another sad story
 

Wonder if im the only one in the world who did this,......lol

Ok, very long story short............got the new motor back the other day, was putting on fuel pump and stuff..............stripped a bolt in the cover, the first one........i tapped it out, but was nervous on the back on, i tapped that a little, but thought better not mess with it..........so today im thinking maybe wondering if anything fell down the timing cover, thought i could just wrap a little piece of duct tape to a hose and feel if i pick anything up...................

well the duct tape fell off, tried sucking it out, cant seem to get any good suction with the shop vac with different size hose to make it work............cant see anything of course, tried a grabber tool , no luck.........

For all i know its in the oil pan by now.


so this is what i got on now..............bop one pc oil pan gasket..........the builder did a smoke test to check for leaks, said a issue in front..............enough silicone to choke a horse there.

By now your probably laughing and thinking, glad its not me............lol

So looking for some ideas on which way to proceed............................cannot get the grab tool thru the oil pan opening.............gonna see i i can bend a small wire to fit in there better and hope i snag it............dont think this is gonna work......
Rich

Maybe use a bore scope or similar to look and see what you can. Maybe you could even use the scope to snag the tape and get it out.

But if you think there's metal in the pan then maybe that should come off anyway. Unless you would feel comfortable sweeping the pan with a magnet? And/or flushing the pan from the front with some solvent out the drain plug?

I would probably take the timing cover off, grab whatever fell in the pan from the front, and properly re-seal the front cover. In the future though, when tapping a hole that could send shavings into a critical area, pack the tap flutes with white grease or wheel bearing grease. That will catch virtually all the shavings. With the cover off you can repair the fuel pump mounting pad properly and check that it tightens up OK. If not, you will need to install heli-coils in those two locations. I have never used the BOP 1 piece oil pan gasket. Not sure exactly how it is made. But with most 1 piece gaskets, a small amount of RTV in the corners is all that is needed. Large blobs of RTV indicate a large gap or an improperly placed gasket. Of all the potential oil leaks in a Pontiac, the oil pan has never been a problem for me using the standard 4 piece gasket set with a little RTV in the corners and the reinforcement corners in the rear. Good luck.

It’s a less then 1 hour job to yank the timing cover off which is what I would do.
I would not be concerned with any Aluminum shavings ( too soft to cause harm and it can’t get thru the pump screen ) from the taping being in the motor, but that tape will certainly clog off the oil pump pickup screen if you don’t get it out.

A magnet won't work because the timing cover is aluminum so any thread shavings will be too. The shavings are easy. Remove the oil pan drain plug, drain the oil (if there is any), remove the timing cover because the tape is probably stuck between pan and the front main cap. Remove the tape then pour WD40 or whatever through the front pan opening and you'll likely get the vast majority of the shavings out. Dropping the pan may still be needed... but you might just get lucky too.
Making mistakes teaches us a lot even though it sucks at the time.

For what it’s worth I think the front fuel pump hole is way too easy to strip. I usually thread a bolt through it from the opposite side and use a nut. Now the front fuel pump hole essentially has a stud on it which also makes locating the fuel pump easier on reinstall. I always do this now.

I would also, if it were me, take of the front cover, grab the hose and tape and then pour a bit of oil or WD-40 or whatever to flush some shavings out the drain plug. What I didn’t get I wouldn’t worry about since it is really soft metal.

Sam

Im thinking of doing this also............couple questions i have taken off a balancer, but never put one on.............do i get it a TDC and line up the "O"

Right now i have the motor on one of those cradles with wheels..........am thinking of throwing it on a regular stand, might be easier to work on.

There is no oil in the motor, fresh from a re-ring job.........

The bad part is im not even sure there are any shavings in the motor...........the front bolt has nothing to do with stuff falling into the motor................and on the back bolt i just king of chased the hole, didnt turn it much, thought dont mess with it.............on that one i could torque the bolt to 25#, it was the front that striped.

Not sure of what to do with the oil pan in front, when i take off the timing chain, im thinking thats gonna screw up the stuff he put on..............it sealed well after he did that, according to the smoke test................what ever that is. lol

I take it if i took off the valley pan, i wouldnt be able to see anything one way or the other. ???.............i dont have the manifold on as of yet.

