What's this in my oil pan?

[4doorboost]

Hello, so I pulled off my oil pan today because I am having a 12an drain welded on and I found this in the pan. It doesnt look like anything in the bottom end is messed up, (fully forged bottom end) and the oil squirters look good so in thinking it came from the head. Maybe part of a Lifter? Any help appreciated

 

[AWDPower]

It looks like one of those thermometer buttons that some rebuilders or importers stick on the outside of the head or block. The heat sensitve button tells them if the engine has been overheated, voiding the warranty. Maybe during a later rebuild it came off and fell into the block? Can you tell if there were once any letters imprinted on the face in the bottom picture? The importers sometime have their name on the button.

 

[Lofty]

Looks like a neodinium magnet that someone put on the drain that broke or something?

 

[4doorboost]

Has no writing on it and whatever it is broke in half and looks like it snapped off of something.

 

Quoting AWDPower:
It looks like one of those thermometer buttons that some rebuilders or importers stick on the outside of the head or block. The heat sensitve button tells them if the engine has been overheated, voiding the warranty. Maybe during a later rebuild it came off and fell into the block? Can you tell if there were once any letters imprinted on the face in the bottom picture? The importers sometime have their name on the button.



This.

 

[donniekak]

Hard to tell from a pic, but it may be part of the block. Some of the threaded holes in the block go deep enough so that a fastener that is to long can bottom out, and push into the crankcase.

 

[aaron619]

Is the inside of your valve cover painted red? Looks like it could be a rivit from the baffle in the valve cover. My 2 cents

 

[mitsuturbo]

Is that a piece of ferrous material, or nonferrous?