The latest, which is enveloped in the need to do valve clearance, that in itself is due to an engine that dies out (see that post here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10804&start=15 ) is that while adjusting the clearance, I had a small nut dropped into a space inside the valve chamber. Here:
I am trying very hard to suppress anger at myself for the stupid mistake and my dismay at the implications, and trying to look at this as some lessons in mechanics. And I have three areas of help that I need from the community here.
The piston is in the TDC position when the nut went into that gap. I used a magnetic pick-up tool but I could not find anything because the magnetic tip is tad too big to go deep inside. I am now trying to buy a smaller one. The lost nut is small, and the magnet does not need strong pick-up power, but It needs to have a small magnetic tip : the one i have is 8 mm in diameter and 27 mm long.
Help number (1): If you know a pick-up tool that has a smaller magnetic tip, I would greatly appreciate a reference.
I am also researching for getting an understanding of the anatomy of this engine. (Help number 2 --> ) Given that it's at TDC and where the nut is dropped, where do you think the nut is? If I can't fish it out by going inside this gap, does it make sense to rotate the wheel (in 3rd or 4th gear now) and try to move the nute to a place where I I may be able to reach it with magnets thru the spark plug hole? Or thru the exhaust tappet openings (diagram below)?
Actually, I feel that trying to "move" the nut from one unknown position to another is a bad idea. So my guess is that, if I can't fish it out with hopefully a smaller magnetic tool, I would have to open the engine to retrieve it. That would be an unexpected lesson on Engine 101 and a big job. Help number (3) --> Given where it is dropped, do you think I should be able to locate it if I only remove the top part of the engine (along dotted line)?
I only can upload a max of 3 pics... continue in next post...
