B0nehead move - need help!!

Drop the oil pan and hopefully she is in there.
HATE when that happens.

 

Trans can stay but the pan needs to come off.

Congratulations you're not perfect. Stuff happens.

Lots of good uses for an air ratchet....thats not one of them.

 

Well. I am going to assume the basic block and head construction is more or less 308ish like. I lost a washer off one of the bearing caps working on mine. My God, there are 20 caps, thats 40 nuts and washers you can fumble. Sooner or later we all goof. Its just a matter of time.

And I tried the magnet. No luck. But it would have made no difference. So I sat and thought about it over a beer. (I didnt have a bottle of '85 Ruffino Riserva Ducale Oro handy). Not knowing the cost I probably couldnt afford one anyway.

Anyway, as I couldnt see it, It had to either be under a valve, in which case it would be impossible to find without pulling the head, or, it had gone down the oil drain. So I dropped the pan hoping, and fully expecting to find that little washer lying there cute as you please. Nope. Actually it was lying up on the ledge of the gearbox, just beyond reach of my fingers. It had dropped down the drain hole, through the block and thats where it landed. I poked around with a coat hanger and it fell out. Lucky day. At least Ferrari made the holes larger than the nuts or washers so they fall through.

So, I would say that if you cant find it up on top, pull the oil pan and keep looking. Until you get that lil feller in your hand, or are absolutely sure its not inside there somewhere, dont try to start it. If you get really frustrated, send me a bottle of that stuff and we can chat about it more

I supose being a dry sump, pulling the pan off is a real beach isnt it.

 

Jagbuff,

Had the same thing happen to me before. I had a rag over the head that I thought was so convenient, I'd use it to wipe off my hands (fool). Down went the nut. I went fishing with the magnet only to lose my "lure"! Dropping the pan made me all smiles for the rest of the week! Tada the magent and nut were hiding around the corner. Give it a shot.

 

Pan removal is actually easy with the motor in the car. No fun when the propulsion unit is out.

 

Have a big swig for me.

 

Would it help if you could see the nut/bearingcap?

http://www.toolking.com/productInfo.aspx?productid=12868&pricegrabber=SLIPV100&

 

If you have access to a video probe it can be used to locate the nut without disassembly. Any QC shop should have one. If you were in Iowa I could hook you up with one, it is sitting in my office right in front of my desk. The camera head on mine is about 1/4". I have used one to locate a nut I dropped through a carb on my car and was able to monitor the recovery on TV.

I also have a magnet on a nylon stick that works better than a string.

 

Jagbuff, nice choice of wines! If I am not too late did you try a magnet mounted on a more rigid material than string? I have a magnet mounted on a soft metal shaft like a coat hanger. Allows a bit more aggressive "fishing". You may ask why I have such a device? Because I too have traveled into that dark realm of "Oh Sh#t"!

 

First try one of the other nuts with a magnet. I've found several fasteners on my car are not magnetic. (Guess how I found that out )

 

Yes. http://www.mtmcardle.com

But the link that I gave you earlier just charges $211 to *buy* one.

Anyway, I'd think one would help.

Then I'd try a high powered shop vac to see if I could recover it. Or a magnet on a string/stick/flex-rod.

If you have to drop the pan then you may still have to use compressed air or an oil/coolant flush...just depending.

Good luck!

 

Before you go throwing money down for a borescope that may not reach all the way down anyway, why not check one of the other nuts, make sure it's magnetic, and spend a whole bunch of time fishing for it if it is magnetic. If that fails, maybe try pouring in a bunch of engine flush and opening the drain plug and let it gush out. That might be enough to get it to roll out with the flow. If not, then go fishing again from the bottom through the drain hole. If none of those things work, just drop the pan and be done with it, IMHO.

 

Some of my favorite tools are an assortment of different magnets (including one on a nylon shaft). I fished a 10mm nut from deep in the bowels of a 365 GT (it was laying on the timing chain near the bottom, borescope wouldn't have seen it). It took a couple hours of trying, be patient.

Magnets are handy for reassembly when your fingers keep getting in the way.

 

Now what an interesting thread. Guys dropping tiny metal bits into the bowels of megabuck Ferrari engines just to figure out cool ways to retrieve them. Ya'll just need a reason to buy that $211 bore scope. You dropped that stinkin nut in there on purpose didnt ya?

Honey, I want to buy this really cool tool. It might come in really handy.

No! We cant afford it.

Sounds from inside Ferrari engine "tinkytinkitytinktinktinkitytink".

Well oh darn, would ya look what I did. Uhmmm, honey?

 

Sweet!

 

Don't consider anything else.
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I love happy endings!