About 18 months back, just before my warranty was due to run out, I noted an odd sound originating from under the bonnet. The sound would only be there for about 10 seconds following a cold start. I could only hear it with the bonnet up, standing in front of the engine. The sound went something along the lines of “tick, tick, tick, tick etc”. As soon as the engine warmed up the sound would gently fade away. So if the engine was already semi-warm (like when you just popped into a shop and out again) the sound would be even shorter in duration.

Stethoscope was used to identify High Pressure Pump as the source of the sound, and subsequently replaced.
Skipping forward to today: I was busy changing oil this morning when I found the item pictured bellow between the lower engine shield and the soundproofing material that is used to line it (the thingy you take off to get to the oil drain plug).

Although I have changed the oil a couple of times before I did not see this “floating part” until today.

I though the pictures could be of some educational value as I can clearly see what I believe to be abnormal wear marks. At the time of the pump replacement vehicle had travelled 55000 Km.

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http://www.freel2.com/forum/post158852.html#158852

Hi Alex, thanks for the link. I should have looked first... Are you able to merge the two threads together please? MY10 TD4 SE Auto