Found this in my oil screen of a 2001 LTF-300 King Quad... Whatcha think it is?

[Curtis01]

OK, sooo  I finally did the old skid plate and screen removal to clean out my oil sump during an oil change...  This bike only has a couple thousand miles on it.  Runs like a top still...  Very few issues over the years after buying it used.

But boy I wasn't expecting to see this!  Piece of a circlip, stuck up in the screen, and a another shard of metal and maybe a piece of gasket material.  Nothing in the oil but that...  Pristine otherwise, and still runs like a top.  Always has.

Soooo, is it a wrist pin clip?  That's the only thing I can think of like this that could end up in there.  But definitely wanted to throw it out to guys that have seen the innerds of these more than I have.

The valves on this thing are still within the factory spec even.  Been a really good lil workhorse...

Any other ideas?

[davefrombc]

Those bits might be from the previous owner having to do a rebuild and not getting all the debris from whatever failed removed. I can't see the  circlip being from a wrist pin retainer. You'd most likely have some pretty severe cylinder scoring and other crankcase debris if it was. If it runs fine and no "funny" noises or other debris, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Curtis01]

10-4 Agreed.  You're right.  How else would it have cleared the cylinder wall to end up in the crankcase without doing hellish damage on the way out.

It's just that not a single bolt on this thing had ever been removed before.  Not even the valve covers to check the lash.  Was only a couple years old with just a couple hundred miles when I got it.  It was an older gentleman who didn't want to change gears any more due to a bad back, so he was selling it to move up to an automatic when he sold it to me.

[Impala_ss]

Holy crap that sucks.  Can't think of anything else it would be, especially if it has never been apart...

[Mech]

Hi. I'm new here and hope this isn't an old thread.

That circlip wont be from the piston because it's an external clip, it fits on a shaft, not into a piston.

You could perhaps identify it be estimating it's original diameter and then looking in a parts manual online for suitable sized circlips... probably in the gearbox or shift mechanism I should think.