'98 pin found in oil pan

[borderqueen]

When I had my oil changed, there was a pin magnetized to the oil pan plug. It was about an inch long and about the diameter of the inside cartridge to a ball point pen. There were no notches or tapered ends. Anyway, I've lost the thing and the mechanic says it will be very expensive to start from the pan and work up to find what it is out of! Any ideas? Thanks,

[hotbug1776]

its a roller bearing sounds like. what motor?

[borderqueen]

It's a 2.4 which was put in almost two years ago (salvaged).

[borderqueen]

Thanks for your response and I like your graphics. What will happen if I drive and it is a roller pin? I know what kind of car I drive and that's about it!

[hotbug1776]

hmmm, it's a needle bearing or roller bearing piece. I'll search the haynes for possible locations, but I think the balancer may use a needle/roller bearing in it.

I'll post back.

[borderqueen]

Originally Posted by hotbug1776

hmmm, it's a needle bearing or roller bearing piece. I'll search the haynes for possible locations, but I think the balancer may use a needle/roller bearing in it.

I'll post back.

So is it going to be bad if I drive the car? I have had it parked for three weeks.

[Allbert]

Originally Posted by borderqueen

So is it going to be bad if I drive the car? I have had it parked for three weeks.

If it were my car and I hadn't noticed any issues while driving it before the oil change, I would probably just keep driving it until something went wrong. I'm sure I'd be listening for any funny noises for a while, but if you put another 1000 miles on the car with no issues, chances are the part just got dropped into the engine somehow (people at assembly plants don't always go fishing for the pieces they mishandle). You might also look at some exploded diagrams of the engine to verify what the part might be, but unless there is a very strong suspicion that it is some critical piece that is going to lead to an expensive failure, I would not tear into the engine too deep to look for it's origin.

[borderqueen]

Originally Posted by Allbert

If it were my car and I hadn't noticed any issues while driving it before the oil change, I would probably just keep driving it until something went wrong. I'm sure I'd be listening for any funny noises for a while, but if you put another 1000 miles on the car with no issues, chances are the part just got dropped into the engine somehow (people at assembly plants don't always go fishing for the pieces they mishandle). You might also look at some exploded diagrams of the engine to verify what the part might be, but unless there is a very strong suspicion that it is some critical piece that is going to lead to an expensive failure, I would not tear into the engine too deep to look for it's origin.

Thanks for opinion! I hated to pay to have them start thru the engine looking for something wrong but didn't want to totally ruin it either.

[borderqueen]

The only other thing I've noticed is the check engine light stayed on about two weeks prior to the oil change. I thought it might be the gasoline but when I refilled, the light stayed on.

[matt09524]

Get the lCES code checked, that could put you on a path to finding the problem.. or it could just be telling you where another problem is?

[hotbug1776]

I drove my car on a bad balancer sprocket, until the oil pump quit turning due to the sprocket being chewed up. now I have a real quad in my car, without balancers, and I dont worry about an extra part that does nothing, breaking and destroying the whole motor.

I tried to find the possible part that the small pin came out of, but the balancers are a part you replace, not usually repair, since the position of the balancer shafts is crucial. I removed mine when I tore down the motor, and I am thinking that the shafts sit in needle bearing assemblies. I could be wrong, but nothing else in the motor uses needle bearings to my knowledge. I'd either look into it or drive it until the motor dies, just remember, the balancer turns the oil pump, so if it goes out you'll know fairly quickly.