Dropped Nut Into Intake!!!!!!!

HELP!

I'm midjob on my fuel system/spider assembly, and I dropped one of the small nuts that secure the fuel line into one of the ports for the intake.

Unfortunately they're not magnetic, and I can't get it out. I can't see it either.
Where would it have gone if it went in there? Does anyone have a pic of what a 98 intake looks like?

Do I have to remove the intake to get down to the lower intake to retrieve it? Will it cause damage if its NOT removed? Please help!

You will need to remove the lower intake manifold to retrieve it. If the intake valve is open, it is possible for the nut to find it's way into the combustion chamber. Once there, and if the engine is turned over or started, it will do severe damage to the cylinder walls. DO NOT operate the starter or turn the crankshaft! If you can not retrieve the nut by removing the lower intake manifold, it will be necessary to remove the cylinder head to locate and retrieve the nut.

You will need to remove the lower intake manifold to retrieve it. If the intake valve is open, it is possible for the nut to find it's way into the combustion chamber. Once there, and if the engine is turned over or started, it will do severe damage to the cylinder walls. DO NOT operate the starter or turn the crankshaft! If you can not retrieve the nut by removing the lower intake manifold, it will be necessary to remove the cylinder head to locate and retrieve the nut.


are you positive about this? is it completely neccessary to retrieve it?
it looks like a huge job to get down to the lower intake, and I have enough troubles now as it is.

Been working on engines almost 35 years, take my advice or not, it's up to you. At the very minimum it will destroy the piston, valves and cylinder wall. It will make a nice anchor for a large boat very quickly.

old_master is right on the money for this one.
It's too risky to start it and hope for the best. Just say that there's about 1 chance in 10,000 that you won't have any engine damage from it

old_master is right on the money for this one.
It's too risky to start it and hope for the best. Just say that there's about 1 chance in 10,000 that you won't have any engine damage from it


How much more needs to be done if I have the upper intake off already?
Does anyone have a photo of what it takes to get down to the lower intake?
The ones I've seen on here are from earlier models.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=484806&highlight=srbianats


Hope this helps.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=484806&highlight=srbianats


Hope this helps.
Shit, thats great!!!! All the other photos Id seen were of the earlier model intake!
Especially this one:
http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/6944/img01859ej7rk0kb.jpg

How much more time/work did it take from the stage of having the upper intake and spider assembly off?
I guess I'm going to have to tackle it this weekend. I assume first step is to drain the coolant?

If you have a step by step or can remember one, it'd be greatly appreciated!

are you positive about this? is it completely neccessary to retrieve it?
it looks like a huge job to get down to the lower intake, and I have enough troubles now as it is.

How about to use a vacuum cleaner and a thin hose through the sparkplugg hole and try to catch it that way?? Might be worth a try...

/Freddy

What holes were open with when you were putting the fuel rail back on (or was it coming off) on a 96up blazer? The nut is metal so magnetic but its small and light. Are you sure the nut is not sitting along the valve cover and lower intake in that channel between them??? I always tape over the openings in the intake (if dist out) as I do the fuel rail with those nuts and 4 o-rings and 4 flat washers in the spider. I have dropped them too but look around with a strong light at several angles and good chance that nut is out there.

What holes were open with when you were putting the fuel rail back on (or was it coming off) on a 96up blazer? The nut is metal so magnetic but its small and light. Are you sure the nut is not sitting along the valve cover and lower intake in that channel between them??? I always tape over the openings in the intake (if dist out) as I do the fuel rail with those nuts and 4 o-rings and 4 flat washers in the spider. I have dropped them too but look around with a strong light at several angles and good chance that nut is out there.

Its a 98.
I only had the upper intake exposed when I dropped it. It fell into one of the intake ports. Thinking the same thing, I'd grabbed a magnet right away and although I couldnt see it, tried to move the magnet around inside to catch it.
Come to find out, the nuts are not magnetic that secure the fuel lines to the spider....so I may have pushed it further into the intake with the magnet and now its nowhere to be found. Im going to start the teardown this morning.
I checked all along the valve cover as you mentioned...and will do one final check again today to see if it fell externally...but I'm pretty convinced its inside the lower intake.

