Dropped valve spring keeper down oil drain pass
 

I am replacing the valve stem seals with oem seals. With the cyl head on engine
Basically I did exactly what the title says I was taking the little spring keepers out of the top of the valve spring hats, and one of them dropped out went down behind the spring and clinked down the oil passage into the crankcase.
as far as I’m aware there isn’t any thing it could get caught in,
any suggestions

Draining the oil would be my first course of action
i dont know if keepers are magnetic but you could run a magnet all over the oil pan and see if itll snag it.

Yes they are magnetic but the oil pan has a baffle in it and it would most likely be sitting on top of it . I just did the oil pan so I’m hoping I don’t need to remove it again. But I think I will drain the oil for now and hope that the keeper comes out with it

One option, pull the drain plug, drain oil. Pull valve cover. Dump a lot of thin solvent down the head quickly. This will help flush the part out the pan and out the drain plug hole. May be worth a shot before pulling the oil pan.

Oil has drained and no keeper, flushed and still no keeper.
If I leave it in there I don’t think there should be any thing it would jam in for it to be a problem, I mean the passage goes pretty much strait to the pan so it’s probably sitting on the bottom.
correct?
Reason being is there is a MX3 with the 1.6 motor at a scrap yard that I can get a keeper from. And leave the one in there

I did the same thing. I put a magnetic drain plug in. The keeper was stuck to the plug the next time I pulled it.

right on, I thought so, thanks for confirming that, magnetic plug! Good idea

thanks everyone else for your Help as well

Don't mess around, pull the pan and find the keeper. Or you know, roll dice and blow engine to save couple hours labor up front.

What are you imagining the keeper is going to do? I ask because I thought about it for a while when I did this, and I decided the chances of it doing anything were slim.

To start with until you see keeper in oil pan, you can't know for sure it's down there. Now say keeper is in oil pan, it can sit at bottom of pan and do nothing. It can get stuck to oil pickup screen and block maybe 5% flow (who the hell knows).

is the motor in question a 1.6

Based on OP's wtb thread and name 1.6 is a yes

Yes it is a 1.6,
I have thought about it quite a bit, when the pan and the head were off I could look down the oil pass through the block past a small bit of the connecting rod that attaches to crankshaft and strait to the ground
no crevasses or tight spots it could get caught in.

Exactly. If you're sure it went down the hole then it's in the pan or on the windage tray and will end up in the pan. I believe the worst case scenario is it sticks to the oil pump pickup screen which isn't going to destroy the engine IMO.

IIRC It was only a couple hundred miles before I pulled the plug and found it on the magnet.

I’d run it... Worst case it will get stopped by the oil pump pickup screen.

It's rather unlikely, but I think the worst case is pretty bad -- it might get jammed between a rod and the cylinder block while the motor is running, the clearances are tight up there.

--Ian

If it were me I would first check the head very well to make sure it is not stuck behind a spring. There are lots of hiding places. Then I would start the engine and drive it keeping the revs below 3-4k. Then jack up the car so the passenger side is lower then the drivers and drain the oil. If it doesn't come out I would use a telescoping magnet to get. Good luck.

How would it get there? Oil drains don't go through piston bores.

https://netdna.coolthings.com/wp-con...ooptheloop.jpg

Maximum oof.
I did the same thing. I used a combination of magnets to work it along the bottom of the oil pan, then out the drain hole.
It sucked.