Hey guys, I was installing my 5/16 iso spacer in and it has been a nightmare. I installed it leaving the oem upper plenum gasket instead of throwing it away. The instructions said i could leave it if i ever wanted to sell the car. After the installation the car had a crazy erratic idle and it would shut off. I inspected the plenum and found that it was sucking air all through the sides. I retightened it a little more to try to seal better. Yet nothing was working.
I then removed the plenum all over again and pulled it off. In the process of installing the plastic spacers in the middle of the plenum again i accidentally dropped one of the washers and had no clue where it went.
I think the washer hit my hand and fell into the upper plenum leading through the middle and into the engine. I removed it all over again to the Iso gasket and slid a magnet retriever in all the engine holes. Nothing was retrieved.
I figured eh.. maybe it fell somewhere in the engine bay. Well after reinstalling it all back and relearning the idle air and all the resets. It idled perfectly BUT there was a little sound as if something was banging around inside. Dang it! The washer did fall in, least I think thats what it is. I traced it to the driver side valve cover where i was when it happened. Now idk how to pull it out. Whats the easies way to get it out?
I tried removing the spark plugs and sliding the magnetic wand in and nothing..
Im going to try cranking it and see if it shoots out.

 

You better stop cranking that motor if the washer is in there before you bend a valve. Unlikely, but a possibility.

Sounds stupid but try a piece of gum or tape on the end of something, just make sure you dont drop the gum/tape in the motor lol.

You should have been able to see the washer on top of one of the intake valves when you pulled the plenum again unless you're so damn unlucky you managed to drop it in a cylinder that happened to have the intake valves opened.

If you have compressed air at your disposal shoot some in each spark plug hole and you should be able to find out which cylinder it is in. Spray off around the coil before you go spraying air everywhere so you dont blow crap into the spark plug holes.

 

http://my350z.com/forum/engine-drive...r-gaskets.html

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DOWNLOAD EM and go to page em 107. Engine Assembly

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/350Z/coupe/2004.5/em.pdf

You need to tear down or take it to a mechanic.


http://m.my350z.com/forum/showthread.php?t=286544

http://my350z.com/forum/engine-drive...r-dummies.html

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^There is no evidence theres any damage done to his motor lol. Once he gets the washer out he will want to do a compression test on that cylinder to make sure he didnt bend any valves though :]

 

Thanks guys. i fixed it! I guess there must have been something in there. i knew it was on the driver side so i just removed all the plugs on that side and started it up. It surprisingly ran, horrible but enough to idle and shoot whatever it was out. I never saw it come out but after reinstalling plugs and connectors it idled just fine with no noise. Im soo glad its running fine now. i reset the codes and took it for a drive. All is good now. I just wish it wasnt raining so i could test the gains on the butt dyno. Thanks for the help guys i thought i was going to have to rebuild the engine. phew..

 

You got lucky man! I saw an engine ruined when a screw fell off the throttle body and into the one cylinder. Must have some good karma

 

It seemed like i had bad luck but oh man im so relieved. It was cold and then it started to drizzle. Just what i needed. Im so happy i didnt ruin the engine. Although i did find oil in the rear cylinders. :/
Looks like il be needing valve cover gaskets.

 

That is scary! I'm glad it's working now that would be horrible if your engine got tore up over a spacer. I know I popped the head off the bolt on the front right and I could not remove it so I am missing one bolt on the spacer. I just knew that would tear my engine up but I put extra lock tight around it and it has been good so far. It's crazy how much stress such a little thing can cause lol.

 

Not too big of a deal, it won't adversely affect your engine. I think you can get the O-rings for $10 each and drill them out and install, pretty easy.