There is a tool called a Borescope that is inserted into a spark plug hole to inspect the piston and bore. Maybe you could rent one or hire someone to use it if you are not able to pull the heads.
For sure it's worth the time to pull the lower intake first.

I would do a lot of searching with mirrors, flashlites, chinese fingers and poky tools before I started pulling things apart. That is if it went in it can come out,,, especially if I did not see specifically where it went and cannot see where it is. We MUST find this nut,,,

I like the idea of a vacuum cleaner. I would try and fashion some clear thin bore plastic tubing onto the shop vac and give it a try. You may need to put a few holes in the tube to allow the vacuum cleaner to pull enough air but you should still get enough suck that way.

Is the nut stainless, brass or aluminum. Annoying that the magnet doesn't work. I think that you have a good chance with a vacuum pipe. Worth spending a couple of hours on that method I think.


Mark

Sorry, no step by step. And that intake is of a 98. I have a 98 Blazer LS. Like the others have said. I would try a shop vac. If that does not work, then take the lower intake off. I got a GM power steering puller for my tear down. Others have said they didn't need it. With the power steering bracket out of the way, it's easier to put the lower intake back on and not mess up the bead of RTV. Just remember to MARK the distributor rotor's location BEFORE loosening the bolt tat holds it in place to the intake. Good luck.

I like the idea of a vacuum cleaner. I would try and fashion some clear thin bore plastic tubing onto the shop vac and give it a try. You may need to put a few holes in the tube to allow the vacuum cleaner to pull enough air but you should still get enough suck that way.

Is the nut stainless, brass or aluminum. Annoying that the magnet doesn't work. I think that you have a good chance with a vacuum pipe. Worth spending a couple of hours on that method I think.


Mark

I actually had tried the vacuum cleaner before reading this. Several different sizes of clear surgical tubing that I'd taped to a household vacuum with electrical tape to seal it off. I did this many many times in an attempt to retrieve it. I'd tried a flexable grabber as well. None of which worked. Although I knew my lower intake gasket needed to be replaced, I really didnt want to get into it at this point. I was still dealing with the fuel problem...which is how this all happened. I'd dropped the 8mm nut for the fuel lines and hadnt blocked up the intake holes. I think I may have pushed the nut in further, when I tried to retrieve it with a magnet...as I said before...it wasnt magnetic....FIGURES!
So, today I pulled it all apart. And found the nut. It had entered the intake port just above the 4th injector, and when I pulled it apart, found the nut sitting just ontop of the piston. I was lucky, as the piston beside it was lower and the nut would have surely disappeared for good inside.
Anyway, lower intake is back on as well as a new gasket...so hopefully nomore leak over the back edge near the firewall.

Here you see the port it entered (arrow), and where the nut ended up (top in green)
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b40/JoshB_/nut3.jpg

Amazing huh!? I retrieved it with the vaccuum at this point
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b40/JoshB_/nut1.jpg

Heres the moral to that story~!
http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b40/JoshB_/blocked.jpg

Lucky you that the valve was closed on that piston . Pulling the head would have been a lot of extra work . Don't you hate it when something like this forces you to do what you want to put off. Rob

I hate to say it, you're going to have to remove the lower intake to retrieve the nut. Like old master said, It will damage your engine if you hit the starter or turn
the crank by hand. The nut can fall into the cylinder through a valve opening and not only will it damage the cyclinder walls, it will bust a hole into the piston as well as bend the valves in that cylinder and lock your engine up. I too have been working on engines for 35 years. You can try to use a vacuum if you want. But what if you retrieve a nut and there was something else had fallen in there and you didn't see it. The only way to know for sure, is to remove the intake and make sure there isn't any thing else in there. It's not readlly that much more to take off, especially for a piece of mind. I have a 99, 4.3 cd. It contants ever thing about tear down a rebuild for it. I'm not sure if it will help you, but I can email it to you if you would like me to. Just email me at [email protected].
SC

