bolt in oil pan

[Bri7man]

I'm in the process of changing a water jacket gasket because I noticed it was leaking. I was filling my ghetto repaired radiator with distilled water and I noticed the leak. This was going to be the first engine start in months from my little rebuild.

Anyways as i was unbolting my turbo oil line one of the 10mm bolts fell down the dipstick hole as I really could only fit one finger down there to unthread it.

After panicking and such I realized maybe I don't need to get it out because it is dense and will probably stay put at the bottom of the pan.

I checked and am positive it fell all the way through the dipstick hole and is definitely in there.

Any thoughts?

 

[TurboStreetCar]

Drain the oil and put a magnet in the drain hole. Good luck.

 

[suprajztwenty]

access it though the drain hole like he said or the oil cooler plug. try and jb weld a powerful mini magnet on the tip of a clothes hangar or something that can bend around. another thing, try an old speaker magnet and drag it around the pan and see if you can hear the bolt drag around inside, then guide it to the hole and youre good to go.

pulling the pan is a bitch, just for a bolt, id just leave it in there, itll eventually drop to the sump and stay there...thats if its not there already.

 

[90T04]

When I pulled my motor apart there was a valve cover screw bolt in my oil pan. I never lost one so it must have been from the previous owner. Drove like that for 30K miles

 

[Bri7man]

Yeah I was flipping so hard when it happened... I was thinking about pulling an all-nighter and pulling my engine/dropping pan and I was so ashamed of myself for the work I was going to put myself through.

Then I called a friend and he made me realize it's just gonna chill in the sump and then brought up the magnet idea.

I was panicking so hard I couldn't think straight.

 

[suprajztwenty]

been there...try breaking the base of a spark plug off in the head...never thought i was gonna drive it again.

then i realized that i could use a special ease out and she came out first try without stripping any shavings down the hole too...sometimes you just need a smoke break and some advice

 

[suprarx7nut]

Definitely been there as far as the moment of panic and not being able to think straight.

The magnet on the bottom idea seems like it should work well if you get a strong enough magnet. Coat hanger would work too.

Good luck!

 

[Bri7man]

Breaks for the win dude.. I get so dedicated to working on my engine I won't stop for food or drink and before I know it my thought process is crap taking me 3x as long to find the right sequence for getting to something in order to gain leverage in the right spot with the right tool sort of thing. Next is taking extra steps by not thinking things through.

Most of this happens late at night of course.

Then I take a break out of frustration and realize how dumb I was before.

Thanks for the advice I'm trying these out tomorrow for sure one will do the trick.

 

[kotu100]

i was stressing myself out last night over the same thing, except a valve seal, not a bolt...
im gonna use a couple magnets on the bottom of the pan to make sure its there, then i'll try getting it out with a flex-a-magnet. if i can't get it out i'll just leave a magnet on the pan to hold it @ the bottom.

 

[MKIIISupraGuy]

been there...try breaking the base of a spark plug off in the head...never thought i was gonna drive it again.

then i realized that i could use a special ease out and she came out first try without stripping any shavings down the hole too...sometimes you just need a smoke break and some advice

Amen to that...lol