Joe,
I have a 2002 Excursion with a 7.3 PSD with less than 12000 babied miles. While changing my oil, I had an unwelcomed surprise when a curved steel tube <2 inches long fell out of the oil pan when I removed the drain plug !!! The tube appears to be broken and has been banged around quite a bit based on all of the dings and gouges on it. The only item I can see in my engine drawings is a "Piston Cooling Oil Jet" (Part 6C327) that could resemble this.
From what I could find, these Piston Cooling Oil Jets "provide optimum temperature contraol and lubrication, resulting in long engine life" If this is a Piston Cooling Oil Jet, should I be concerned that I wont get the mileage out of this engine?
Also, should I be concerned with any damage this may have caused bouncing around in the low end?
Is there anything else this can be?
I have digital pictures of this tube if it would help. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks