What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

[sarantis]

i'm not sure but i consider it possible enough.I was about to complete the swap when i heard a nut 3/8 " sliding and knocking metal. I did every human effort .Small miror in case it's below the intake manifold , a long antenna from small radio with a magnet stuck at its end down to the oil pan but i did't "fish" anything, not even felt the existence of the nut down there.I can't imagine dissasembling my new engine.I ' hunging from your lips experts!(greek idiom)

 

[Don S]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

If it was my motor I would pull the intake and look. If that nut bounced and landed on top of the cam, it could wedge into the hole and destroy the cam in one revolution.

 

[Mkos1980]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

Ditto to the above.

 

[sarantis]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

if it's fallen down the oil pan there isn't problem?

 

[Mkos1980]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

Probebly not a problem. No guarentees though. With my past experience, I've pulled the pan on time on a motor being freshened up and I've found a small bolt on the bottom of the pan before. Kinda looked like the distributor hold down bolt. It didnt cause any problems. I didnt know it was there until I pulled the motor 5 years after I bought the car.

 

[Don S]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

if it's fallen down the oil pan there isn't problem?

IF it made it all the way to the pan then you shouldn't have a problem, but do you know if it made it there or not, that's the problem.

 

[mylesm260]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

Ya, I would pull the intake manifold off and trace it down, that could turn into a VERY expensive mistake very quickly if you don't.

 

[boat1010]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

You are right, it will not hurt a thing if it is in the oil pan..... and about $3000 if it isn't.... This time I say..."save a lot of money, invest a little time"

 

[deves3000gt]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

something similar happened to my boss's truck it went in for some maintenance. the mechanic had droped a nut down someware and didnt go looking for it...in the long run he spent the time and $$ on putting in a new motor after the nut found it's own way out i would have to a gree with above spend the time now not the money later. good luck

 

[JustJason]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

if your going to do anything at all here. Wether you pull the intake manifold or not. Pull out all the spark plugs and and make sure you can spin the engine over freely by hand before you go turning that key.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

Here's how it would work for me...

If I pull everything apart looking for the nut, it will be be in a safe place and I did all that work for nothing.

BUT,,, If I roll the dice, think it's OK and don't go looking for the nut, the motor is going to implode on it's first revolution...

One of those "I should have known better" type of situations.

ME? yeah I would be hunting down that nut.

 

[Landscaping Wiz 808]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

The proper response for a blown engine due to missing hardware:

AW NUTS!!

 

[chiefalen]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

Anything that can happen, has happened to you huh sarantis. The motor in the boat already, shouldn't be cause the dizzy wasn't in yet. And i assume you were going to start it on the crate / stand .

You have oil in it already, shouldn't cause you were building from scratch, the only thing that should have had oil in it was the oil pump cause you do know it had to be primed before you installed it.

Me i would drop the pan while it's on the stand right side up. meaning don't turn it over.

See if the nut is in the pan. Then reinstall the pan. Put a rag into any holes that are open, thats a given and something i always do learned my lesson the hard way 40 years ago. Never leave a hole open and bolts or nuts sitting on a motor, when working on it.

Tip when you get it all together leave the dizzy out and spin the oil pump. Then put in the dizzy, and run it on the crate.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune, but i bet for the rest of your life you won't leave any holes open anymore, price of experience

Good luck !

 

[45Auto]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

As Dirty Harry would say:

"Do ya feel lucky, punk??"

Either find the nut or find out how lucky you are once you start running (or trying to run) the motor!

Good Luck either way!

 

[mkast]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

Murphy's Law
Look for the piece, no problem,
ignore it, new engine!

 

[Chris Hays]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

I did that once on a Cummins N12 Diesel engine, while installing injectors the little steel cover that protects the tip for shipping fell off as i was getting ready to remove it to fit the injector, i heard it hit but did'nt see it!! I searched all around under the engine, on the manifolds on the suspension components, i tried the same little magnet stick in the cylinder approach, small mirrors, i even went to the extent of trying to get one of them little cameras on a flexible wand to put in there but could'nt get hold of one. Finally i ended up pulling the head to the conclusion of nothing actually being in the cylinder!!! It literally disapeared!! It was NO WHERE to be found. Even to this day that damn thing still still bothers me to where it went.

 

[sarantis]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

I don't know if i'm lucky but while pulling the bolts of the intake i found a nut, 99% the lost one, below the harness cables.I didn't proceed anymore.I tigthened again the intake.I am exhausted.The boat is in the trailor.I' ll raise it as much as possible so that in case there is another nut to slide back ,i'll put a friend to crank in instantly while i will be watching down the hole. I don't know if it's a good sign but i turned the cam by hand and nothing strange hapened.Thanks all of you but the familly pressure doesn't permit to follow your advices.A last question: after how much time running the engine can i come to a safe conclusion?

 

[chiefalen]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

one minute.

 

[AZSenza]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

It kinda depends on how close the crank comes to the pan and the size of the nut. IF at some point the 3 of them come together, it will shoot it out of the pan or at least put a nice dent in it. Once I dropped the oil pump drive shaft into the pan on a 5.0 Ford and I could NOT get it out without removing the pan. I left it in there and started the motor. I got REAL LUCKY for once in my life, it shot it out the side of the pan right after start up. I let the oil drain, cleaned up around the hole and JB Welded it with RTV on the outside. It lasted 3 years until I rebuilt the motor. When I pulled it apart there was zero signs of any damage. I welded up the pan and finished my rebuild. Keep trying with a magnet, thats your best hope as long as it was steel and not stainless....

 

[Ostsideend]

Re: What may happen if a nut fall down the distributor's hole?

Hi sarantis,
feel sorry for you.

Dissassemble intake manifold and look for the nut if any posssible.
If not: Turn motor by hand. If there is no force, stick a lager magnet onto the bottom oilpan from the outside hoping the nut is magnetic, start the engine and pray before doing it.

We did so at a buddys engine to protect against chips from a cracked distributor gear wheel . It works since years.

Good luck
Oliver