Black363IROCZ

this really sucks, we are working on my friends car and his buddy (who is an LS1 guy) said he should use pen magnets to hold the lifters in place while taking the cam out since that's what the LS1 guys seem to do. so they did that but three didn't hold and so three lifters fell right in at the back when they took the cam out. I said they should've taken the manifold off first but laziness got the best of them and as a result we are where we are at. Anyways, I tried to fish them out using magnets but to know luck. Will we need to pull the pan off to get these lifters? I heard two of the lifters make a holow thump when they fell, I'm assuming they hit the bottom of the oil pan, I'm not quite sure where the third was cause it has been swimming around in the back while I tried to get it with a magnet. Will these lifters be out of the way of the rotating mass if they hit the bottom of the pan (the deep part) they are towards the back of the motor, 2 #8, 1 #7 lifter. I was thinking about just getting 3 new lifters from AZ and then retrieving these damn things later by cutting the pan.

mrr23

now that's a tough call. should be. only problem is making sure they made it all the way down. turn the motor by hand a couple times to make sure.

Morley

You start that engine with those lifters in there and you'll hear a lot of ugly noise. Get them out before you attempt to turn the engine over (even by hand), unless you have lots of money to burn.

pigsticker

I agree with Morley. There's real close tolerence in the oil pan. I'd get them out, for sure.

Black363IROCZ

So take the oil pan off? ****...

swerve-driver

Morley and pigsticker are right on. Right now, the situation is unfortunate, but can be managed. Starting that motor with lifters in there is just asking for trouble and then, at a minimum, you'd be in for a new oil pan. Save yourself the grief and take the pan off now.
Or if you're thinking of cutting the pan (I have no experience with that) and can properly seal it back up, why not do it now, instead of later?
Sorry to hear of your troubles, but don't want to see it get any worse-
S-D

Morley

Yes, take both motor mounts loose and jack the engine up, being careful to not hit the firewall with the distributor, slip something under the mounts to keep the engine up and remove the pan and the lifters in it.

Black363IROCZ

I think I'll just cut the pan and patch it, I know it will be less of a headache for us instead of removing the pan which requires jacking the motor up, taking the starter out, y-pipe, and so on.

mrr23

i've used a torch on an oil pan while on the car. even with the oil drained, the fumes still ignited while doing it. so be careful.

Black363IROCZ

I was thinking sawzall actually, just cutting a small flap out, then fishing around there with a magnet pen and flashlight. then patch it over with a larger piece of sheet metal. Depends on what my friend wants to do, it's his call. he may just tow it somewhere and remove the pan.

rjmcgee

Just unbolt the pan. You see how far your first short cut with the lifters got you.

Black363IROCZ

if I can just unbolt the pan I don't think it'd slide off. apparently the magnetic pen think works well with LS1s, but doesn't do **** for an SBC.

pigsticker

Are you sure the lifters made it all the way to the bottom of the oil pan?

Morley

If you just unbolt the pan it may drop down far enough to go fishing with a magnet, but putting new gaskets on might be a pain (especially removing the old gasket)

Black363IROCZ

very sure, they were the the lifters for the 7 and 8 cylinder and they had a slight delay between hitting the rod and the bottom of the pan. I was looking at a pan in AZ, the only place for them to have fallen was directly on the bottom

Black363IROCZ

removing the gasket sounds like cakewalk compared to the steps it takes to take the pan completely off.

Morley

Not if it is stuck on there and needs to be scraped off. Remember, you don't want pieces of the gasket in the pan either.

swerve-driver

Dropping the pan is the right thing to do.

If you decide to cut the pan, I'd encourage using a core drill or some other means to produce a uniform, round hole.
I think that would give you a better chance ( or more choices) of repairing it without subsequent leaking. Thinking along the lines of plugs and such. A round hole would also minimize the chance of cracking in any corners.

If you're considering welding the pan to repair any holes put in it please consider this: I have a crappy old pickup truck that had a small rust hole on the bottom of the pan. While still on the truck, I drained it and sprayed some brake clean in the drain hole to clean the bottom of the pan and then tried to braze it. I wound up putting 3 ft. of brazing rod on it and could not get it to seal. The metal the pan is made of seemed very brittle and it just kept cracking as the braze would cool. I spent about 4 hours on it before breaking down and buying a new pan.

I guess this leads me back to my original statement, but I know what a drag it is having to drop a pan and replace it.

S-D

Black363IROCZ

vaccuum and razor blade. though I'd imagine gasket materal in the oil would be far worse than any lifters in the bottom of the pan