HELP!! Distributor gasket piece fell in hole

[OH71RRunner]

I feel really stupid. I was removing the distributor and part of the gasket broke off and fell into the engine. I thought, OK I'll get some needle nose pliers. It moved farther back out of reach. OK I'll get the long-reach grabber thing. The piece fell off the cam and out of sight.

Do I need to drop the oil pan and get it out, or is it okay to leave it? It's a small piece, about one inch long. I'm thinking the smart thing to do is to get it out.

 

[mmissile]

Personally....I'd let the oil wash it into the pan. It'll either flow out with the oil-change, or stick to the pan. I've never used a gasket, as the distributor o-ring seems to keep the oil in the engine.

 

[OH71RRunner]

That's good to hear. Thank you.

 

[mmissile]

That's no promise...just likely.

 

[texas69bee]

Instead of starting it, You could prime the pump and then let the oil wash it down.

 

[Daves69]

thought, OK I'll get some needle nose pliers. It moved farther back out of reach. OK I'll get the long-reach grabber thing. The piece fell off the cam and out of sight.

Well that sucks! Maybe a shop vac could have pulled it out for you.
It will probably end up in the pickup strainer after washing down.

 

[OH71RRunner]

We changed the oil and it looked like it had fallen apart bc i found pieces of it in the oil. I guess when i grabbed it with the pincher thing, it fell apart. The rest of it came off in pieces. It was very brittle.

 

[GetX'd]

We changed the oil and it looked like it had fallen apart bc i found pieces of it in the oil. I guess when i grabbed it with the pincher thing, it fell apart. The rest of it came off in pieces. It was very brittle.

THats probably a good thing that it was brittle. It would easily grind up into particles and wash out over time. Probably all came out with your oil change. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

[cudak888]

I'm coming from small block experience here, so I'm not sure if I'm thinking of the same gasket. At any rate, if this is an LA, didn't Mopar switch from the gasket to the o-ring on the dizzy sometime in 1968?

The two don't have to be combined, at any rate. One or the other, depending on your distributor's provisions for the O-ring.

-Kurt

 

[OH71RRunner]

This is on a big block. 440 RB. Maybe somebody had the same thoughts of putting one on it. Not suret tho, as i wasn't the one to install this distributor.

 

[OH71RRunner]

Thank you all for the help. As always, it's much appreciated.

 

[cudak888]

Gasket probably came in a rebuild kit, so they stacked the distributor with it, even though it also had the O-ring.

Look at it this way: One less seal to worry about

-Kurt

 

[OH71RRunner]

Haha. That's a good way to look at it.