The other day I performed some minor exhaust valve maintenance using the standard rope trick. I used 3/8" rope, which I'll never do again. Somehow I must have hit the lottery because the rope tied itself into the most perfectly tight slip knot inside the cylinder. I was on the verge of pulling the cylinder because there was just no way this knot/rope was coming out.
Tanya said, "Don't pull that cylinder just yet. Not until I get a crack at it." She loves puzzles and this one was a doozy. So I took a deep breath and sat for a few minutes, all the while thinking "I could have this #2 cylinder off and back on in an hour and a half."
Was I really going to let her show me how this is done? I don't think so!
I drug out the borescope and computer for detailed evaluation. Yep that is one tight slip knot. With the borescope in the bottom plug hole, looking at the computer screen, a hemostat and flat head screw driver went in the top hole. To my amazement, in about 45 minutes, I was able to mostly untie the knot in the cylinder and extract the rope. Wow, that was close.
I think a smaller rope, maybe 1/4", would be more appropriate such that if it tied itself in a knot, it could still be pulled out. I'm sure some unsuspecting mechanic has already learned this lesson. Now I have too.
Tanya said, "Don't pull that cylinder just yet. Not until I get a crack at it." She loves puzzles and this one was a doozy. So I took a deep breath and sat for a few minutes, all the while thinking "I could have this #2 cylinder off and back on in an hour and a half."
Was I really going to let her show me how this is done? I don't think so!
I drug out the borescope and computer for detailed evaluation. Yep that is one tight slip knot. With the borescope in the bottom plug hole, looking at the computer screen, a hemostat and flat head screw driver went in the top hole. To my amazement, in about 45 minutes, I was able to mostly untie the knot in the cylinder and extract the rope. Wow, that was close.
I think a smaller rope, maybe 1/4", would be more appropriate such that if it tied itself in a knot, it could still be pulled out. I'm sure some unsuspecting mechanic has already learned this lesson. Now I have too.