ericschimmel

I pulled my oil pan off last night to drill the hole for the oil return line and I found this in the bottom of my oil pan. Any ideas what it is?

dtapia

looks like part of a valve spring tool have you had this apart before or new owner ?

ericschimmel

I've owned the car for like 9 months and never used a valve spring tool on it.

96hb

igo4bmx

looks like an anchor bolt nut thingie

MJ0LNIR

Looks like an expandable anchor, like what's used to hang heavy stuff up on a wall. Normally there would be a long screw that screws into the hole in the center. You collapse the "wings", thread in your screw/bolt, drill a hole in the wall, and put it in. Once it gets past the drywall, it expands and holds against the inside of the drywall.

WTF it's doing in your oil pan, however, is far beyond me.

EDIT: took a third look now, doesn't look like it folds in the middle, looks like it's a solid piece, but still threaded in the middle?

ericschimmel

Thats kinda what I thought too, but it doesn't fold in the middle. It looks like it HAD threads in the middle, but they're all stripped. The car never acted funny, and it looks like its been there a while. Kinda strange.... I hope its not important.

92redhatch

thank honda for inventing the splash guard! because if it wasnt for that you'd have a motor in 100 pieces.

97Ej6mike

How that made its way down, is beyond me, assuming its something from the head.

92redhatch

^ it is nothing from a honda engine.

yoffer

How in the hell did it end up in your oil pan? Maybe someone did a oil change and droped it in through the oil cap and SOMEHOW made it all the way down to your oil pan??


Can you compare it to something so that we can get a idea on how large this piece actually is?

92ehatch

coulda been a pissed off worker at the assembly line when the car was put together.

got mad, shoved that in the oil pan.

i heard this story from my boss at the body shop i work at.

a guy bought a ford truck one time, brand new, and it had a rattle in it.

he kept taking it back and they couldnt figure it out. finally the dealership just told him to go get a new car.

after taking the car apart, it turned out that someone on the assembly line threw a pepsi can in the frame

crazy people

Teknoshaman

That part could NOT have been put in the head and "made its way down" There is no passageway from the head to the oilpan that is that large. That had to have fallen into the oilpan while the pan was of the car.

yoffer

^ Thats why i asked him to compare it to something else to see the actual size of it.

EX-T

That thing is the wing part of an oil pan saver. Once you put on in there it usually really hard to get the whole thing out with out breaking that piece off in the oil pan. The pan saver is a quick and easy fix to a stripped out oil pan. I can't find a picture of one on google though, but as soon as I do I post it up!

HandicapRacer

^ Either that,m or the previous owner had the pan off and dropped that in and dodnt realize it was in there whe nhe put it back on. just my thoughts.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EX-T &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That thing is the wing part of an oil pan saver. Once you put on in there it usually really hard to get the whole thing out with out breaking that piece off in the oil pan. The pan saver is a quick and easy fix to a stripped out oil pan. I can't find a picture of one on google though, but as soon as I do I post it up!</TD></TR></TABLE>

But he's most likely right.

EX-T

I know that's what it is. I've got one at work. I'll take a picture of it and post it up tomorrow!

Libertariat

i'm amazed you're engine isn't in pieces!!!

HandicapRacer

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ek forever guy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i'm amazed you're engine isn't in pieces!!!</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, to be honest, that piece probably weighs a bit, not too much, but enough that while its at the bottom of the pan, there isnt aneough turbulent movement to pick it up.

Libertariat

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HandicapRacer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Well, to be honest, that piece probably weighs a bit, not too much, but enough that while its at the bottom of the pan, there isnt aneough turbulent movement to pick it up.</TD></TR></TABLE>

it still had to get t the bottom somehow.

EE_Chris

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ek forever guy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it still had to get t the bottom somehow.</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EX-T &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That thing is the wing part of an oil pan saver. Once you put on in there it usually really hard to get the whole thing out with out breaking that piece off in the oil pan. The pan saver is a quick and easy fix to a stripped out oil pan. I can't find a picture of one on google though, but as soon as I do I post it up!</TD></TR></TABLE>

Vindicator9000

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EX-T &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That thing is the wing part of an oil pan saver. Once you put on in there it usually really hard to get the whole thing out with out breaking that piece off in the oil pan. The pan saver is a quick and easy fix to a stripped out oil pan. I can't find a picture of one on google though, but as soon as I do I post it up!</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's exactly right. Sometimes oil change places will put those in when they don't want to tell you that they stripped the threads on the stock drainbolt.

97Ej6mike

hmm... i smell sabatoge!

B16b-EJ8

Learn something new everyday

ericschimmel

I'll get new pictures soon. Its about an inch or so long and maybe 1/4 inch wide. And it was pinned between the bottom of the oil pan and the splash gaurd.