$*^#$!!!! I was replacing the gasket on the rear water neck today. And somehow I managed to drop the M8 washer in behind the gasket and down in to the rectangular coolant outlet and down in to the engine.

Uhm. How bad is this?

I can't really reach it with a screwdriver/magnet. A small magnet on some fishing line *might* be able to it. But I don't have such a set up, might be really hard to drill a hole in a small magnet without cracking it, and I run the risk of leaving more junk down in there.

The washer is too big to flow out through the rear water neck and in to the heater control valve or anything.

However, I suspect it's capable of circulating around inside the engine. Perhaps back to the pump. Are there any screens in front of the impeller?

Any advice?

 

I have used magnets to "fish".
I have a Harbor Freight orange expandable.
Another is a flex wand that can hold a magnet.
If you have old speakers, some have holes drilled.



Good luck,
John

 

The flex wand holding the magnet is a pretty good idea. It might be the only thing small enough to reach down in there. I can't even get my pinky in to the hole cause of the angle.

 

I have some really thin line trimmer line and I'm JB welding a tiny rare earth magnet to it. Going fishing tomorrow :P

Even the prongy grabber is too big to make it in to the hole.

 

Crap. There hole here really just isn't big enough to work in. I spent good time fishing around in there with the magnet on the wire. I'm not sure it ever really even connected though I did get it down pretty far. I have no way of knowing where in engine this thing even is now. Not sure how I'd get to it short of removing the head.

Who wants to take bets on what will happen?

I don't think anything will, but I'm the stupid idiot who put it down there in the first place. So it looks like the water pump pushes the coolant towards the back of the engine, where it travels up through the head gasket, and in to the head, and then through the front or rear water necks.

So the washer will either sit where it is in the upper engine block. Or it will be blown upwards in to the head channel. It won't make it through the rear control valve but could make it in to the radiator. I think it's going to stay in the block or if its moved, settle in the radiator.

It's possible but I don't think it could get itself in the impeller of the water pump from the block since the flow is going in the opposite direction. The round shape is beneficial here since I don't think it lends it self to catching on the impeller fins.

If it made it to the other side of the pump, if it did manage to make it through the thermostat, it still might not damage the pump.

Only one way to find out now I guess.

 

Well so far, nothing seems to care about the washer. The engine runs fine, finally got to drive this thing around the block a few times after six months of sitting. It's really running great.

But coolant is beginning to pour out of the back of the engine again. This is the reason I replaced the rear water neck gasket. I thought maybe it was the culprit. Maybe it still is. But the leak seems to have come back with a vengeance.

It's definitely not the heater core hoses. It's pouring down around the AOS and I can't see it with the intake installed. It's still possibly the the rear water neck gasket but I doubt it. The only other thing it can be in this location is the head gasket I guess.

I finally ordered a Stant pressure tester so I can put some pressure to this thing with the intake off and see where this coolant is coming out.

At least I can probably get the washer out if I remove the head. I wonder if since the leak is on the outside if I can simply silicone the crap out of it for now. I'd love to make it through the winter without having to do the valve job.