Help! I dropped a nut into my motor.

[Stanley Distribution]

While reassembling my 1997 1uzfe, I accidentally dropped a 12mm nut down into the depths of my motor. It bounced right into the oil drain that goes down from the front of the passenger side head.

Where does this oil drain go? Directly to supply oil to the crank shaft? Or just down and drains into the oil pan? I've already stuck a magnet on a flexible shaft down about 9" or so and could not retrieve it.

 

[spf_lexus]

It's an oil return from the head, to the sump. I did this and freaked out a few years back for no real reason LOL. You can try a flexible "snake" magnet and try to fish it out from the top. Or, you can pull the bottom pan and i'll be willing to bet it's caught at the bottom of the oil return port stuck against a piece of old silicone. The hole it fell through is about a 1/2" wide right? if so it goes straight down into the sump.

 

[Lextreme II]

YOu can take out the oil pan and get it out or you can go to Michaels and get a half size of a penny magnetic and super glue to a flexible wire and FISH IT OUT.

 

[Zuffen]

Or just leave it in there and get a new nut.

The oil pickup has a strainer so it can't get sucked up into the oil pump.