretty good order to my untrained eye (see pic1).
I now recall from reading over the vehicle history that there was some tensioner problem in the past that required new valves & tensioner etc, so it is possible that the teeth are simply left-overs from that incident. I don't know when the magnetic drain-plug was fitted - if it was recent, then I suppose its possible that the bits were lying in the sump for a while prior to that. The previous owner told me that he had performed some maintenance & the oil looked fairly fresh.


Pic1:-



Now to the bad bit:- oil pool in the second spark-plug chamber (I left sparks in place). What does that mean, if anything? Could it have simply got past the rubber seal between the cam-cover and the top of the chamber? Any recommendations to prevent it recurring?

Pic2:-

[968 GUY]

Change the 4 gaskets at the valve cover.

[ernie9944]

[QUOTE=JohnnyRevs;6908264]Mixed results:-
Could it have simply got past the rubber seal between the cam-cover and the top of the chamber? Any recommendations to prevent it recurring?-----------------Rubber seal is probably the problem,like mention change the four gaskets(pressure rings) & very important do not over torque the (cheese head screws)when reinstalling the valve cover,they do break easily if to much torque is apply to them & are expensive to buy around $15.00 a piece.Torque spec is 10 nm 7lb-ft

[JohnnyRevs]

Cool, thanks Ernie & 968 - I was wondering about those torque figures. I do need to replace one of the screws as one rounded when extracting. Strangely, the short ones are $33.75 whilst the long ones are only $9.50 ?? At least the rubber seals are only $2 ea on Pelican.
Thanks again.

[968 GUY]

Check with one of the recyclers.
You are in Ireland though. Probably no savings due to shipping.