HELP!! Dropped VCG bolt in engine by timing chain!!!

[puterls02]

I think I really messed up here... I have a 2002 lincoln ls with a 3.9 l engine and i was changing the vcg when a bolt broke as was putting the valve cover back on... when i was using a pliers to pull it out it fell down into my engine by the timing chain...

I've fished for hours with a magnet and I really don't know what else I can do... I am pretty bummed out and could use some advice...

 

[cammerfe]

Hard to tell from just a description, but if you're reasonably sure that it went all the way to the pan, you can just take the pan off. Because of its size, it should be fairly simple to get it off.

KS

 

[G-RELL]

get a magnet stick and start going down the drop path... not sure of the contours down there but its worth a shot

 

[TooManyToys]

Dude, I feel for you.

There are a lot of friggin' places for that to get hung up on. But first the LS 3.9L has this little mini oil pan in the front of the motor that only takes 17 bolts to pull. A rubber O-Ring gasket is used on this pan.

Drain the oil and pull this off, but i doubt that it went in there. With the pan open you can get underneath and play around a little on the drivers side of the chain. Maybe you will get lucky and it made it to a point where a magnet will get it. The good thing is the cover and block are aluminum so you can move the magnet around and it would be pulled to everything, just the chain, guides and sprockets.

I was playing around with doing a pictorial on the LS timing gear setup and the work I did in my facebook projects page, but never completed it. Your welcome to go look though it which will show you what the interior of the timing chain cover looks like and the ribs on the cover that can catch something like a bolt. You can also see what the chain and sprocket areas are like.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?....258953187519371.59729.104882132926478&type=3

I had used my Snap-On BK6000 camera (just sold it) to look around in there before I pulled the front cover and even that did not give me a full view of everything, nor could I reach all of the areas.

 

[manoli]

I just looked at the pics that are posted on your Facebook link very clean engine

Kudos for doing it yourself I paid 1600 for this job

 

[TooManyToys]

Mobil 1 syn after initial factory fill per normal schedule.

Not too bad pulling the front cover if you have the tools, just time consuming. And when you read up on the problems other have had, which thankfully I didn't.

 

[hite337]

I almost did this same thing on my 1st LS. I vas very lucky, the bolt bounced off the side of the head and under the car. It was an "OMG!!!" moment.