I hate to say it, you're going to have to remove the lower intake to retrieve the nut. Like old master said, It will damage your engine if you hit the starter or turn
the crank by hand. The nut can fall into the cylinder through a valve opening and not only will it damage the cyclinder walls, it will bust a hole into the piston as well as bend the valves in that cylinder and lock your engine up. I too have been working on engines for 35 years. You can try to use a vacuum if you want. But what if you retrieve a nut and there was something else had fallen in there and you didn't see it. The only way to know for sure, is to remove the intake and make sure there isn't any thing else in there. It's not readlly that much more to take off, especially for a piece of mind. I have a 99, 4.3 cd. It contants ever thing about tear down a rebuild for it. I'm not sure if it will help you, but I can email it to you if you would like me to. Just email me at [email protected].
SC

uhm.................what?
did you read the last post by me?
As stated, I already did the job. I took the pictures in the post. Thats my engine apart.

I see that all the ports are filled in at that point, so I imagine that you've learned a valuable lesson out of it. One That I'm sure you'll teach many people in the future.

Good to hear that everything went well, and that you fixxed a problem that you weren't planning to yet.
You really don't want to let those lower intake gaskets go. More than 1 person on this board has had to replace the bearings on their motor because of them leaking.

I see that all the ports are filled in at that point, so I imagine that you've learned a valuable lesson out of it. One That I'm sure you'll teach many people in the future.

Good to hear that everything went well, and that you fixxed a problem that you weren't planning to yet.
You really don't want to let those lower intake gaskets go. More than 1 person on this board has had to replace the bearings on their motor because of them leaking.

yea, it wasnt part of the plan......and it was a lot of aggrevation.....such a tiny little nut causing hours of frustration and labor. but its done....should have taken care of the leak. And most importantly as you mentioned, it was a valuable lesson that I won't forget. The upper intake has the cover off at this point awaiting the new injectors that should arrive Tuesday......you bet your ass the ports on the upper intake are now filled snuggly with clean shop rags.

BOTTOM LINE:

If you are going to take the upper intake cover off, for even a second, block the intake ports immediately or you may find yourself doing a lot more than you bargained for. I was lucky the nut ended up in a place that was easy to retrieve it.

I hope that you installed the intake bolts in the proper sequence and torque. If not it could cause your engine to fail.


What kind of injectors did you get? I would recommend getting the new updated MFI assmebly. The entire assembly with all the injectors is less than $200. It is direct bolt in replacement and more reliable than the old systems.

I hope that you installed the intake bolts in the proper sequence and torque. If not it could cause your engine to fail.


What kind of injectors did you get? I would recommend getting the new updated MFI assmebly. The entire assembly with all the injectors is less than $200. It is direct bolt in replacement and more reliable than the old systems.

Yes sir. Had the torque pattern open in front of me. Torqued them to 132inch lbs
or 11ft lbs

Blazee, where in the WORLD did you get that price of $200 for the updated MFI assembly? Please get back to me asap, because if thats really the case, I need to cancel my order immediately. I paid $299 + $100 (core) for the rebuilt assembly, and I didnt see anywhere else that sold it all together....cheapest I saw for new was $90 PER injector....and you couldnt get it together. Please get back to me

The assembly is available though www.GMPartsDirect.com for less than $200. You could also get it through your local GM dealer but you can expect to pay more.

Here's the part numbers:
12568332 - MFI Assembly
88894355 - Bracket
17113215 - Seal kit

Glad to see that the nut was found .... was following but had nothing to add that wasn't already said.

Once finished the lower intake installation keep a good eye on your oil level and quality. An oil change is warranted anyway to ensure that no coolant ended up down there after the lower intake came off. But its equally important to ensure that you didn't muck up the seal procedure when putting it back together. Its easy to get coolant leaking internally and not notice it right away .... until you throw a rod or lose a main.

