The coolest thing ever!

[katsi]

Well, I think either Radiopilot or Socalmark had the best ideas as the tip of the sparkplug is some sort of something that does not get stuck to a magnet. But, on the bright side, I got this really cool flashlight that has an antenna that extends from out of the middle of the lense and on the tip it has a magnet that can bend up to a 90 angel. Really cool, you guys got to get yourself one of these. So, it's either turn the car upside down and shake untill it comes out or, get a grabber thing-a-ma-bob. I really wish I could just shake it out!

So, keep the ideas comming, I will let you guys know when it comes out. I'm going to try some sort of wire hanger \ duct tape thing right now. And if that does not work, double sided tape on the end of a coar hanger is next

[radiopilot]

katsi... another option is to twist some very stiff wire into a small ball and wrap gummy stuff on it (Playdough, clay, chewing gum, etc.) tape it in place at the top so it doesn't fall off and start fishing for the item(s), if you're lucky it will inbed itself on to the sticky stuff.

Nick

[katsi]

OK, so I went out about 9:45 this evening looking for one of those grabber thing-a-ma-bobs - right! I went by Auto Zone and they were open - Cool , purchased the before mentioned object and then went to the local quickie-mart, purchased a pack of smokes and a sixer of Keystone (hay, it's a weeknight - Keystone light) and went back to the pain cave commonly known as my garage which, by the way; contains one 1979 Fiat spider in really poor shape (I do have cable in the pain cave). Afther that, I proceeded to go "fishing" for the object that has brought us so much joy on this thread. On the bright side, apparently their was a June Bug taking up residence in my #2 cylinder which I had to sadly evict from the premises. Other than that, it was a regular old day of fishing consisting of drinking Keystone and smoking really, really good cigarretts. NO FISH! Unfortunatly, on this trip I couldn't go to the local Super and purchase a few filles to justify my drinking beer to the wife. So, the night was not a compleet waste of time because I am feeling pretty good about my cituation.

So, It comes to this - To remove the head or not to remove the head, that is the question! Weather it is nobler in the mind to think about the spark plug thingie exiting the exhaust or, to take arms against a sea of troubles and by removing the head - get it out!

Sorry, I'm a little buzzed and I love Shakesphere and I can resite just about all the plays by heart! It's sick, I know! I can't help it!

Anyway, I was really thinking about the whole thing, what if I just kinda forget about the last two days and what went on - Yes, I turned my head while writing that. But, really; what could happen? Think about it, the exhaust valve opens up in a DOWNWARD way and then closes. No bending of anything here - right So, it gets stuck in the exhaust valve and then within the next two or three rotations - gets disloged and goes down the tail pipe. I could live with that - Right? Right? I really don't want to tear the head off!

Oh, and by the way, my motor does not have that little three prongy thingy that shows TDC. Kinda funny when you think about it. Someone broke it off or it's just not there. I don't know but It AIN"T THERE - Wait, Their's a quote somewhere - Oh here it is - "But he does confess to the corpral air and call it truth- yet for the life of me I see nothing". Oh man, I really need help!!

[Kevin1]

1. Shop Vac
2. Old Panty Hose
3. 3/8" Plastic Tubing
4. Duct tape
Tape the panty hose over one end of the plastic tubing, making a sort of "balloon" . This will catch the offending part.
Put the balloon end a few inches into the shop vac hose, and tape them together so the air is pulled through the 3/8 inch hose.
Fire up the vac and use the plastic hose to go fishing. The little metal tip will end up in the panty hose balloon.

