#@!#* Dropped screw in engine! Oil pan?

[Aleman]

So I dropped a screw into this hole in the head. Is that the oil channel, and is the screw probably in the oil pan? Thanks for the help!

[roguetoaster]

Looks like a drain back channel to me. If it's in the pan depends on the size of the screw and if the passages are machined well/the HG is aligned properly, otherwise it could hang up somewhere.

I'd stick something down the hole and see if there is a clear path down, if so, it's probably NBD as the oil pump shouldn't pick up a screw.

[cheffy30]

a long thin something with a magnet on the end. peg it right in the well oiled hole. it might be right there... do you like being screwed? from hell using tapatalk

[e30davie]

Ive got one of those really cheap bore scope USB cameras on a wire. it would be close to fitting down that hole.....

and if you cant find it in the hole then you can stick it in the oil pan drain hole to see if it made it all the way down.

[Aleman]

Good advice guys. I pulled a magnet off an old power toothbrush head and put it on the end of a straightened hanger. I shoved it all the way down to the oil pan, but no bolt.

Next, I'm going to drain the oil and root around in the pan with a flexible magnet tool on order from Amazon. I'll update this post with how it works out.

I do like flexi camera idea, so I'll do that next if I can't retrieve the screw. It would be good to add one of those to the toolbox, since they're useful for solving lots of problems.

Other experts on interwebs agree that you can just leave the screw in the pan w/o hurting the engine, but it would always bother me to know it's sitting in there. It's like a piece of popcorn stuck in your teeth - it's got to go! LOL

[uturn]

There's the windage tray, so it's either sitting towards the middle or stuck in a gap.... got a leaky oil pan gasket? You got a good excuse to replace it now.

[efficient]

try a big speaker magnet and try to drag it towards the drain. drain the oil first

[Elysian]

There's a screen on the oil pickup, shouldn't get picked up.

[Aleman]

I drained the oil and tried to retrieve the bolt thru the drain, but access was too limited. Before pulling the oil level sending unit for better access, I figured I'd try one last time to pickup the bolt from the hole in the head - just with proper tools this time.

Hallelujah! I snagged it with a strong magnet pickup tool and out it came.

This all started with a valve adjustment and injector rebuild project. The bolt is from the fuel rail mount, and I dropped it during reinstall. Be careful kids!

[mike.bmw]

Ahhhhhhh, relief!

[cheffy30]

nice pull out! sent from hell using tapatalk

[zaq123]

yeah, oil level sensor would be no go.....there is a baffle.

Nice catch though...Congrats!!! It's funny how you snapped that pic...holding that bolt above the head...waiting to drop it again :)

I drained the oil and tried to retrieve the bolt thru the drain, but access was too limited. Before pulling the oil level sending unit for better access, I figured I'd try one last time to pickup the bolt from the hole in the head - just with proper tools this time.

Hallelujah! I snagged it with a strong magnet pickup tool and out it came.

This all started with a valve adjustment and injector rebuild project. The bolt is from the fuel rail mount, and I dropped it during reinstall. Be careful kids!

[dnguyen1963]

Go buy a lottery ticket.