Washer dropped in Distributor/oil pump hole

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synchro66

synchro66

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Long story short, Not paying attention and knocked a small 1/8 spring washer down into the distributor /oil pump hole. ..."Oil pump drive was out as well". Can this washer cause problems by getting into the oil galleys or will it drop down past the camshaft into the oil pan, as per attached pic? What is the fix for this? Not after opinions guys,.... please only reply if you know EXACTLY what needs to be done
Cheers

IMG_3016.jpg
 
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Yes that will cause a problem. As said a magnate. If that does not get it, will have to pull the intake…. It’s sucks but the alternative could be way worse…
 
synchro66 said:
Yes. tried but no luck..wondering whether it would have dropped thru into the oil pan?
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It could have. A friend lost a rocker on a 502zz motor a few weeks ago that kicked out the valve keeper and fell down one of the oil drain back holes, was sitting in the valley once we pulled the intake..
 
If it made it to the pan it will never get past the screen. But if it went down the hole you should see it in the pump drive, If in there it cannot get out. If you see it and can get it, Try some red sticky grease on the ball of an antenna. It will unscrew from the fender pretty easy, Sounds like I've been here before don't it.
 
i know exactly what needs to be done: it needs to be found

if that's a current pic of the motor, at least it's not in the car so pulling the pan should be a non issue.
 
4spdragtop said:
You could use a shopvac with 1/2" rubber hose to get in nooks/crannies.
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Good suggestion ...Ill try that , but first will try using an endoscope camera setup which i'll have to borrow from a friend...that should hopefully detect it. remember,... i said that the both the distributor AND the oil pump drive were out when it fell in so it may have ended up in the oil pan???
 
Drain oil pan, it may be visible thru hole or flexible magnet?
You could drag a strong magnet along bottom of pan to get it closer to hole?
synchro66 said:
Good suggestion ...Ill try that , but first will try using an endoscope camera setup which i'll have to borrow from a friend...that should hopefully detect it. remember,... i said that the both the distributor AND the oil pump drive were out when it fell in so it may have ended up in the oil pan???
Click to expand...
 
synchro66 said:
Long story short, Not paying attention and knocked a small 1/8 spring washer down into the distributor /oil pump hole. ..."Oil pump drive was out as well". Can this washer cause problems by getting into the oil galleys or will it drop down past the camshaft into the oil pan, as per attached pic? What is the fix for this? Not after opinions guys,.... please only reply if you know EXACTLY what needs to be done
Cheers

View attachment 1716231182
Click to expand...

If the engine is on a stand, as a last resort before taking things apart, spin the engine upside down.

You might get lucky and it will fall out.

Don't assemble the rest of the engine until you find it.
 
Like Old Man Mopar said, if it's in the pan, leave it there and move on. It can't get into pump.

I can't tell you how many Fords I've taken apart that had various parts in the pan. Lots of them.
 
So here's where you are in a nutshell.

You dropped a small washer and think it went down the in the distributer shaft hole. You can't tell if it is lodged in the oil pump drive gear or if its in the pan because you can't see it.

All this "probably " talk is pure speculation.

The only way you will know if its in the oil pan is if you actually see it there.

If the washer is still in the engine and you have no idea of where it is , ask yourself one question.

How bad do I want to disassemble everything to take the engine back out and rebuild it or possibly replace it?
 
Drag a welding magnet or speaker magnet across the oil pan towards the drain plug hole. If it doesn’t fit thru the hole, put a magnetic drain plug in so it stays put.
 
Super-Cuda said:
So here's where you are in a nutshell.

You dropped a small washer and think it went down the in the distributer shaft hole. You can't tell if it is lodged in the oil pump drive gear or if its in the pan because you can't see it.

All this "probably " talk is pure speculation.

The only way you will know if its in the oil pan is if you actually see it there.

If the washer is still in the engine and you have no idea of where it is , ask yourself one question.

How bad do I want to disassemble everything to take the engine back out and rebuild it or possibly replace it?
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I agree
It's a whole lot cheaper to pull the pan then to replace the motor
 
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