It's official: I've made EVERY mistake possible! graemlins/beers.gif I think that I dropped a coil bracket bolt down the distributor hole! Tried fishing it out from the dist hole with a magnet. Also tried the oil pan drain hole. No luck. I can't hear it in the pan/engine, but it's not on the ground so I'm going to have to assume that it is in the engine.

Where would a bolt end up that is dropped down the dist hole? I'm assuming that it is sitting above the oil pump. No chance I can get it to drop through to the pan is there?

Not as tweaked as I should be if I have to pull the engine (again). Want to get rid of the hi-volume oil pump anyway. graemlins/hurray.gif

Mike

Mike,

Just put the pan and intake back on my 454
this weekend.

your bolt could be in one of several places
since you have the lifters in, it could be lying in the lifter valley.
If you don't have the lifter valley screened off, it could have fallen through. In which case it is doubtful that it is lyin on the cam. It would have fallen onto the crank/rods. I could be wedged in there somewhere, although not likely.
The other direction is straight down to the oil pump. Did you have the pump drive shaft out?
If not, I doubt that it got by the sleeve on the pump. It would be laying against the side of the pump shaft. Get a magnet down in there and find out.

Thats all I can think of.
Good luck.

Dave

That's a tough call Mike. I have dropped those bolts and they sometimes jam between the bellhousing and the tunnel. Usually a bolt that falls down the dist hole will sit on the cam gear or the pump rod.

If you can't see any signs of it from the top I'm afraid I'd start pulling stuff off. Start with the intake and hope it's laying in the lifter valley.

For what it's worth, I have resorted to cutting up a spray paint plastic cover so just the inner circle and a little of the flat top is left (inner circle fits perfect in a dist. hole) and putting that in the intake hole as soon as the dist. comes out. I've been in your shoes too many times.

Others may have a better idea, good luck.

Originally posted by Beldarr:
Usually a bolt that falls down the dist hole will sit on the cam gear or the pump rod.


For what it's worth, I have resorted to cutting up a spray paint plastic cover so just the inner circle and a little of the flat top is left (inner circle fits perfect in a dist. hole) and putting that in the intake hole as soon as the dist. comes out. I've been in your shoes too many times.

Beldar,

Well, glad it doesn't happen only to me, though it is my first time. I'm usually pretty quick to duct tape any openings, but figured, "Hey, I'm only going to have the distributor out for a second!" Famous last words.

In short, I did some serious trolling with a magnet and some other tricks, but I couldn't fish it out. Nor did I find it in the usual hiding spots.

Hated that hi-volume pump anyway!