Generation IV Internal Engine - little peices in my oil... any ideas?

While changing my oil found these pieces on the drain plug. Any ideas what they might be? At first I though maybe I broke a valve spring so I pulled the heads to check the springs and so far I don't see any damage. Springs are Patriot(???) duals. Haven't pulled the pan yet to see if there is anything else floating around. Friend of mine suggested that the pieces might be part a wrist pin??? Any ideas?

My car is a 99 SS with a LS3 swap. I bought it off a guy in NC who had done the swap and I can't recall the exact parts or specs. I never noticed a knocking or ticking. I'm expecting to be in for a treat if it ends up being down low. Probably shouldn't have bough a swap car not knowing the owner/installer. Live and learn

The big pieces look like pieces of valvesprings, the small one in the middle (right next to the biggest chunk of valvespring) looks like a rocker needle bearing to me... the other pieces on top idk...

If anything like that ended up in the oilpan from a failure i would imagine the engine would run very rough. Maybe your engine has been rebuilt and in the process they didnt run the pan through a machine wash? could always be object that feel into the pan during the swap, if you didnt do the swap yourself that is.

That is what I have been thinking this whole time. Before I pulled the heads off, the car ran absolutely fine... like a raped ape on cocaine. At least till the 10-bolt said, "I give up". My best friend insists he heard a ticking noise but I never did and he only heard it running maybe 4 times. I very certain its not the valves because none of the pieces look anything like parts of the dual springs that are installed nor is there any sign that there is spring damage. There is no cylinder wall damage or abnormal wear to make me think something is bad down low either. Just these mystery pieces. Part of me just wants to not worry about it and put it all back together but I've had to much bad luck in the past with engine internals failing. Though none of my previous vehicles were LS cars, 2 Chrysler 2.0l and a Jeep 4.0l. I'm gonna pull the pan this weekend and post pics if I find anything else.

side note* Chrysler can suck my nuts :sack: ... sorry thats been pent up for some time.

big ones look like valve spring pieces, little one looks like a needle bearing, and the other stuff looks like something off the floor of a welding shop lol. hope ya get it lined out

Yes they are the inners of patriot golds... i have broken 2 springs in the past 2 yrs.. same thing drain the oil and thats what came out.. You may have a broken rocker with them needles there..

so I still have yet to even begin the headache of droping the oil pan but I was able to take a closer look at the rockers. Found one that had a retaining ring missing with a small build-up of powdered metal and the ends scuffed up. That one plus 2 more of the trunions had a lot of play. Notably more than the rest. How I missed seeing that when I pulled them is beyond me. Going to go ahead and upgrade with the comp or HS kit.

*EDIT* so I realized after I posted this that I perhaps already have this upgrade. I was looking at the COMP upgrades and they look exactly like mine. Do the stockers have any retaining clips? I googled and couldnt find any pics good enough to tell the difference. I hate not knowing what is actually in this car.