My check light has come on on my 2002 quatro a6 3.0 and the engine sometimes will shutt off while in idle. I figured I had a problem with my Crankshaft Position Sensor so I placed a order for one since the car after shutting off is hard to start. The shipment of my part was delayed so I decided to do a gunk flush and removed the oil pan and found that my a6 had given me a present for xmas. The piece is rather thin and can be bent by hand. This piece is all alone without any other metal shavings of any sort. Thinking it could be a tensioner of some sort but im not sure. Wanted to post this and check before pulling the valve cover where I have a bit of noise.

 

anyone?

 

dooo doooo dooooooooo

 

to me it looks like part of a soft-metal gasket. like one you'd find around the oil drain plug. but without closer investigation, it's a bit tough to be more specific.

 

there is a metal gasket around the oil drain plug? ANy idea where I could find a picture of the gasket you are talking about?

 

I found a picture online if that is it im not sure how it would have got broken in half though. Good eye and thank you for your response I hope your right!

 

metal gaskets wear over time with repeated insertion/removal cycles. they get deformed and bent. not a bad idea to replace them periodically as part of maintenance.

 

I think it was part of the follower that made it's way down to the pan. I pulled the valve cover and found one of the lobes is destroyed.

 

ouch, sorry about that.