Re: rag in a spider motor

[Simon Favre <simon@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Bill Harkell wrote:

>I just got a call from a guy who's employee was told by a STUPID parts
>counter guy, to stuff a rag in the hole in lieu of her missing oil fill
>cap.
>Long story short, it got pulled in and caused the chain to jump time
>and bent valves.

Boy, I've heard some BONEHEAD things, but this one is choice. This ranks
right up there with the one about the guy who thought you had to FILL the
engine with oil, right up to the top!

>Aside from a head job, and gasket etc, how much potential damage is
>there? Any one know if the motor has to come all the way out for a
>teardown?

It could also damage the cams, cam drives, sprockets, the intermediate
sprocket bushings, the lower chain (less likely), and the pistons. To
really check things inside the timing cover, it has to come off. This is
possible to do in the car, but a royal pain. I'd pull the motor. Just
getting the sump off in the car is nuisance enough to make me pull the
engine out of the car.

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