just wondering..

say you are changing your oil.. you take off the oil cap and pour in some oil. then, accidentally you drop something inside where the oil goes in. anything.. a ring, piece of gum, coin, etc... where would it end up? would it be filtered somewhere? would it get clogged somewhere inside your motor? would it eventually drop down into the oil pan and maybe get clogged where oil enters the oil filter?

before you ask.. no, i did not accidentally drop anything inside. just was wondering, what would happen...

 

I wanna know 2... I dropped a cookie down there and i want it back damnitt! lol... but seriously.. its a good question that ive never thought about before... SUM 1 help the man!!!

 

It would get hung up in your valves and probably cause catastrophic dammage! Nothing but oil in there, or take off the valve cover and retrieve it before KABOOOM!

 

so i guess getting my cookie back is out of the question huh...

 

Since the engine is a DOHC design, the valve cover and oil filter fill is right over top of the cams and valvetrain. Anything hard, such as a ring, could do some serious damage.

 

If you want to see what you are going to screw up, click on the link... admitted this is a SOHC and we have DOHC but the principle is the same.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/engine9.htm

 

This is where the item would go. I don't think I would want anything bouncing around in there.

-Paul

 

i guess NC's cookie would be all smashed up into little bits and pieces, smeared all over the valves. yummy..

 

Like licking ice cream off a spoon.

 

truth is if the thing you drop is small like really small there is a good chance that it wont mess nothing up in the car its possible that it would go thru the exhaust valve and get stuck in the cat. I think

 

I don't think that anything dropped in there could make its way through any valves. It could get to the valve springs and mess them up, or the rocker arms, or the cams, or it could drop down into the oil pan and clog something down there. I would guess that it's more likely to mess something up than to just pass through without hurting anything.

-Paul

 

completely wrong. There is no path for the object to travel from inside the cam cover to the piston side of the exhaust valve. What it will do is bounce around and gall up the cams, lifters, and everything else it can come into contact with. Do yourself a favor and study up a bit, or never work on your own car. Also please don't advise others with completely wrong information. Not trying to be a jerk, but your advice could cost someone an expensive engine rebuild/replacement.

In response to the original question, if the object is something that's made of nickel or iron/steel and you can see it, go after it with a "magnet on a stick". If it's gold, silver, or plastic (non-magnetic) you'd be best off to pull the valve cover off and retrieve it right away. (Unless it's a cookie, then just leave it there and drink the oil when you next change it)

Greg K.

 

well thats why i said i think

there was a thread about something being dropped into something a couple of weeks ago but i guess i was wrong

 

If you drop something into the intake there's a chance (be it a small one, especially with the turbo in the flow) that it could make it's way into the exhaust. No worries man and nothing personal, I just wanted to clear the air a bit.

 

no chance of that happening.

i think you're thinking that it would suck into the turbo, then possibly some out the exhaust side of the turbo. The problem is the parts inside the turbo would get all messed up.