oops.. dropped it into the crankcase..

So tonight I checked my valve clearances, and changed a few shims.. I was feeling pretty accomplished, until I was putting the little cam chain sprocket that fits between the two camshafts back on, and oops..... dropped the allen key right down the hole...

I tried to look down with a flashlight to see if the allen key was there, but no luck. I am really hoping that it fell right down into the oil pan. Luckily I also was going to change the oil and filter tonight, so I drained the oil, and removed the filter. Took off all the bolts to remove the oil pan, and its stuck. Banged on it with a rubber mallet for 30 minutes until I finally gave up. Tomorrow I will try a hammer and a piece of wood.

Anyways, just opening up the thread to anyone else who has had a similar idiot moment that resulted in a huuuuuuge pain

make sure you got all bolts out easy to miss one

When I had to drop my oil pan on my 750, I spent about a day scrapping off all the bits of gasket that was baked on. That sucked big time. Like, epic suckage.

Then, when I had to drop my 550 pan, I planned ahead and cleared the whole day for the job. The little bugger came all off in one piece

apbling wrote: ...sucked big time. Like, epic suckage....

:woohoo: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

apbling wrote: When I had to drop my oil pan on my 750, I spent about a day scrapping off all the bits of gasket that was baked on. That sucked big time. Like, epic suckage.

Then, when I had to drop my 550 pan, I planned ahead and cleared the whole day for the job. The little bugger came all off in one piece

so I have tried everything to get this oil pan off... rubber mallet, large hammer and a piece of wood.... I have taken off all 15 bolts and the oil filter... It seems like the P.O. used some sort of adhesive on the thing.

What are the chances of the allen key doing any damage down there? I have seriously tried getting the oil pan off for over 2 hours. If I just leave the allen key in the bottom will it should be heavy enough to stay put, right?

Top.

While removing my Kz's head, one of the four small plates that are part of the cam tower assembly fell into the case. I removed the oil pan and drained it clean but there's no sign of the missing part. Any idea where this could be hidding? Is there an area under the crank where the cam chain is that it could be sitting in?

Kid named tommy had a very nice GTO in school. A real one, not some Lemans with junkyard tags.
Ol' Tommy was showing off the rather elaborate 3-2 carb set up he had. Three nice sets of two bore carbs.
ol tommy dropped one of the wing nuts into said two bore (rochesters, I cant remember) and thought, there is no way it can get past anything......so ol tommy fired it up and for some reason jumped the gas....now back in 1976 you could still get real gas, and that real gas mixed with some real air and sucked that wing nut into one of the pistons, blew his engine, we heard it about a block or so away.

I've done many stupid things, but always got lucky fishing them back out. Good luck, we're pulling for ya

You have to really hope it landed in the pan and isn't caught up someplace else. Can you get a magnet on a stick and fish around down there?

yes a magnet or one of those lil claws on a stick with the button on the end should work...I have one that I hope to never use it cost $1 at a flea market.

Good Luck Def don't drive it like that~!

there seems to be a trough-like area under the crank's cam-chain sprocket. I'll fix up a vacuum hose and suck up all the oil that's in there and see if the piece is there. It's not in the oil pan and it fell through the cam-chain space in the head so it has to be near by.

Found it. duct taped a 1/4 tube to a shop vac and sucked the oil out of the area under the crank/cam sprocket and there it was. I fished it out with a thin piece of wire. *loud sigh of relief*