IMS Retrofit Mystery

[Coloradocurt]

On my way to doing the IMS retrofit on my 2003 996 C4S for precautionary/preventative reasons, I initially drained and strained the oil, dissected the filter and removed the sump cover to investigate for any signs of trouble. The only thing I found was these 4 small pieces in the sump. Any ideas of where they may have originated?

[Loren]

Looks like case sealant to me.

[JFP in PA]

Looks like case sealant to me.

+1, I would concur; this stuff is rather a common occurrence and nothing to be overly concerned about.

[Coloradocurt]

Looks like case sealant to me.

Although I've not been inside the M96 engine, from my recollection of many 2.4L, 2.7L and 3.0L air cooled engines, these typically used an RTV-type case sealant. These pieces are sort of trandslucent, almost what I'd expect a piece of dried shellac or varnish to look like. Is that basically the sort of case sealant being used these days? And while I haven't checked any of these to see if they have any elastic property, I'd expect a dried, RTV-type sealant to still have some elasticity.

[JFP in PA]

Looks like case sealant to me.

Although I've not been inside the M96 engine, from my recollection of many 2.4L, 2.7L and 3.0L air cooled engines, these typically used an RTV-type case sealant. These pieces are sort of trandslucent, almost what I'd expect a piece of dried shellac or varnish to look like. Is that basically the sort of case sealant being used these days? And while I haven't checked any of these to see if they have any elastic property, I'd expect a dried, RTV-type sealant to still have some elasticity.

Not always the case after exposure to heat cycling and oil, and Porsche uses more than one type of sealant in these engines.

[Coloradocurt]

And quite brittle: that thin, crescent-shaped piece easily snapped when I picked it up between my fingers.

[JFP in PA]

And quite brittle: that thin, crescent-shaped piece easily snapped when I picked it up between my fingers.

Again, nothing unusual................