Does Anyone Know What this Part is?

[mbl]

This piece fell off my 1995 Mazda Protege. The car is a standard, if that matters. It is making a lot of engine noise and has lost considerable power with accelleration. The dealership didn't see anything missing. Does anyone know what this part is/what it does or where it goes?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Clarkbug]

You may want to move this to a different forum... This one is for Protege5s, which were only made from 2002 to 2003. Try one of the other protege forums, you may have better luck.

But when stuff falls off your car, thats never good....