keeper disappearing act

[quantumleap39]

I redid my a4 top end over the winter. bringing it down the 34 miles had some engine issues. after seating the new valves I found that they were not adjusted correctly but have since been adjusted. what I also found was the number one valve spring looked flat. upon inspection (valve panel removed) I saw 1 keeper over a oil hole! I removed the keeper and noticed there was no keeper on the valve! yikes!!!!! but now I cant find the other keeper!! where did it go! any ideas?? and if it was able to fall through the hole into the oil pan, will it cause damage. it should just sink and drop.

[thatch]

It is virtually impossible for one keeper to get itself into a position in the pan to do any damage and, since there is a dam between the crankshaft area and the reversing gear section, it would be very difficult for it to work it's way there. It will most like be found cemented by sludge right where it landed by whoever disassembles the engine. On a slightly related note, I am currently using a "magnetic probe" to gather as much pan gunk as possible. It is made from a 3/4" pipe plug, drilled and tapped to accept a 1/4" rod with little doughnut magnets mounted on it's lower end. It is installed in the 3/4" pan hole directly under the carburator.
Tom

[Dave Neptune]

39, been there done that.. On the A-4 a slow turning engine a "keeper" in the oil probably won't hurt anything. As long as it fell through and is no longer in the valve train there is little it could do. The screen on the oil pump will keep it put of the oil stream and the keeper will probably just sit or stick in the muck at the bottom of the pan.

Dave Neptune

[Administrator]

It is virtually impossible for one keeper to get itself into a position in the pan to do any damage and, since there is a dam between the crankshaft area and the reversing gear section, it would be very difficult for it to work it's way there. It will most like be found cemented by sludge right where it landed by whoever disassembles the engine. On a slightly related note, I am currently using a "magnetic probe" to gather as much pan gunk as possible. It is made from a 3/4" pipe plug, drilled and tapped to accept a 1/4" rod with little doughnut magnets mounted on it's lower end. It is installed in the 3/4" pan hole directly under the carburetor.
Tom

That's really interesting! Did you consider using rare earth magnets? They are amazingly powerful.

Bill

[ndutton]

From 7 years ago:

http://www.moyermarineforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=42490

[thatch]

Bill, This might be a good time for me to figure out how to post pictures, but don't hold your breath. The magnets I'm using are about 1/2" od with a 1/4" hole and are about 3/8" tall. They are chrome plated and are some of the most powerful little guys I've ever come across. They came from a place called All Electronics in Van Nuys Ca. I remove it for cleaning about every 3 months and it's amazing how much "magnetic" sludge it attracts.
Tom

[thatch]

Neil's attached picture is actually an earlier version of what I'm currently using. The major change is in the type of magnets now being used.
Tom

[ndutton]

Here is Tom's current version, clean and dirty. Tom graciously gave me an early version. The only modification I made was to remove the top locking nut, countersink the top of the oil plug, weld the rod in place and grind smooth. Totally stealth.

[roadnsky]

I'm late to the party but here are my clean pics of Tom's current model.

I hope to have a dirty pic at the end of the month when I do the oil change...