Ever had one of those days? Washer fell into the engine (pic's)

[Geoff P DVKK]

Ok so as I stated in my other thread about the Oval hitting the road, Yesterday I heard the dreaded sound of something going "clank"...."tink"...!?!?!  As I lifted off the Alt stand. As I looked down I saw only three washers on the four bolts!!! Oh Cr#p! Now...was there four washers on there? I'm sure there was but I couldn't see the fourth anywhere. I started to get a bad feeling and looked into the fuel pump hole....Nothing...Double cr#p! Nothing down the filler hole either..... Oh man..... Next I pulled the dist drive and had a look. Nothing! I used a long flexable LED light to look around but still nothing. Oh well... I guess it's time to pull the oil pump and see if it's there. A few minutes later im looking at the gear and i can't see it? Where could have it gone?

A few minets with the flash light and i see it BEHIND the cam gear! No prob my gears have holes in em, I'll just fish it out with a wire.....
Ummm nope that washer is just larger than the hole...Damn!!!



I tried bending it to get it thru, cutting it and fishing some mech wire down but i couldn't pull it up past the gears.

So This is what I did.....with a lot of patience.

I used some electrical wire, stripped it down and used two of the strands about 14" long and soldered the two tips together. Next I fished it down past the gears and into the oil pump area, with some small allen wrenches and plires (like the game Operstion) I tied it around the washer and then solderd it together (just in case, I didnt want it falling back in somewhere i couldn't get it)



and it's out!!!!
Big Sigh of relief!



Moral of the story don't be a dumb ass like me and forget to remove all washers before lifting off the stand.

 

[Sarge]

I'd stick to building ships in bottles if I were you.... good save!

[Rennsurfer]

Good save, indeed! Well done, Geoff. I'm willing to bet that you'll never do that again. Most of us have done stuff like that... so don't feel too bad.

[deano]

Been there and done that. I once was tapping a value lash caps on to the valve end, and managed to hit clip the side of one, launching it down one of the push rod tubes. Lucikly, it was new engine on the stand, with little oil in it. For about 20 minutes, we rotated that engine left. then right, upside down, then right-side up, and over and over again, trying to get that stupid lash cap to come out of the sump. Finally, after a few million choice words, it came out and hit the floor. I thought Don Bradford and Harvey Weidman were going to die laughing....

[Rick Meredith]

That's how I built my first VW motor. I was putting Kadrons on my '67 1500 SP. While I was trying to put on the left manfold I heard the dreaded "tink" Crap! Did my best to fish it out with a magnet then some grabbers... no luck... so let's pull the motor...maybe we can get a better angle on it. so several hours later (don't laugh... it was my first time pulling a motor) The motor is sitting on the ground. spent another 1/2 hour fishing around the intake ports then searching around the motor and garage floor... nothing. I noticed that the #3 intake valve is just barely open... you don't think??? Nah... but it's not anywhere else... Ok let's pull the head... sure enough. there it was!

Then the motor became "As Long As" which was the motors nickname until the next rebuild.

Well "As Long As" we have one head off we should probably take off the other head and do a valve job.

Well "As Long As" oh that one barrel is scored a little.. we should do pistons and cylinders

Well "As Long As" we have the pistons and cylinders off we should look at the bottom end

Well "As Long As" we have the bottom end apart, we should put in new bearings and have the case aligned bored and full-flowed and balanced and change the cam and lifters....

By the time it was done, it was a freshly built 1641 with ported single ports an Engle 110 remote filter etc.

That damned 10 cent washer cost me a heck of a lot!

[vwxtc4free]

I'd stick to building ships in bottles if I were you.... good save!

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!    Good one Sarge.  Glad you got it out.  I dropped an intake washer down a cylinder once .It was by the grace of God that I got it out without tearing off the head.   I love the new brown old coral oval.  

[Brandon Sinclair]

Many years ago I was buttoning up a new engine, and I had the longblock in the engine stand which was rotated vertical.  As I was putting on the last spring washer on the rocker block it stuck to the oil on my finger and fell down the pushrod tube and into the engine.  I was so mad I had to step away.  I posted on the Cal-Look forum and Jim Ratto suggested that if I had a universal case with the type III blockoff plate to remove the cover and try to fish it out with a flexible magnet.  Well after 20 minutes or so I finally got it out through that block off plate hole.  Now when I am buttoning up a new engine it is always horizontal!

