Circular Broken Washer in Oil Pan

[Deep]

Respected Saab Fellows. I got 2003 Saab 95arc 6cyl. 3.o engine, bought at 80000 miles in Oct. 2013. Change Timing belt all associated rollers. Thermostat and the coolant sensor, oil + oil filter, Engine filter, Cabin filter. Front wheel Hub and bearings, Steering pump, Turbo.
Now the car is at 84400.
1)Today during Engine Oil change, I found broken metal piece attached to magnetic plug. I do not want to run the car till I find what is it? Need your assistance in Identifying this part. Please help. Picture of the chip with penny (to imagine the size of the mystery broken part) is attached.
Is it safe to drive the car?
2) Some times the car does not starts: 1st thing in the morning and also sometimes after the short trip when the temp. indicator is half -way on dial (horz) The coolant temp sensor was changed with thermostat. After that the starting prob. is reduced to once a wk. or so. New York cold and too much snow.
Need Your Help.
Thanks and regards.

[Burnsside42]

Well the drain plug magnet did it's job.... being magnetic means steal. If things are all quiet and running as normal I wouldn't go nuts unless more parts materialize. Strange indeed.

[Deep]

Thanks Burnsside42. I'm afraid. Wait and see if some one can identify this. Thanks and regards.

[photousa]

My first thought was the material looks like stripped threads, almost like your drain plug was cross threaded and stripped in some way, leaving a couple of pieces behind...

[Deep]

Thanks photousa. It is worn flat broken washer. where in engine it belong? or came down from valves chamber: flow down with oil. I do not know. It is not stripped threads. Thanks anyway.

[photousa]

I've taken my cylinder head completely off for a head gasket job and I can't remember seeing a washer like that used anywhere. It's possible that someone had the cylinder head cover off and the washer dropped in by accident.. I should also add that I don't usually comment on 6 cylinder questions because I don't own one, I own the 4 cylinder..

[photousa]

One more thing to add, those pieces are too large to get past the oil pickup (mesh screen), so it's unlikely that any additional pieces would get into your upper engine.. When people take their oil pans off, you can often see bits of metal attached to the oil pickup screen. The other pieces probably got flushed out when the oil was drained, I wouldn't be too concerned about it.

[Mike Brennan]

Washer from bearing shell bolt.

[Deep]

God helps us all (Via each other, This how it acts, because we help each other, It's called "Being Kind". Opposite to kindness is greed that where the world gets lost and hatred starts and play it's role and Hatred takes away from God). My respected fellows, keep doing the good deeds such as posting here to best of of your knowledge and practical, experience. God bless you all.

Thanks to photousa and Mike Brennan.
This washer has shinning surfaces and the outer edge too. Inner circle is not shinning. Seem like both the surfaces been grinding/rubbing against something that kept it polished and shinning. This washer has surface circular lines and if you look closely the inner edge is raised (worn less). Please help. I'm not driving Saab till I find what is it. For now wait Enjoy beautiful snow God makes it.

[Thieuke]

Look, personally I think you do not have to worry about anything. I think it's a washer that doens't belong in the engine anyways. Maybe it fell in during maintenance or something (wouldn't be the first time).
It happens to be that I'm currently disassembeling a 3.0t v6 Saab 9-5, this weekend I'm going to take the engine out. I will take a look in the engine, behind the sump to see wether such washers are a part of the b308. I'll even make pictures, so you can see.

The washer is probably shiny because it was loose for a while and bumped into stuff in the sump. You want to be sure? take of the sump and have a look yourself.