texcwa

Good Idea. I am also going to use a borascope up through the two openings where I can see the crank with the oil pan cover off. I will not do anything until I get my report from Blackstone (not even refilling oil) and I will continue to check this threads for other recommendations.

Thanks

Byprodriver

I believe the cam sprocket bolts are 10.9 grade, the loose bolt is 8.8 leading me to think it fell from a "simi-critical" place where it was under torqued.

Byprodriver

Good idea, if it passes the initial inspection I would remove the spark plugs so you can turn the engine over Manually by hand CLOCKWISE ONLY while listening & feeling for any interference. If it passes that test try spinning it over with the starter to see if any unusual noise is created. All of this with oil replaced of course.

charlieaf92

I can't imagine an internal bolt coming loose and somehow making its way into the sump - unless it's one of the bolts that resides in the sump. Purely speculating here, but my bet is that it was dropped in during a repair or oil change.

tomcat

My main concern would be how the bolt was twisted and split. Unless you drove your car upside down, the bolt damage happened coming down to the sump - don't know how a "good" bolt would work back up into the engine.

I think only the chain and rotating components could damage the bolt leading to possible damage to that component.

My concern would be that the damaged component leads to a bigger failure like a chain letting loose or some type of oil failure. The various components that could be damaged down the road are pretty expensive.

If you tear the engine down, I would check the oil strainers, under one of the hydraulic actuators in each head feeding, I believe the cam compensators, to remove any trapped metal along with all other metal particles.

This is a weird situation because I don't recall any male torx above the sump. I could see someone trying to replace the case bolts under the bell housing during an IMS job, and dropping one in the case.

texcwa

I too am concerned about what you commented on. I did have the IMS replaced with LN in June 2016 but have put approx 12,000 miles on the car since then and it is as smooth and quite as could be, no issues. The only other work (besides oil changes) was my 60K service March of this year when I also had them install a new water pump for preventative measures and have put over 6,000 miles on it since then.

charlieaf92

If that came off, got chewed up and somehow got into the sump it would have been very noticeable. The fact that you discovered it by accident and not during a tear down following catastrophic engine failure leads me to believe it was dropped in during an oil change or somehow assembled with it in there. Best course of action may be to change the oil and continue driving as you have been.

Im assuming everything has seemed normal thus far.

dgjks6

This may be stupid and does not really explain the damage to the bolt, but looking at your first pic the bolt has the same markings as the bolt on the oil pan baffle. There are three bolts holding the baffle on. Are they all there?

tomcat

The hope would be that the bolt did not do any internal damage. Tearing down the engine now would be expensive so maybe just listen for weird noises, which you probably do now, and monitor the oil for new metal as a sign for further damage. Feel the oil for nonferrous and a magnet for steel during oil changes.

Honestly, my experience has been that a large majority of the internals are wear parts and should be replaced when rebuilt for any expected longevity. If you continue to drive the car and have a failure, maybe you won't really need additional parts. As long as your crank, bearing carrier, IMS shaft sprockets, camshafts, bearing saddles in the head, and case are ok, most other parts should be replaced anyway during a rebuild.

Sorry you have to go through this. The cost for these types of repairs/parts are ridiculous relative to the cost of the car, and lays bare our insanity.

808Bill

Who ever dropped it had to know he did so...

pfbz

I'm also in the 'somebody dropped a bolt' camp...

Even if the mechanic realized he did it, it probably didn't make it's way all the way down to the oil pan until sometime later so no even semi-easy fix. Probably didn't want to fess up to his boss or the customer realizing it might very well cost the shop a small fortune as well as his job.

Reminds me of the time I dropped a valve shim while working on my own KTM moto... Baby was GONE but not down all the way down to the oil pan. Choices were pull the engine and split the cases (BIG job!) or hope for the best. i chose option B. Ran the bike for a while listening carefully for any noises, did an oil change and found the shim in the filter screen with a few scuffs but undamaged. Engine has been running like a top for many years and miles since...

speed rII

If you have the service history, check if the oil fillertube has been changed.
It's secured with one m6x16 bolt.
When I changed mine, I noticed that it would be quite easy to drop the bolt in to the engine, if not being cautious.
It would go thru crankcase and end to the bottom of the oilpan. Worst case it would stop on the crankshaft carrier and fell thru when engine was running.

dan_189

This thread is fascinating, sorry to the OP for the situation but im in the human error camp too. Interesting point on the oil filler neck that could solve this mystery!
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LexVan

Another win for the lowly magnetic oil drain plug.

Send Jake Raby a PM and ask him to comment.

dporto

IIRC the oil filler tube is secured by 2 bolts...The dipstick is secured by only 1