[ventura ace]

You could try fishing with a vacuum hose. I have this set of little attachments that adapt to a regular vacuum cleaner hose, that reduces to a small diameter with little tiny brushes, etc. -- think I got it at Harbor Freight. They make them for cleaning out the dust inside your computer. I use it around my engine all the time for cleaning out debris in the spark plug wells after I pull a spark plug. Be careful not to suck up gasoline vapors into your vaccum cleaner though (Kaboom!) -- that's another story for another day! You could use adapters like that, or make your own, to connect your vaccuum cleaner hose to some small flexible clear vinyl hose (1/4" or 3/8" or something like that). The hose needs to be large enough to allow suction flow of air at a descent velocity, but small enough to fit down into the spark plug hole, and flexible enough to bend sideways to reach all the 'corners' of your cylinder. Practice by seeing if the 'fishing vaccuum' will pick up another one of the little spark plug thingies on your work bench, and when convinced that you have something that will suck hold of the little sucker, then stuff the end of the fishing vaccuum hose down in the cylinder and twirl it around until you nab that puppy.

A similar approach would be to try to blast it out with compressed air, but you'd want to make sure that your engine is in a position where the intake and exhaust valves are closed for that cylinder, so the excaping compressed air and the little part will blast out of the spark plug hole and not out one of the open valves.

[seabeelt]

I like the blasting part Oh wait that's a different story about shooting fish in a barrel

[So Cal Mark]

don't count on that tip going out the exhaust. It will be imbedded in the piston long before it has a chance to exit. If it's near the edge of the piston you will ruin the piston by collapsing the edge onto the rings. There is also the possibility of bending valves

[manoa matt]

I'll second Radiopilot's recommendation, this is the tool you need: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=94162

The blue plastic piece on the end has two magnets imbedded in it. You can remove that piece and then the tool will fit in the plug hole so you can use the grabber to pick up that piece. The tool is flexible so it should be able to reach all areas of the piston.

It will be easier to grab that errand piece when the piston is farther down in the cylinder so the tool does'nt need to flex to the side as much. Hopefully the piston has already passed top dead center so you can rotate it down a little bit.

[adrians]

Don't start the engine, otherwise your piston will look like this !

A screw or bolt was running around in my No 3 cylinder at some stage.

[amsiegel]

Did you ever get the part out?

[spiderdave]

I've done this. It's like doing a virgin in the dark. Allways easier with out the beer and with a lot of patience and probing you'll get the job done. And much like the virgin you don't want some other fool to do the job for you! Good luck.

[katsi]

I have only been able to fish out some rubber thing that I did not know fell down there and one June bug. I'm really starting to second geuss myself as if something even fell down there in the first place.

[kmead]

I really like the vacuum idea. I bet the vac will pull air through a partially open valve and swirl the offending part out of the hole. Combining a bent coat hanger to sweep the part out of the edge of the combustion chamber would likely help.

Keep at it.

[MNspiderman]

Bubble Gum on a stick is the Answer. Sticks bend and bubble gum sticks.

[amsiegel]

Katsi

I feel for you. let me tell you what happened to me tonight.

Left house to go to shop to work on car. Should have stayed home and done some productive like orginize my sock drawer or play checkers.

Get to warehouse/shop complex and use restroon. Sink sprayes all over place and I look like I just pissed my self. I should have taken this for a sign. Oh well no one to see me. Remove my spark plugs and one of the other guys with a shop stops buy and askes if I could cut something with my dremmel tool. Hack the piece in 2 and the cutting wheel shatters. One piece lands by my feet.

Talk to Dave for a few minutes and get back to work. Oh guess where the other pieces landed. Right on top of the back 2 spark plug holes and they are just the right size to fall in the hole. Just sitting daring me to try something. After a few good curse words. I removed the piece from the rear hole. I go for the other piece and PLOP right down the hole it goes. AGGGHHHH. I look in hole and dont see it. I pull out shop vac, funnel, and thin piece of hose. Like the idea I posted for you when you dropped your item. It did not work but at least it moved the piece to where I could see it. I was about 5 minutes away from tearing the engine apart.

I ended up wrapping some tape sticky side out around a long screwdriver and eventually I got it out. It was not easy the piece was almost the same size as the hole. It was almost like the old game operation. Just no buzzer. I put the 3 broken pieces together on the table just to make sure there was no more broken pieces running around.