Lost a Bolt Inside the Motor

[AJ168]

Today I was just finishing up winterizing my '97 Johnson 40 hp. When I was putting one of the bolts back onto the flame arrestor, I dropped it somewhere inside the motor. The bolt was thin and maybe half an inch long. I looked for twenty minutes and couldn't find it. I tried tilting the motor up, and heard it move around, then looked for another half hour and probed around with a piece of wire and found nothing. Tilting the engine up and dropping the boat on the trailer did nothing to move it around again. What is the worst possible place it could have gone and what kind of damage could it do? I need to get this thing out but don't have the slightest idea as to where it went.

 

[Walker]

Re: Lost a Bolt Inside the Motor

It won't do any harm. There are thousands of outboards out there with bolts, nuts, washers, springs, bushings, cotter keys, hose clamps....... floating around in the lower pan.
Does your lower pan split and come off???

 

[OBJ]

Re: Lost a Bolt Inside the Motor

Yeah...what walker said. Just four screws and pull the sides partially apart. Lay a large rag under the engine before you do. Anything laying in there should fall out.

 

[imported_MattG]

Re: Lost a Bolt Inside the Motor

Yeah you should be fine. When I was working on my ol 63 rude, I dropped a lil nut down there. Never found it to this day. I even took off the cover and everything. I did however find a old spark plug, wasnt even the right type, Dont ask me how it got down there! lol

 

[Scaaty]

Re: Lost a Bolt Inside the Motor

I usually toss something down there for good luck BEFORE working on a motor.

 

[imported_MattG]

Re: Lost a Bolt Inside the Motor

^^^^ What like a sacrifice to the outboard gods! lol

 

[AJ168]

Re: Lost a Bolt Inside the Motor

So there's no chance of it getting caught in a shift linkage or anything?

 

[OBJ]

Re: Lost a Bolt Inside the Motor

No......not really. Like Matt said.....just another sacrifice to the gods......d

 

[itstippy]

Re: Lost a Bolt Inside the Motor

Scaaty, that explains it! I tend to find "spare parts" rattling around in old motors and lose my mind trying to figure out what they are and where they belong. Hours of studying parts diagrams. So you guys fling in a couple springy thingamajigs and threaded dohickies to keep us amatures from getting too confident, eh? Clever.

 

[Scaaty]

Re: Lost a Bolt Inside the Motor

Scaaty, that explains it! I tend to find "spare parts" rattling around in old motors and lose my mind trying to figure out what they are and where they belong. Hours of studying parts diagrams. So you guys fling in a couple springy thingamajigs and threaded dohickies to keep us amatures from getting too confident, eh? Clever.

I built some in the wall bookshelves in my last house. Before I was done, I put a box in there, and in that another box, and in THAT another box with a note saying "Sorry, I took it with me instead". 8)