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Hey so I dropped a head nut down the oil passage right next to this head bolt. I tried using a telescopic magnet to get it out, I can't find it. I don't want to pull the oil pan cause I'm gonna replace the engine sometime. will it jam my oil pump if I leave it in there? How do I know if it's at the bottom of the oil pan? It's a 1986 951. It could be a year before I replace the engine
It will be a whole lot sooner if you leave that nut in there. It won't go into your oil pump because the pickup has a screen in front of it, but that nut could get caught in the rotating assembly and do some serious damage.
That said, I doubt the nut got into the oil pan through that oil passage. Are you sure you dropped it down that hole? If your block is the same as my block (I also have an '86 turbo) a head stud nut won't go all the way into the pan if it falls in that oil passage because the oil passage has a restrictor half way down.
When you used your magnet, did you stick it down that oil passage?
Have you shined a light down that passage? If your nut did go down there, you should be able to see it sitting on the restrictor about 15cm down.
Harbor Freight has a reasonable priced inspection camera which would probably help you determine where it is located if 944crazy's tips don't work for you.
Personally I would not feel comfortable having a nut flopping around loose anywhere inside the motor.
If it did go down there may try a magnet from an old PC hard drive. (I seem to have a lot of these old drives laying around.) The magnets in these are very strong and I seem to find uses for them (one is a stud finder). They usually have a hole on one side so you can put a string on it. You might have to grind down the magnet bracket opposite string, but worth a try.
It dropped down the square hole. But everything is where you least expect it so I'm gonna check inside the cross over pipe just in case. Unfortunately I don't have any PCs laying around. I didn't drain all the oil so I'll do that and shine a light down there and try the magnet again. If it did make it to the oil pan by chance don't they usually put a magnet at the bottom of the pan? Then I wouldn't have to worry about it moving sound too much down there?
The Harbor Freight inspection camera with pistol grip is a POS. That's CAPITAL POS. Mine lasted about 3 uses, then crapped out about 30 seconds after the "warranty" expired. Besides, the lens on the Harbor Freight POS is probably too fat to fit that hole.
That said, the inspection camera idea has merit. Costco and others have similar inspection cameras with smaller diameter ends on the fiber optic cable, which are small enough to fit that hole, into a spark plug hole, etc. Best would be a medical laparoscope or endoscope with tip that moves with a joystick, like proctologists use.
Another, perhaps better option may be a very small lipstick camera plugged into a laptop computer, which has vastly larger screen which you can actually see stuff on, unlike the HF POS. Use a magnetic base to mount the lipstick camera wherever you want it, and see what you're doing on the laptop screen.
The magnet trick may work in theory. What I found when such a nut ricocheted off the intake manifold and down into the front cover/timing chain race on my old Bimmer, was that a magnet just sticks to whatever it's next to, then gets hung up. I wound up removing the front cover to retrieve the lost nut.
Ya the magnet does get stuck on quite a bit of stuff. I tried again and also managed to see down the hole and there is a catch thing there and then right next to it is another drain hole leading to the back of the engine and I seriously doubt the nut could fit thru that. I'll see what I can do about a camera but and if I can't find one I think I'll just turn the crankshaft and see if the nut is caught anywhere around it. I think it's ok to turn the crankshaft anyhow.
Ya the magnet does get stuck on quite a bit of stuff. I tried again and also managed to see down the hole and there is a catch thing there and then right next to it is another drain hole leading to the back of the engine and I seriously doubt the nut could fit thru that. I'll see what I can do about a camera but and if I can't find one I think I'll just turn the crankshaft and see if the nut is caught anywhere around it. I think it's ok to turn the crankshaft anyhow.
Be a little careful with that: You may wind up jamming it somewhere, even more stuck so it won't dislodge if you can get a magnet to it, worse than now.
My brother got a Costco fiber optic inspection camera with window, way better than the HF PS I noted above, especially since its lens tip is about the size of a no. 2 pencil eraser. Still, it has limitations, see below.
I shopped for used medical endoscopes and laparoscopes on eBay, because I like the fact that you can use a joystick to turn the tip and see all around. But, too expensive. With the HF and Costco variety, you gotta have really good light on the target, but be in dim enough light to read the window on the camera, which window is like a poor quality digital camera. Then, you gotta hold the camera very still with one hand, using the other hand to do the work. Since the fiber optic cable is about 3' long, this is pretty awkward and not too practical.
That's why I like the lipstick camera/laptop computer idea better--it holds still, big screen, both hands usable in better lighting.
Actual round hole at the bottom of that channel is too small to let head nut in to bottom of engine, it is stuck inside and will act as oil restriction which is not good.
06-25-2016, 08:32 PM
Dropped head nut down oil passage
