Need opinions on removing wrench from my engine

[281pony]

last week i made a post about a 1/2" wrench falling through my distributor hole and down into my engine. i tried fishing it with magnets and a claw type tool. the claw tool grabbed it a few times, but never on the right spot to bring it up.

claw tool got hungup and broke, magnetic tool not nearly strong enough to pick it up even. now my timing chain cover is off as suggested by several people.

it is off, and the wrench is nowhere to be found. whenever i could feel it before, it was almost straight down the distributor hole, so im thinking its laying up on top of the crank or possibly oil pump. anyone have any suggestions?

tried running the magnetic tool down distributor again, nothing. tried running it along the left and right sides of oil pan, nothing. im about ready to get rid of this car. i am not pulling the engine to get this oil pan off, especially after doing this timing cover ****.

you cannot get your hand in there either. its not in the front sump, cant see hardly anything with a light. just looking for some new suggestions to get this hunk of **** going.

 

[sgarlic]

I don't suppose there's any way you can get your hands on a boroscope is there? If so you can look down in there and see how it's sitting..

I work on fighter aircraft ejection seats, and dropping tools (mainly sockets) inside them is common place. We use thick safety wire with tacky tape on the end to fish them out.

 

[Mustang5L5]

Go access to a engine lift?

Strap it to the engine, unbolt the mounts and lift it up high enough to unbolt the pan.

 

[281pony]

no access to a boroscope.

dont really have an engine hoist anymore. had it for putting my engine in, but its gone now.

i would just need to unbolt my mounts to lift it for removing the pan? never pulled an engine except for my stock one which i tore down to just a shortblock to do. i could leave my bellhousing and exhaust connected still?

 

[ms93gt]

Coat the end of some sort of rod with crazy glue, stick the rod down and let it rest on the tool, then pull her up.

 

[281pony]

that is the problem. i cannot see or feel the tool anymore.

the claw i had before when i grabbed the wrench has broken. the magnet isint strong enough to pick it up and i cant even feel it anymore. cant see it.

if i use something sticky its just going to get covered in oil feeling around for it and do no good. i can feel around with this magnetic extension but coming up with nothing. maybe i will try a coat hanger and try to jar it so i can at least hear the damn thing.

 

[larrendeuce]

Drop the oil pan and look around. As said before you might need to unbolt the engine and jack it up to get the clearance you need.

 

[4dStang]

I am missing a 9/16" socket for the same reason you are. it fell into an old sixty something Bonneville that had a big motor and was as big as a Navy Desroyer, but my tool that I lost was a socket. It'll sit at the bottom in the sludge until one day when someone will pull the engine and find a socket buied in sludge. This happened when I was a young mechanic and didn't care.


BUT, in your case, you'll have to pull the pan. No if's, and's or but's about it. Pull the pan or put the car in a junk yard. Heck, sell it to someone like me who would pull a motor to get it fixed and have a cheap ride to sell for more than I paid because someone could not fix the car. You have to pull the pan. If you had been more careful around the orafices this would not have happened so you get the concequences. Just the truth bud!


Sorry for your little hell.

CB

 

[281pony]

like i said its not the first time some bs like this has occured wether it was my fault or not. just got to take another in the ass, then i am done with this car. i have done everything on this car myself except for an alignment so its not like im afraid to work on it. just too much at once is getting me closer and closer to just kissing it goodbye.

ill probably jack the engine up sometime this week and see what i can do.

 

[HISSIN50]

4d,

88SC, you will have to jack it pretty high up to get adequate clearance (depending how much room you need to locate and retract the tool(s).

that really sucks and im sorry to hear it.

good luck.

 

[The Shape]

Good luck with it man, that sounds like some kind of F'ed up luck I would have. Something tells me though when you do get the whrench out and it is running great again the urge to sell will pass. I have absoloutley no patience so I routinely have to take a break and calm down/cool off a while working on my car sometimes. But it all passes when it is running great and you hear that engine rev.

 

[281pony]

yeah, i should be able to get the wrench out reasonably easy if i can see it. the only thing im thinking is that i may need to completely remove the pan if its not in the lower sump area.

i guess all i can do is lift it up a little and see if its in there. if it is, i do have the magnetic tools to grab it. otherwards i suppose its just more screwing that will occur

 

[The Shape]

Might drop the steering rack for more acces to the pan. You will get it man just take frequent beer breaks.

 

[HISSIN50]

do you have a really heavy duty magnet? i wonder with the oil drained, if you can put the magnet on the outside of the sump and 'drag' the tool to where you can access it more easily.

good luck.

 

[281pony]

wont be taking many beer breaks, im 17.

hissin, i had thought of that except there is really no room to get a magnet in there. i dont have a really strong magnet, but i can barely get my fingers on the inside of the pan. i think with a magnet that strong i would just stick it to the crank.

ill be trying some other stuff, whatever i can think of between now and the next few days. anything to avoid more of a pain.

 

[281pony]

oh on the outside of the pan. hmm that might be a possibility, that would be one hell of a magnet though lol.

if i could even manage to guide something that strong in position on the pan.

 

[The Shape]

Only 4 more year till 21 and you can enjoy mechanicing while buzzed (improves my patience level ). I think what HISSIN meant was using a STRONG magnet on the 'outside' of the pan to drag the wrench over where you can get at it.

On Edit: We posted at the same time didn't see your above post when I made mine. I have one of those huge magnetic wand deals and is a really strong magnetic. I figured out while bored one day if I was carefull I could lift an old alternator off of the ground with it!. (Yes I have to much free time)

 

[281pony]

yeah i missed the word "outside" lol.

i may try that. i wonder how strong of a magnet that would require? any suggestions as to where i would get something that strong?

only thing is that would be an insanely strong magnet if it can pick it up the lower sump to the side of the pan where i can access it. kind of have a hard time believing something like that would work, especially for me.

stranger things have happened though. like a 1/2" wrench tearing through a rag and falling absolutely perfect down into an oilpan

 

[stroker50]

I'm pretty sure your wrench is sitting on the camshaft. I don't think it fell down the pan, it probably got caught on the side of the cam and block. If your manifold is off you might want to try felling for it through the slot in the middle of the valley were you can see the cam. I can't remember how much access there is. Maybe you can try to push it back up with a coat hanger, then use another magnet to pull it through.

 

[The Shape]

Hey man don't feel bad I once dropped the wing nut from my battery hold down bracket into my radiator (don't ask) so atleast someone out here shares your luck. As for the magnet maybe hit sears and get the badest wand they have. Or any of your friends into car audio? Maybe someone has an old blown 10'' speaker with a big magnet. Might be a little awkward to manuvier around, but should be plenty strong.