This advise is is born from experience. I had the lower intake gasket replaced by the dealer last week. They blew my engine and are replacing it right now because of incompetance that resulted from a lack of checks as I described above. I'd be very cautious until you are sure things are solid.

Cheers and best of luck

Here's a TSB with the MFI procedure and part numbers:
http://www.savefile.com/files3.php?fid=1709708

Here's a TSB with the MFI procedure and part numbers:
http://www.savefile.com/files3.php?fid=1709708

where can I get it Blazee?

see post 24 above

The assembly is available though www.GMPartsDirect.com for less than $200. You could also get it through your local GM dealer but you can expect to pay more.

Here's the part numbers:
12568332 - MFI Assembly
88894355 - Bracket
17113215 - Seal kit


Do you need to get the bracket and seal kit, or does it fit into the original?

Do you need to get the bracket and seal kit, or does it fit into the original?

Thanks Blazee. I just paid by phone for it...the local dealer has it in stock for a bit more, but he gave me a discount since I complained about the price difference. It'll cost me around $315-320 for the assembly, seal, and bracket.
I read that it replaces the original one.

Unfortunatly the other order was already placed/sent....to I'll have to send it back when I receive it Tuesday.

On the bright side, I can put everything back together tonight/tomorrow!

Thanks Blazee. I just paid by phone for it...the local dealer has it in stock for a bit more, but he gave me a discount since I complained about the price difference. It'll cost me around $315-320 for the assembly, seal, and bracket.
I read that it replaces the original one.

Unfortunatly the other order was already placed/sent....to I'll have to send it back when I receive it Tuesday.

On the bright side, I can put everything back together tonight/tomorrow!

replaced it with the new assembly. its amazing...but GM didnt list that part number in there computer system to come up when you search for the spider assembly for my vehicle. here's what I think happenend. GM realized the original injector system was a POS. They frequently got stuck either open or closed......surprisingly, even though so many different years and models used this system, they never recalled it...but came up with this NEW injector system.

Sooooo........

They stopped making/selling the old system as a whole...but instead continue to sell the individual injectors for it. So if you have a single bad injector on the original system, you can replace it for about $100.
What's so odd though...is that you can order this NEW IMPROVED spider assembly as a whole, for under $300 with the regulator included. I told the dealer they should make a note of that......because until I gave them (and other dealers) the exact part number for the new spider assembly, they had no full assembly available for my vehicle....only single injectors. Don't know if its an intentional mistake by GM to rape customers at $100 per injector, or if its just a screw up in the way their listing is.

Thanks to Blazee for the info!

Here's the part numbers:
12568332 - MFI Assembly
88894355 - Bracket
17113215 - Seal kit

But, the bottom line is, I bought the new fuel spider. The gasket kit, I'd already purchased when I was trouble shooting...it includes the gasket for the throttle body, the gasket for the upper intake cover, and the gasket for the fuel spider where it seals inside the cover (seen in orange below).
The bracket IS different from the original, and although it appeared to be similar enough to use the original, its not. The NEW injector lines are thicker then the originals, and the bracket needs more clearance for them all to fit in. Once all the injectors are inserted, they put slight pressure on the fuel spider in the direction of the firewall...which keeps the bracket seated firmly.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b40/JoshB_/18.jpg

Cross your fingers that this takes care of my horrible MPG...unless my gauge is wrong, my pressure is still only 54psi after the new fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel line o-rings, and new spider assembly/regulator. Go figure~!

Maybe nobody understood what I have said. the nut went through the hole where you fill the engine with engine oil. thanks in advance...

Maybe nobody understood what I have said. the nut went through the hole where you fill the engine with engine oil. thanks in advance...

You need to pull the valve cover and recover it. Or use a magnet and fish around. You really don't want it in there.

Oh, and where you posted. This thread is 7yrs old.