Clip dropped into combustion chamber remove head?

[Bimmerobsession]

I was pulling off my intake manifodl and fuel injectors with my friend and a small clip the size of a paper clip dropped down into my valve and into the combustion chamber. Currently my valve cover is off is there anyway I can pull it out with a magnet through the spark plug holes? Or do I have to take off my head? I'm not sure what are the steps further I have to take in order to get the head off. is it just the headers and timing chain, if so it shouldn't be too difficult and what special tools do I need?

[NeverLeaned]

You can try that........ I've also heard of people pumping oil into the cycler to force it out.......

BTW.. they sell a magnet on a stick for just such a situation

[Jimmie Jazz]

Or a magnet at the end of a piece of wire. By bending the wire you could reposition the magnet once it stuck to the cylinder walls, and move it around until you hear the 'snick' of the clip attaching itself to the magnet. Check to be sure the clip is ferrous (able to stick to a magnet) before you waste your time fishing for something that might not stick. :)

[Bimmerobsession]

I was thinking maybe I can just stick a shark vaccum down the valve, the clip is so small it should suck it right up and I can see if it did in the filter. THe problem is my valv is barely open how do I move it down manually?

[Hammdy]

I was thinking maybe I can just stick a shark vaccum down the valve, the clip is so small it should suck it right up and I can see if it did in the filter. THe problem is my valv is barely open how do I move it down manually?

Go underneath the car and stick a 22mm socket on the crank pulley. I'd turn the engine to TDC on that cylinder and try to suck it out or magnet it out via the spark plug hole.

[SQ Bimmer]

I've had to use a threaded insert on one of my spark plug holes. To get all the shavings out I filled the cylinder with oil, and vacuumed it out with a clean tube jerry rigged to the vacuum. Kind of ghetto, but it got all the chips out that the magnet could not get (which was most of it). I had to do this many times before it finally came out clean consistantly, and turned the oil around so shake up the chips in there.

If you only have one chip, and it's too long to fit through the spark plug hole sideways, you'll have to try to get the magnet on one end of the chip so itll rotate into the spark plug hole.

PITA, but you gotta do it. Good luck.