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I win the dumbest all time mistake...

Michael Burbidge

Well Known Member
I was removing the long studs to install my p-mag. I used the double not method which worked well, until I dropped one of the nuts into the accessory case. Talk about taking the wind out of my sails.

Any suggestions for retrieving the nut? I suspect it is in the oil sump.

Michael
 
Quality magnet on a flexible rod - and go fishing. Make sure the magnet is securely attached to the rod so you don't end up with another piece in the case.

Carl
 
I was removing the long studs to install my p-mag. I used the double not method which worked well, until I dropped one of the nuts into the accessory case. Talk about taking the wind out of my sails.

Any suggestions for retrieving the nut? I suspect it is in the oil sump.

Michael

Michael...
Oh, I am sure that you are the first guy to ever do that! What Carl suggested is a good place to start. Do what you have to and find it. Good luck!
BTW..The "Dumbest Move" club has many members, and you are in good company!
 
You are not yet in the "dumbest mistake club" To do that you must start your engine without finding the nut.
 
FYI , the back of the rear case is open to the oil sump, and you will have to get past the gears on the rear of the engine if the nut made its way all the way down to the sump . But It could be stuck on or between the gears , So DO NOT turn the engine ! You may have to remove the back case and or the sump or both ??
Next time just stuff rags in the hole or tape it off while working the back of the engine . Been there Done that .:(
 
First I would try using a borescope and see if you can find where it is.
If you know where it is, it will be easier to retrieve with a magnet.
If it did go into the sump you might have luck removing the oil suction screen and going in through there. Or maybe through the oil filler tube.

If all else fails try turning the airplane upside down and shaking it.

Oh wait; the RV-9A is not aerobatic. Never mind that last suggestion.
 
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I think it's pretty audacious to consider that the dumbest mistake ever, and I can see this discussion going off into the weed pretty quickly. For example, there was the time that I...
 
If a search with a magnet doesn't prove successful, drain the oil (not using a quick drain) and see if it comes out with the oil. If you catch the oil in a clean container then you could reuse it if it's new. You could also pull the rear screen plug and shove a magnet in ere to try to fish it out. If it doesn't come out any of these ways, then you could possibly use a stronger magnet from the outside of the sump and drag it to one of the holes already mentioned.

If it is the rut Mag and you don't have a hydraulic unit, you may be able to take the cover plate off that port and get better access.
 
Lost Nut

Mike: I'm with Ed, don't think you can lay claim to dumbest mistake. I fully agree with DO NOT TURN THE PROP. Looking at photos I took during my engine build I would say it should be in the sump. The easiest place to start is down thru the dipstick tube with a magnet on a flexible neck. Go fishing and try to get to all points in the rear half of the sump. You may have this resolved in 5 minutes.

Don Broussard

RV 9 rebuild in progress
 
Been there, done that! Happened to me many years ago. I was able to fish the nut out thru the rear sump drain after a few minutes of fishing with a device made from a 10ga solid copper wire with a small strong magnet attached to the end. I bent a half loop in the end of the wire with the same diameter as the magnet and used heat shrink to attach the magnet to the wire. I tried a magnet on a springy flex rod but that did not work because you must go up thru the drain and then down to the floor of the sump. After a few tries I was able to bend the copper wire just right to do that. Good luck!

Martin Sutter
building and flying RV's since 1988
EAA Technical Councelor
 
Been there

Yup, I did the exact same thing about a month ago. Instant images of pulling the oil pan and accessory housing flashed through my mind and a few choice words were flung. Ended up I was able to recover the nut in about 30 seconds with a magnet stick.
 
Harbor freight camera and a lowes grabby thing....

And be prepared for success. Got my rubber mag cushion in under 30 sec after investing.....Rick

If that's the worst you've got, you live a lovely life!
 
Got it!

First off, it was a stainless steel nut! I wasn't using the real nut to do the double nut stud removal. I tested a similar nut with a magnet and it would still pick the nut up, but the attraction was not real strong.

I went to the auto store and bought a cheap inspection scope and a magnet on a flexible rod.

I drained the oil. Using the inspection scope I could see the nut. After several tries I was able to guide the magnet to the nut using the scope. And then very carefully extract the nut using the magnet.

Whew... With trips to the store, fretting, draining the oil, I wasted most of the day. But of course it could be worse. I was so happy to get that nut out.

Thanks for all the support. This site is great!

Here's a few pictures.

The tools:

ikeokKD.jpg


The incision:

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The scope:

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The nut!

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Borescopes

I had a similar experience reinstalling a prop governor a while back and had to rely on an altered web cam to visualize and remove the FOD.

I have had a couple of cheap borescopes and in my experience you have to be real careful about buying one. Be sure to check out its functionality before buying.

Harbor Freight for instance, makes two models and their cheaper one is often on sale for roughly $69. Don't take the bait. If you choose HF get the one with the better resolution. It works much better, but it has a non-replaceable lithium battery. Also make sure you keep the receipt. When I got the higher resolution model home it didn't work and I had to return it.

All of the cheap "flexible" borescopes suffer from using a malleable wand that is very difficult to bend around obstacles once inserted. Some don't have enough light. The truly flexible fiberoptic scopes are insanely expensive and the used ones on the market may have a lot of broken fibers.
Dave A.
 
Michael thank you for the topic and follow up. Threads like this make our maintenance easier. :)
 
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