I did a plenum pull over the weekend replacing many unloved seals and gaskets. Whilst the plenum was off I decided to tighten the fuel clamps on the end of hose that joins the two rails. I accidentally dropped one of these It dropped behind the timing covers past the lower plenum into the water pipe area never to be seen again... Thinking that the timing belt case is completely sealed I decided not to worry. Car drove fine after the plenum pull no abnormal noises for two days. Today I can hear a whirring/knocking noise like this (not as intense): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT2E7lRzhcs Could of this tip dropped into the timing belt case (inside the covers)? I pulled off the passengers side cover this afternoon to have a look, no visible damage to the TB and the tension seemed alright on the belt. I have also tried various magnets in the general water pump area with no success yet to retrieve this dropped tip without removing anything major. :bash:
In all honesty it could be anywhere, hate saying this, but hopefully someone else can shed some light as to what may happen, but i'm thinking engine out and checking everything, plus having parts on standby .
Possible it may have vibrated down to the crank gear of the timing belt. Only a mater of time before it could get between the belt and the gear and cause the belt to "Skip a tooth". Would pay to pull the fan and shroud off. to get at the lower timing belt cover with your magnets. You my have to dig deeper to find it. eg. harmonic balancer off to remove the lower timing belt cover. Up to you.
Probably couldn't of been better timing. Got my new timing belt kit and water pump here boxed up ready to be installed
Unlikely to go forward into the timing case as the rear timing plate and bottom cast lips will prevent it going forward, more likely to go into the centre lower plenum area where the water lines run but it's very hard to find - if in that area without engine out (many a tool/ nut /washer/ bolt has been lost in there - lol) My biggest concern is it dropping into the lower plenum itself and then into the valve seat/ cylinder as it would just continually rattle around and make a similar sound. Piston area you could use a magnetic telescopic tool through the spark plug but valve area would be a nightmare to get out as you would have to remove the plenum again and use a magnetic telescopic tool through there All just guessing here but: The sound is not healthy either way and its probably not wise to run the engine without being 100% sure as you could end up doing significantly more damage until you find the cause of the noise/ or the screwdriver bit In future - never use tool tips for this reason, use only full length tools (hard enough finding a spanner, but the length makes it easier) Goodluck JC
Power Steering Pump I normally use normal screw drivers. This one case got me, lesson learnt. Tonight was fun. Power steering pump has left a huge puddle over my garage floor. In the lead up I could hear the noise get worse. Bit of a relief. Coincidental the power steering pump died right after a plenum pull now time to source and replace. Thanks for your advice guys.
That's good news - you had me really worried there for a minute! Don't worry about the bit then, it was almost certainly be in the centre space area It's always fun later on when you do an engine pull and find so many goodies in there -(last time I found two bolts, two injector clips, 1 nut and a 10 mm spanner) haha Many others have had lucky dips in that section as well BTW: Those really long skinny flexible magnetic pickup tools (got mine for $5 at supercheap auto) are really handy for Z's, much better than the telescopic versions since they are long, very skinny and quite flexible and have the strong magnetic release and pickup plunger for control - mine has made its worth 10 times over already! JC
