Yep, as you can tell from the title, my dumbass dropped about a 3/4 inch long piece of 3.5 ID silicone vac hose down the oil filler neck. It was RIGHT after I pulled the piece of paper towel out too. Go figure. I'm putting it all back together after a LIM gasket job, so the top half of the neck was off. What is the next course of action? Drain the oil and remove the pan? What will happen if the engine starts with it in there? Thanks.

 

Hasn't this happened to anyone before?

 

The most it could ever do which would be difficult, is make it's way up into the oil pump chain where it would be torn apart.

It is posible that it is still in the filler neck. Why not remove that.


Otherwise, I would not worry about it.

 

There's no possibility it could seize the oil pump chain? I can imagine that would be bad. Guess I'll take a look in the pipe, if its not there, screw it.

 

could come out with oil drain. warm a few Q's of thin oil, pour it through. may drop out the drain port. tilt car toward drain.

 

If you are talking about the plastic oil filler neck, like Chuck says, then it's still in there. remove it and dump it out. The plastic neck makes two 90 deg turns before going into the engine.

tom

 

Nope, the neck was off, was about to start putting it back together. Looks like it's just a straight tube down to the oil pan.

 

I think the oil pan is a real bitch to remove, isn't it? This may sound weird and over-elaborate, but I'd try this route instead. There are all sorts of sophisticated tools these days to get into small, remote places and to be able to see what you're doing. Some even use cheap little tv cameras and lights with a tool on the end of it. I've seen another thing that uses a mirror and light.
I'd check around the Eastwood catalog and J.C. Whitney first to see if something like what you need exists. Then I'd go to Taylor Rents or some similiar place to see if I could rent the tool.
I think you've got to take a crossmember off to remove the oil pan....am I right about that?
If I could rent some gooseneck - flexible tube type tool for $25 that could accomplish the job
that would be the way I'd go.

 

Come to think of it, I have seen a goose neck type tool that has pincers on one end, and like scissors handles on the other. There's no light, and no way to see with it, but fishing around with it you might get lucky and be able to feel the hose you're looking for and bring it out of the oil pan. If that doesn't work, you might be able to get at it by going through the oil drain hole......but I'd try through the filler neck first.

 

I dropped a bolt down my oil filler neck ages ago... After calling EVERYONE who built rotary engines ( and getting laughed at) my conclusion was the worst thing that could happen was it would restrict the oil pickup. Now had I been a 4x4 or driving upside down there were other risks, but with the oil pan hassle, I got a magnetic drain plug, changed the oil, and never saw it again.....

Silicone would break down when immersed in oil I believe, so if you can't get it out I'd religiously change oil, but the OP is a bitch to do

 

All right, screw it. I'll change the oil as the last thing I do before I finally start the car, see how it goes. Thanks to everyone for your help, I appreciate it.