Prev: Corolla getting harder to find, thanks to Obama!
Next: Toyota Provided No Evidence of Testing Electronic Throttle toUS Congress
From: Michael on 5 Mar 2010 23:57 I was changing the valve cover gasket on my wife's '99 Camry. I was scraping off the old silicone that was there, when a piece about 1/2 inch long by, oh, say 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide fell in under a camshaft. I tried to fish it out, but then it went in under the camshaft supports. How bad is this?
From: Ray O on 6 Mar 2010 01:48 "Michael" <mrdarrett(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:9d17541e-4c18-422f-a760-cc7987d64686(a)b7g2000pro.googlegroups.com... >I was changing the valve cover gasket on my wife's '99 Camry. > > I was scraping off the old silicone that was there, when a piece about > 1/2 inch long by, oh, say 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide fell in under a > camshaft. > > I tried to fish it out, but then it went in under the camshaft > supports. > > How bad is this? If the piece blocks one of the oil drains, you have a problem. If it somehow makes it all way down to the pan, then no problem. Did you try a piece of pipe cleaner or an un-zipped zip tie to fish it out? How about some clean oil to flush it out? By the way, if the valve cover uses formed-in-place gasket (FIPG), do not use silicone on the valve cover! Use only FIPG products that are listed as safe for O-2 sensors. If the valve cover uses a regular gasket, do not try to make one out of FIPG as it will almost always leak. -- Ray O (correct punctuation to reply) -- Ray O (correct punctuation to reply) -- Ray O (correct punctuation to reply)
From: Michael on 6 Mar 2010 01:59 On Mar 5, 10:48 pm, "Ray O" <rokig...(a)NOSPAMtristarassociates.com> wrote: > "Michael" <mrdarr...(a)gmail.com> wrote in message > > news:9d17541e-4c18-422f-a760-cc7987d64686(a)b7g2000pro.googlegroups.com... > > >I was changing the valve cover gasket on my wife's '99 Camry. > > > I was scraping off the old silicone that was there, when a piece about > > 1/2 inch long by, oh, say 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide fell in under a > > camshaft. > > > I tried to fish it out, but then it went in under the camshaft > > supports. > > > How bad is this? > > If the piece blocks one of the oil drains, you have a problem. If it > somehow makes it all way down to the pan, then no problem. Did you try a > piece of pipe cleaner or an un-zipped zip tie to fish it out? How about > some clean oil to flush it out? > > By the way, if the valve cover uses formed-in-place gasket (FIPG), do not > use silicone on the valve cover! Use only FIPG products that are listed as > safe for O-2 sensors. If the valve cover uses a regular gasket, do not try > to make one out of FIPG as it will almost always leak. > -- > > Ray O > (correct punctuation to reply) Thanks Ray. Didn't have any pipe cleaners... just used a bent paper clip. Tried long-nosed pliers but wouldn't fit. Then it went under the camshaft supports... aargh! This is perhaps the farthest I've delved in trying to maintain the cars. First time removing the valve cover. I drove the car around the neighborhood already, partly to make sure no more oil would seep out of the valve cover gasket. So far so good. Where are the oil drains exactly? How many of them are there? How large are they? 1/4-inch diameter? 1/8-inch? 1/2 inch? I don't suppose silicone will dissolve in a pool of hot oil...? Not sure what exactly it was prior. Is the OEM stuff rubber, or silicone? I took the car to Pep Boys for valve cover gasket change ~3 years ago, and they left some gray stuff there which is what came out while I was cleaning the cylinder head. The rubber stuff in the cover came out pretty easily. I'm guessing that's what Pep Boys put in. Was thinking about removing the camshafts but decided against it - afraid if I mess up the alignment. Thanks! Michael
From: Jeff Strickland on 6 Mar 2010 11:46 "Michael" <mrdarrett(a)gmail.com> wrote in message news:9d17541e-4c18-422f-a760-cc7987d64686(a)b7g2000pro.googlegroups.com... >I was changing the valve cover gasket on my wife's '99 Camry. > > I was scraping off the old silicone that was there, when a piece about > 1/2 inch long by, oh, say 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide fell in under a > camshaft. > > I tried to fish it out, but then it went in under the camshaft > supports. > > How bad is this? Having debris is not a good thing, but this is very soft and will get ground up even smaller, then it will be captured by the oil filter. The route of the oil from the top of the engine to the bottom has the oil draining through large openings as opposed to small passages, so it's not likely that any holes will be plugged or clogged. The debris will collect in the oil pan and remain there. It may come out with the next oil change, but it won't go into the engine to get to a place where it can do any harm. (There is a screen that will keep the large pieces from being sucked into the pump system, and the oil filter will collect the small particles as the rubber breaks apart. My point is, you want to avoid such things, but I'd not recommend taking the engine apart to retrieve the lost silicon chunk(s).
From: Michael on 6 Mar 2010 12:01
On Mar 6, 8:46 am, "Jeff Strickland" <crwlrj...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > "Michael" <mrdarr...(a)gmail.com> wrote in message > > news:9d17541e-4c18-422f-a760-cc7987d64686(a)b7g2000pro.googlegroups.com... > > >I was changing the valve cover gasket on my wife's '99 Camry. > > > I was scraping off the old silicone that was there, when a piece about > > 1/2 inch long by, oh, say 1/8 to 1/4 inch wide fell in under a > > camshaft. > > > I tried to fish it out, but then it went in under the camshaft > > supports. > > > How bad is this? > > Having debris is not a good thing, but this is very soft and will get ground > up even smaller, then it will be captured by the oil filter. The route of > the oil from the top of the engine to the bottom has the oil draining > through large openings as opposed to small passages, so it's not likely that > any holes will be plugged or clogged. The debris will collect in the oil pan > and remain there. It may come out with the next oil change, but it won't go > into the engine to get to a place where it can do any harm. (There is a > screen that will keep the large pieces from being sucked into the pump > system, and the oil filter will collect the small particles as the rubber > breaks apart. > > My point is, you want to avoid such things, but I'd not recommend taking the > engine apart to retrieve the lost silicon chunk(s). Great, thanks! I was really debating whether I should take the valve cover off, buying yet another valve cover gasket, flooding the cylinder head with oil, and fishing it out... but that assumes it will stay in the cylinder head area... Next time I'll cover the camshaft area with a cloth before peeling off bits of silicone stuck to the cylinder head. Michael D. |