Im gonna mess with it some tomorrow, before i finally give in and start taking things apart................any other whacked out ideas i could try before giving up.

Rich

Yank the timing cover and the oil pan and check it all over good. Bolts and gaskets, no real finesse required.

I know my limitations and have learned to tape off or stuff a shop towel into any hole I don't want to drop hardware or junk into when I'm working around the motor.

Harmonic balancer will only go on one way. No worries.
 

The keyway that locates it will only allow installation in one spot.

So long as you don't mess with the timing chain, you're golden.

Good luck!

If I felt it was too much of a night mare to pull the cover (which woukd be my first choice )
I’d put a piece of 3/8 plastic or whatever size fits down there (clear tubing) on the end of a shop vac. Use a cut off water bottle to neck it down.from the shop vac hose size if needed . Stick that hose down there but put a paint strainer on the hose in the inside of the shop vac (if it’s dirty inside) to catch any thing that comes in. Then You can probably pull up the tape with that suction as you pull the tubing out. You can also see if any aluminum shavings got sucked into the paint strainer .

This is likely the best you can do without pulling the cover .

Like was mentioned. Get yourself a bore scope. Milwaukee makes a nice unit for like $200 I have one and it has come in very handy. Fall all you know the piece of tape is still in the timing cover area. Wishing you success.

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/2313-20

Like was mentioned. Get yourself a bore scope. Milwaukee makes a nice unit for like $200 I have one and it has come in very handy. For all you know the piece of tape is still in the timing cover area. Wishing you success.

https://www.milwaukeetool.com/2313-20

i would disconnect all mounts transmission and motor.. and jack the motor up. remove the dist cap and starter. take off the oil pan and clean it then reinstall...put all new gaskets in and get a new cover... because everyday you will wonder about the alum shavings and if there going to cause you issues(maybe not) down the road...

Wild idea: drain oil for reuse.
Pour a gallon of mineral spirits thru fuel pump hole and catch results out oil drain hole.

Otherwise pull timing cover, and hope to get the tape. Flush front of oil pan with a gallon of mineral spirits and catch results ou oil drain hole.
R&R front seal with new, and center timing cover during Torque.

If you saved them then the lower timing cover sleeve dowels ( number 48 ) will center the timing cover on the crank as needed.

Thanks again guys, im gonna try the shop vac some more..........to help with the confusion, the motor is out of the car, fresh rering from shop.

On steves last post..........im assuming the builder used them, not sure.

Probably a stupid question, but it seems like the whole timing cover is alot of work........would i be better off just taking the oil pan off and see what is going on.........or is the timing cover the smarter way to go...........looks like i have to dig up a front gasket for that............appreciate the help guys..........wish this never happened.

Hell yes, if the motor is out of the car then pull the pan!
On reassembling only use a cork rear pan seal aided with gray type gasket maker that you let set up over night.

Thanks Steve...........so if im reading you right, your saying get rid of the bop one piece.

Couple pics of what i have here, im thinking i could drop the pan enough to see where the tape is..............thinking it might be a pain to reseal the way it sits......

I do have a stand in the basement with a block on it..........guess i could get the block off it, take apart and get it upstairs............oh boy.

The one pic seems to have alot of goop in the cornors.............does this look right to you guys...........no idea on how old my oil pan is, wondering if i should start with a new one.

Gonna see if i can scrape up a bore scope..............or mess with the shop vac for a few hours before calling that a failure. lol

Rich

No, that crank seal is great, only use a cork type seal between the rear main cap and the lip of the pan.

You can’t just pop the pan open to have a look see, because you will never seal if back up right.

If you need to look in then Remove the whole pan and use new gaskets.

The timing cover will be easier to pull and reseal than the oil pan, and the tape may be in the timing cover. No offense, but some of your questions - like the ones below - make it seem you may be over your head. Not that a timing cover is difficult to do but there is the sealing of the water bypass at the intake. Is there anyone who can help you?