Dropped washer

[paudie]

Ok lads what do u think I could / should do . I was putting on the last bolt and washer fitting the over flow pipe to the top of the injector nearest to the radiatior end of the engine . I dropped The 3 mm washer down the block beside the push rod lifters and in turn it went down the oil drain hole.i tried to vacuum it up my assembling various pipes to my good wife's Hoover ,but no success so I put an air hose down and blew it down to the sump which I assumeand I hope ? Is its final destination . Would it be ok to leave it or do I have to take the sump down ? And if I do this will I damage crank seals etc as the engine is bolted back to the tractor . Any help or advice would be great .i assume I can't be the first or am I lol.

[Nick]

Have you tried flushing it out with clean oil?

[sky blue]

hi nick i done the same about 10years on a dexta only it was it was a nut
off the rocker shaft, it went down the hole into camshaft, brian said it had to
be got out not to leave it , i took off head and with a telscopic magnet was able to
retrive it , this probley does not help but if you dont retrive it ,
it will always be in the back of your mind ,

[oehrick]

On the one hand there are the pictures of all sorts of crud that appear to have been living without catastrophe in injun or gearbox sumps for years before stripdown.

On the other hand, you know its there and Sods Law has a nasty habit of getting pigeons home to roost, unfortunately a washer is light enough to get flushed round with the oil flow.

A fishing trip with a magnet on a stick has to be worth a try instead of a full sump dump first. Have you recently put the sump back on with a new gasket ?? In which case loosening the fixings a bit and getting round with a blade to get the gasket to follow it before dropping it may be OK - unless you Haemetited both sides..........

Either way up my sympathy, not a nice reward for your tlc paudie

[AdrianNPMajor]

Hello Paudie
Just wondering if the washer has definitely got as far as the sump. To be absolutely certain, if you aren't already, you might whip the side inspection plate off and have a close-up look.
If the washer has managed to get into the sump, you've got two choices, neither very appealing. If the washer is copper, you could debate the likely fate of this soft malleable metal in the pretty tough environment of the sump. On the other hand, you could go for the peace of mind option and drop the sump. What would I do? I'm the sort of person who'd forever be wondering where the bl**dy thing had ended up, so personally I'd bite the bullet and drop the sump. As Rick says, not a very nice reward for your hard work.
Best, Adrian.
ps Here's a glimpse of the drain hole.

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[paudie]

Thanks lads for the opinions and I'm getting similar results from the few guys I've asked here . I've got the screen over the sump filter so it can only go to the sump and then it will not be able to travel around . Its very small and light but dose not float in the oil. So I'm going to leave it. Any one got tips on setting the tappets as I I'm going to try to give her a start tomorrow fingers crossed everyone

[paudie]

Aidrian that's the drain hole out to the timing cover ? My washer is gone out a small drain hole just beside the pushrods lifter so its gone down on to camshaft and in turn hopefully to the sump I've an old block that was cracked so tomorrow I'm going to recreate the crime scene lol to see where the washer lands in the old engine .

[paudie]

After rebuilding the engine and all timing is complete but is there any tips on setting the tappets etc

[AdrianNPMajor]

Hello Paudie
I've rotated the image through 180 degrees so it makes sense.
Was the washer copper?
Best, Adrian.

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