mps606

iTrader: (3)

It is with a heavy heart that I write this, because today I managed to turn a simple 30min valve cover gasket job into a major headache. While cleaning the valve cover mating surface on the head, I managed to knock a 10mm bolt into the crank case relief passage on the intake side of the head. I heard it make contact further down, and despite my best efforts fishing with a magnet, I'm not coming up with anything.

Any ideas from people more familiar with the 4g63 block about what I'm going to be looking at here? Where does that passage lead internally? Would I be better off pulling the head or the oil pan? Any information is helpful, thanks for reading.

barneyb

Murphy's Law is always in effect.

Its probably only going to be pan trash but who can guarantee it. I dropped a 10 mm bolt the other day, couldn't find it, it went behind the water pump pulley. I came back from a test drive and while idling in the driveway that bolt jammed and smoked a new accessory belt.

I'd give you the answer on what to do if I could see the future.

hutch959

iTrader: (18)

im no motor builder... but if you cant get it with a magnet from the top, then its probably made its way all the way down somewhere in the oilpan/crank area.

i would vote pull the oil pan.

mps606

iTrader: (3)

I'll drain the oil tomorrow and fish around in the pan with a magnet. I'll let you know if it's in there.

mps606

iTrader: (3)

That did the trick! Drained the oil and stuck a narrow, flexible magnet up in the oil pan. Turns out that crank case relief passage up in the head is a straight shot down to the oil pan, cuz my magnet picked the bolt up. The bolt head was too big to easily fit through the drain plug hole, but i managed to get the threaded end out of the hole, grabbed that with pliers, and worked the bolt out. So relieved to have resolved the issue this easily. Definitely plugging up those holes in the head before I do any more work up there in the future.