What I found on my oil drain plug.

[Jim Garfield]

This can't be good.....

I found this washer stuck to the engine oil drain plug today. There were no metal shavings or anything else that looked odd.

The washer is 18mm dia. with a 5mm dia. hole, it's about 1mm thick. It doesn't appear to be damaged or scratched at all.

Any ideas? I'll be on the couch with a stiff drink.

[Ron.G]

I wonder if someone dropped a valve cover washer in while doing a valve adjustment. Hmmm, But those are aluminum.........

[911pcars]

Oh m'god!

The washer is the least of your problems. The bolt that let this loose is what you should be worried about. Just kidding.

The ID looks like M6. The 18mm OD indicates it's a body washer of some sort, the type used to attach a bumper to a chassis support. I know of nothing inside the engine that normally uses this size washer (which isn't to say someone could have been thinking about using it once upon a time).

I think it's one of those extras that happened to end up there. I wouldn't worry about it unless you also hear loud knocking noises.

Sherwood

[MattAlpha]

Sounds like something that fell in during a valve adjustment, from a source such as Sherwood stated. Its a great thing that you didn't find any shavings too.
-Matt

[Early_S_Man]

Standard DIN 9021 oversize diameter M6 washer. Used on the engine tin in a few locations.

http://www.metricmcc.com/catalog/Ch2/2-233.pdf

[azasadny]

Man, you dodged a bullet there! Have a drink, say prayer of thanks and drive the car! (Oops, don't have the drink first!)

[TerryH]

Seek hypnosis to erase that washer from your mind.

[Jim Garfield]

Well I have to say that I feel much better now than I did a couple of hours ago. Thanks everyone for your replies.

I've been scouring my Bentley manual and Wayne's engine rebuild book for possible sources for the washer and ramifications. I was sure that the engine was going to have to come apart and the case split to find the bolt that lost the nut and washer. I was just about to go out to see if I could find a magnet on a hinged rod to fish aound to try and locate the nut.

Forgive my ignorance, but I wouldn't have guessed that it's possible to drop something into the sump when adjusting the valves??

[lateapex911]

yea, if you were going to hear loud extention ladder collapsing noises, you'd have heard them by now!

[Leland Pate]

It could have fallen into one of the oil return lines and found its way into the bottom of the case.

I'd rather find an arrant washer than shards of "piston ring soup" any day.

[Grady Clay]

Jim,

Which drain plug – case or tank?
If case, do you have a sump plate? How could the washer get inside the screen? If no sump plate, did the washer fit out the drain plug?

I agree with the above, this isn’t an engine washer. It probably fell in somehow.

A prudent move might be to fish around in the sump with a magnet. Even removing the oil return tubes can provide access. Hardware in the sump can’t do damage unless it gets to the scavenge pump or in the cam drive chains. The bottom of the case is well below the crankshaft and rods. A handful of hardware won’t do any damage.

It is not unusual for an engine rebuild to find something in the bottom of the case. Most do no damage.

Don’t worry about your find.

Best,
Grady

[Jim Garfield]

Grady, it was in the case, and the engine is a 3.2- so no plate. Yes, the washer was attached to the plug magnet and fit through the drain hole. I think that as I haven't refilled with oil yet, I will try to fish around with a magnet and see if I can "catch" anything else.

I can't tell you how relieved I am that this isn't turning into the scenario that I imagined when I first saw the washer on the plug magnet. My first thought was rod bolt failure until I looked at a picture in the manual and saw that wasn't possible, that's when I thought that I would probably get a definitive answer if I posted here.

Thanks again to everyone who responded, this forum is great. You saved me from a series of sleepless nights.

[Grady Clay]

Jim,

“You saved me from a series of sleepless nights.”

Your post will save many from sleepless nights.


BTW, I spent a couple of hours explaining 4-cam drive train to a youngster who has never seen one, (That is a 547 and later to the uninitiated).

Best,
Grady

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

There are _so_ many ways to drop things into a 911 engine you wouldn't believe it. Wedding rings, nipple rings, nuts, bolts, washers, you name it. Any time you're working on one, try to imagine where your cufflinks might go if they fell off, and stuff a rag in there.

Well, then there was the time I sucked six rags into the intake manifold when I forgot I'd used them...

[TerryH]

Cufflinks and nipple rings. There's something I haven't worn in 30 years and something I'll never wear.

[FrinkFrog]

"....so_ many ways to drop things into a 911 engine ....wedding rings, nipple rings...."


I think I read the warning in the Factory Manual to ALWAYS remove nipple rings before servicing the engine.....

[TerryH]

[afterburn 549]

small UFO

[911pcars]

Stephan,
You forgot bb's. Anyone have any shots of the infamous BB drop-into-intake manifold?

Sherwood

[Quicksilver]

Originally posted by Formerly Steve Wilkinson
There are _so_ many ways to drop things into a 911 engine you wouldn't believe it. Wedding rings, nipple rings, nuts, bolts, washers, you name it. Any time you're working on one, try to imagine where your cufflinks might go if they fell off, and stuff a rag in there.

Well, then there was the time I sucked six rags into the intake manifold when I forgot I'd used them...

And at a certain point here you dropped into a level of personal weirdness that is almost as scary as watching someone prove that their Eram and CoolCollar really does work.

. . .

I'm going to have to walk around and just shake it off.
eek. . .