Rear diff drain plug had something odd attached to it

Hello all,

I recently purchased a 2005 Tundra (4.7L, 4x4). Today, I was draining the rear differential fluid and to my surprise, I saw a pretty large piece of metal attached to the magnet on the drain plug. This was not a metal fragment or shaving, it was a fully intact piece of metal that looks something like an allen key. I've attached pictures below. I should mention that the truck has the mechanical limited-slip differential. Also, the oil that drained out of it was pretty nasty but did not have a glittery look to it like it would if there were a bunch of metal shavings floating around in it, and the drain plug itself was pretty clean aside from the sizeable metal object attached to it. The object itself has very slight marring on one side. The truck drives fine. Any ideas what it could be?

 

Looks like a tip for a snap ring plier

 

It looks like the magnet saved the gears and internals. The piece doesn't look chewed up at all. So that's good.

 

Thanks guys! Just wanted to make sure it wasn't a retaining clip or some part of the diff

 

Like a Dr. performing surgery and leaving instruments inside the patient!

Glad the magnet did it's job and kept your diff intact.

 

Meanwhile, somewhere a mechanic is cussing about “where the hell did it go …?!”

 

Ah, Shifty, a legend in the tundra forum - thanks to you I have ordered a set of OEM lower ball joints + bolts and a timing belt kit!