Oops, dropped a bolt

[S/V Laelia]

When I was changing the damper plate on my W40, a bolt got away and disappeared into the oil pan. Is it safe to operate the engine? Any suggestions on how to get it out without pulling the engine?

[RayNWanda]

 You should be able to fish it out with a magnet. If not, drain the oil and get a set of mechanical fingers at an auto parts house. If you can spot it with a flashlight you can get it. You will find all sorts of uses for the mechanical fingers. They usually cost under 10 bucks.
As for operating the engine, if the suction screen is intact it cannot suck the bolt up. However, the oil pan is thin sheet metal. The bolt will probably find a home in a corner and stay there. There it will vibrate every revolution the engine makes...

It is worth going to some trouble to retrieve it.

[S/V Laelia]

OK - I will go after it. I have a magnet but it is a little too big to fit between the flywheel and the back of the engine. I will look for a smaller one. I hate to  have to drain the oil - there's not much room under the oil pan.

Thanks for the info.

[Dale Tanski]

Hey Ralph,

Always curious... were you able to get that bolt out? 
I would be inclined to do something similar.  Funny how the people that work on their own stuff have these common problems and those who don't, never seem to have this happen to them... funny that way.
Hope all is well...

Dale

[S/V Laelia]

Hi Dale,

Nope, haven't gotten to it. I did go out sailing last weekend to do a shakedown on the Monitor windvane. I ran the engine about 2 hours during that time and couldn't tell any difference in noise level. It is a very small bolt - #10 x 1 1/2" - so maybe it won't be noticeable in that respect. Nevertheless, at some point I would like to get it out.

Ralph

[S/V Deo Volente]

Well until you do you could put a magnet on the outside of the crankcase to hopefully hold it in place.

[RayNWanda]

The engine will sound the same. My point on vibration is that the oil pan is thin. The bolt may eventually eat a hole through it. It will be much easier to remove the bolt now than to have to deal with that later (and maybe from a small island in the south Pacific).

[barrylab]

With all this talk of magnets, I have to ask: Have he steel bolts been replaced with stainless (like they have on my engine)? If so, the magnet trick won't work.

[S/V Laelia]

Mine were not stainless

[S/V Laelia]

Ray,

Thanks for straighting me out on that. I am now much more motivated to get it out.

[SVJourney]

The magnet on the outside of the pan is a GREAT idea.  If you can't get it out I would highly reccomend this idea.  All you need to do is keep that puppy from vibrating or getting into the lower end of the engine and the magnet sounds like the best way you have for doing so.

[RayNWanda]

The only way you can be sure you have it captured with the magnet is to actually see it. If you can see it, you can remove it. The magnet is a roll of the dice. It is better than doing nothing, but it is far from foolproof.

[slokat]

Wondering if you could use a magnet to move the bolt (by dragging it along the out side of the pan) to a spot where it can be retrieved?

[RayNWanda]

 It's a possibility- if it is magnetic. It should be, carbon steel is the usual choice for engine manufacturers because it offers the most bang for the buck.
It may be possible to drag the bolt to the drain opening. The problem is getting the plug out and access to the pan to drag the bolt.

[S/V Laelia]

All,

I pulled the transmission and fished around below the flywheel with a magnetic probe. No luck. I'm kicking myself for not trying harder to retrieve the bolt when I dropped it. It doesn't look like there is enough room for it to have gone far. I'm guessing that when I started the engine and the flywheel rotated, the bolt got moved to someplace else - hopefully the oil pan.

It looks like the next step is to pull the oil plug from the bottom of the engine and let the oil drain in the hope that the bolt will come with it. That brings me to the following questions.

1 - It will be much easier to reach the drain plug now that I have the transmission out. Is is OK to run the engine to warm up the oil with the transmission removed? It doesn't look like oil gets splashed around that area but there may be other reasons not to run it.

2 - What is the banjo nut and tube arrangement Pog/Carl was talking about? I'm wondering if I could install it while I have the drain plug removed.

Thank you in advance. It is great to have you all as a resource. I hope I can contribute something more than comic relief as time goes on