[SlingShot]

This may sound a little hillbilly but depending where you dropped it and what it's made of, a Cow Magnet on the pick up tube works awesome at recruiting lost hardware. I owned a car that the P.O. had a lash cap that went missing. When I tore the sump off of it, low and behold there was the lonely lash cap stuck on the magnet.

[Fasterbrit]

A good tip for retrieving a lost washer down an inlet port is to suck it out with a vacuum cleaner. It works a treat and you don't have to remove a thing

[Rick Meredith]

A good tip for retrieving a lost washer down an inlet port is to suck it out with a vacuum cleaner. It works a treat and you don't have to remove a thing

DOH- Now you tell me... where were you in 1978 when I needed that?? 

[Rennsurfer]

This may sound a little hillbilly but depending where you dropped it and what it's made of, a Cow Magnet on the pick up tube works awesome at recruiting lost hardware. I owned a car that the P.O. had a lash cap that went missing. When I tore the sump off of it, low and behold there was the lonely lash cap stuck on the magnet.

That's not hillbilly at all. On the contrary, cow magnets are quite effective. The idea, of course, has been considered bizarre by most. But effective, nonetheless. Well done Sir.

The vacuum idea sounds like another good call. These are helpful things to remember in case I ever go down that dreadful road again. Thanks for the tips.

[Sarge]

......  "I was so mad I had to step away." 

  That always seems to be the time the wife picks to come out to the garage and ask one of her "questions".....

[javabug]

I've had a few of these moments in the last few years.  It seems they are on the increase.  Last summer buttoning my 1835 back up after having to pull it out because I broke an exhaust stud changing exhuasts—dropped the rocker shaft nut down a pushrod tube and listened to it roll down the tube.

Same year, was bolting parts back onto my dad's BBC after I had it all painted and detailed and back sitting in the car, dropped an alternator bracket washer down in the valley before the intake was on.  No oil so I heard it hit the bottom of the pan.  Tried fishing it out with a coat hanger and magnet but no go.  Tried dropping the pan just enough to get the magnet and wire in there—had it but lost it on the withdrawl and couldn't find it again because the pan is baffled.  Finally had to jack the motor up to really get the pan down.  The real pisser was unbolting the pan, which I painted ON the motor so it looked factory with the bolts painted.  Not happy about that.

  That always seems to be the time the wife picks to come out to the garage and ask one of her "questions".....

HA!  Yeah or she just pulls up with a trunk load of groceries..."aren't you gonna help me carry them in?"

[Jim Ratto]

I changed the way I build motors because of same issue. Back in 1990 I was building the motor for the Scab Bus after much procrastination. It was a simple 1679 built with new case, std/std crank, forged 88's...bla bla bla. Anyway, had motor up on stand, lined pushrod tubes up, motor is up on its side, head studs vertical... slide head on.... start dropping the 8mm thick washers on..... "PILNK!"....yep dropped one down into pushrod tube down into case. *&({{_++$^*(&#&*!!!!!
I got luck and was able to take off Type 3 oil filler block off plate and get it out. Had it not been a universal case.... well...   
Now I install nuts and washers with motor horizontal. Then tip it up and torque heads.

I think anybody with dual carbs has a story about SOMETHING going down intake ports... nuts, washers, jets... up on highway 35 near Half Moon Bay was on a jetting pass, changing idles, dropped one down a velocity stack... F**K! Out in the middle of nowhere with a BRASS jet (non magnetic) down a 48 throat. Instead of field stripping the carb, I spat out my Wrigleys gum, jammed the wad on the end of 1/4" socket extension (14" long) and glued that to jet and got it off throttle plate. Phew. Talk about hill billy.

[Fritter]

Wow, that was an extensive save!   

Whenever I work on engines I have that "anal retentive" moment where I ponder for a while whether or not I dropped anything inside the engine.  Eventually I give in and move forward, but it always happens!

[cal-look 56]

I spat out my Wrigleys gum, jammed the wad on the end of 1/4" socket extension (14" long) and glued that to jet and got it off throttle plate. Phew. Talk about hill billy.

Thats some Mcguyver type shit

[Lee.C]

Ask mr Webb about last year before EBI2 - I did almost the exact same thing with a STAINLESS steel nut (not magnetic!) it droped down when I took off the dizzy and I already had the fuel pump removed  I had the dizzy drive out, oil pmp out everything Then Richie popped round and asked if I'd tried turning it up side down  and 2 mins later we had it flipped over and out drop a little stainless steel nut - EASY