Just replaced the oil pan gasket on my ‘04 Explorer 4.0 XLT w/180k miles. After removing the oil pan I noticed a couple of small plastic pieces and a small curved piece of metal about 1 1/2 inches long. Any idea what they could be? Thanks.

 

Getting any rattling noises from the engine when starting?

 

No, not a rattling noise, just a ticking noise on cold start ups.

 

If the pieces were from a timing chain system, sometimes the chain is loose and rattles some on start up.

If you did not own the vehicle from new, someone might have done some chain work earlier.

 

No, I’ve owned it since 2014 but I’m not the original owner. So you think the pieces of plastic are from the timing chain guard?

 

You might want to check on where the timing chain is located on a 4.0 engine.

Not a fun job./