Technical Chevy blueflame balancer key-What are the chances?

I was going to install a harmonic balancer onto a Blueflame crank, so I went to put the key in the slot on the crank (slot at 12 O'clock), just put it slightly in the slot, and dang! It fell out - or so I thought. After about a half hour with an inspection mirror, a magnetic pick-up do-hickey, flashlight and lots of new cuss words, there was no sign of it. The only other place it could have gone- gulp- was past the seal and into the timing cover. I have looked in there as far as I can see, but you can only see straight in and past the seal. I have turned the motor over by hand, and it goes around 360 degrees. I thought I would quickly remove the timing cover and have a look, but no, the clever engineers at Chevy managed to put 2 bolts at the bottom which have to be accessed after removing the sump, so I would have to order gaskets, etc, which are not common here. Anyone lost a key past the seal into the abyss of the timing cover? It seems you would really have to push it past the seal (I can't try that as I don't have another key).Or would I have more chance at winning the lottery?

 

Maybe you can take a magnet on the outside of cover bottom and “work” it up. Can you get a new seal easy enough? If not you’ll have to see if you can get the key high enough. Maybe grind down some needle nose pliers and maybe if you say a few Hail Marys you can snag onto it.

 

Sorry for your sticky situation. The odds of that happening are nearly 100% so, hopefully, someone will have a good answer.

 

can you get another key, and leave the missing one wherever it is? I can't see it causing any problems.

 

and glue a magnet on the outside of the bottom of your pan so that the key winds up there

 

My understanding is that some things in Australia work in reverse of the "normal" world ... toilet water swirling for example. Any chance your gravity made it "fall" to the ceiling?

 

In all honesty, if it doesn't look like it could squeeze past the seal without a shove, keep looking elsewhere. Take a break and start the search again with a clear mind.

 

Is there enough room to maybe sneak a bore-scope into the timing cover?

 

Can you pull the fuel pump and look into the pan from there? Or fish around with a magnet or bore scope.

 

Is it possible the key is slightly magnetized and is stuck somewhere? Hope you find it with no major issues.

 

What about a bore scope thru the oil pan drain?

 

You found the reason many Chevrolet/GMC 6 guys tap the 2holes in the front main 3/8-16 and install header bolts in the bottom of the timing gear cover.
I’m guessing it will never go into the pan. There are 2 oil drain holes I believe and the woodruff is too wide for them I think or it would need to be inline with the hole to fit. I believe it’s in the timing cover and you don’t want it in there. If you can turn the engine over you are lucky as there is very little clearance between the crank gear and the cover.
If the engine will turn over I would attach a magnet to the right side of the cover off center and slightly on the flat area.
Good luck.

 

I would go over the shop floor with a magnet, and then an empty shop vac. Then you will be sure it's still in the engine if it doesn't show up in the vac or magnet.

 

I will have another look today, after I let all the steam out of my head yesterday. I will remove the grille so I can see in there better . There is not enough room to get a borescope past the seal, and I don't think it would have worked it's way from the timing case into the sump. The magnet idea might be the go, and cross my fingers.

 

Probably in your pants cuff...

 

If my memory is correct, the 51 has a front engine mount just under the timing cover? I bet the key fell in that area and you haven't found it yet maybe because you didn't think to look there? I would take a look. I can't believe it would slip into the timing cover. The groove for the key can't be that long to allow the key to fall into the cover.

 

I went nuts one time looking for a small bracket. I hadn't moved out of the area, it just dissappeared. turned out it stuck to the magnet on the drop light which was in my hand the whole time I was looking

 

I lost a C-clip one day. I searched and dug and went all over the area with a magnet, no luck. A week later it fell out of my bootlaces.

 

I used a wee borescope (like a harbour freight one), and I found the little bastard- down the bottom inside the timing cover. I am going to epoxy a small magnet to some wire and go fishing!

 

Glad you found it! Now let's hope extraction goes smoothly.

 

A rare earth magnet is very powerful. One the size of a pencil eraser will certainly do the job

 

A powerful magnet will stick to everything and never make it to where it needs to go....btdt.

Happy fishing

 

If it's out of the way, might it not stay there?

 

Can you just stick a larger rare earth magnet on the outside of the cover right where the key is? They should both stay in place.

 

I find magnets very attractive.

 

Except their two like poles won't attract you.

 

You need a good magnet to drag it up from the outside. This thing has saved my ass a time or two.
Good luck!

 

Ever time i drop something it hits my shoe and is never to be seen again, magnets, flashlights, glue on a stick, vacuums, brooms, wet shop towels, mirrors, and air chucks do not help.

 

Shove a magnet into a metal hole, talk about frustration. Someone should make a small powerful electromagnet.

Last weekend I had a 5/16 magnetic nut driver that somehow left the magnet stuck to the screw. There was no way that magnet was going back in there.