Yanmar 1GM10 Service. Lost plastic pipe in sump.... what now?

[FeelingFoolish]

Today, having read and watched many useful guides, I attempted a service of a Yanmar 1GM10. However instead of using a proper pump to such out the oil from the dipstick hole (during oil change) I made do with a syringe with a pipe stuck on the end. All was going well until the inevitable happened. The plastic pipe detached from the end of the syringe and fell into the dipstick hole I and into the sump. Clearly I feel more foolish than I can believe it is possible to feel at such an unbelievably short sighted thing to do.

The question is what next, is it possible to access the sump in a non nuclear way to recover the offending item (about 200mm x 5mm) Any helpful suggestions very much appreciated.

 

[Boater Sam]

Your choices are:
1 remove the drain plug and fish with a wire for hours.
2 remove the sump.
3 ignore it and let it lie there
4 get someone else to remove it.
5 use a blowlamp on the empty sump to melt it.

I would go for 3 it will probably do no harm sitting in the bottom. If the crank does pick it up it will just break it up. It will not obstruct the strainer on the oil pump pick up.

 

[Momac]

I am struggling to understand how you were extracting oil with a tube that is so short it does not reach the bottom of the sump while leaving some tube projecting out sufficiently to allow the syringe to be used ?

 

[William_H]

The first question is ... has the plastic tube gone right in and fallen into the sump or is it still stuck in the dip stick tube? If it is still stuck in the dipstick tube you may be a be to get a grip on inside of it with something like a self tapper screw. Try hard not to push it right in. If you are sure it has gone right in then as said leave it to be destroyed by the crank shaft. If your nerves can't cope with that worry then pull the engine and remove the sump. ol'will

 

[john_morris_uk]

I am struggling to understand how you were extracting oil with a tube that is so short it does not reach the bottom of the sump while leaving some tube projecting out sufficiently to allow the syringe to be used ?
View attachment 130939

‘Twas my though exactly. A length of wire with a tiny hook on the end might snag it and pull it out. Just make sure the wire and hook are small/thin enough to go down the middle of the plastic tube.

 

[VicS]

Today, having read and watched many useful guides, I attempted a service of a Yanmar 1GM10. However instead of using a proper pump to such out the oil from the dipstick hole (during oil change) I made do with a syringe with a pipe stuck on the end. All was going well until the inevitable happened. The plastic pipe detached from the end of the syringe and fell into the dipstick hole I and into the sump. Clearly I feel more foolish than I can believe it is possible to feel at such an unbelievably short sighted thing to do.

The question is what next, is it possible to access the sump in a non nuclear way to recover the offending item (about 200mm x 5mm) Any helpful suggestions very much appreciated.

Provided it has fallen right in and you can refit the dipstick without it being obstructed leave it there .

‘Twas my though exactly. A length of wire with a tiny hook on the end might snag it and pull it out. Just make sure the wire and hook are small/thin enough to go down the middle of the plastic tube.

That sounds like a recipe for getting a length of wire with a hook on the end trapped in there too and obstructing the dipstick hole so that it cannot be refitted.

 

[PeteLivez]

The sump now contains a self tapping screw, a piece of wire and a hook ? (sorry)

 

[SailingDog]

Provided it has fallen right in and you can refit the dipstick without it being obstructed leave it there .




That sounds like a recipe for getting a length of wire with a hook on the end trapped in there too and obstructing the dipstick hole so that it cannot be refitted.

How about trying with the dipstick ? The end of mine is reduced at the side so may go into the offending tube. If the tube is in the sump sounds like you have to live with it or undertake an engine out job.

Boating rule 1 - sh*t happens

 

[Rappey]

Is there not a danger of the crank chewing it up then particles of plastic blocking oil ways and strainers ?

 

[Thistle]

I don't know the engine but is it possible to remove the dipstick tube? Doing that may reveal the top of the missing plastic tube.

 

[john_morris_uk]

That sounds like a recipe for getting a length of wire with a hook on the end trapped in there too and obstructing the dipstick hole so that it cannot be refitted.

I’m thinking of a long length of thinnish soft (perhaps copper?) wire. No way are you going to lose that or get it stuck. Soft enough to be pulled out no matter what. Strong and stiff enough to be pushed in and maintain a hook enough to pull out a bit of plastic pipe if it’s still in the dipstick tube.

 

[andsarkit]

There must be some ex-surgeons on here that know of a suitable retrieval insrument.
retrieval tool

 

[Boater Sam]

Is there not a danger of the crank chewing it up then particles of plastic blocking oil ways and strainers ?

Unlikely. The crank is a blunt instrument, it will just at worst bounce it about. There are far worse things in an engine sump to block the strainer, gung, bits of gasket, carbon, shreds of silicone gasket etc.

 

[FeelingFoolish]

Ahh thank you all for your replies.

Lots of good questions and help here for which I'm really grateful. Re the length of the tube... umm well, like I said I didn't think that one through very much so I guess it really was not going far enough in to reach the very bottom of the sump but had got me almost a litre out already (of about 1.3ish litres I think).

Anyway I took Boater Sam's advice and took out the sump plug , everything I had read said use the pump method as access to the sump plug is usually challenging and some suggested there were other reasons not to, but nobody seemed to be very clear what they were. This allowed me to drain the sump and after removing what I believe to be the strainer, I was able to do some fishing. Amazingly after a relatively short amount of time the clear plastic tube appeared at the end of the sump plug hole and despite it being somewhat slippery I was able to grab it with some long nosed pliers and pull it out. Sump emptied and foreign object retrieved.

You live and you learn!

Thanks all.

 

[FeelingFoolish]

There must be some ex-surgeons on here that know of a suitable retrieval insrument.
View attachment 130967retrieval tool

That is just what I was thinking of. I recall them being used to extract mini pickled onions from a jar once in our house but the prongs were in a tube so only popped out and expanded when a trigger on the other end of the tube was pressed. I asked in our local Trago Mills (Falmouth) and nobody knew what I was talking about! Good to know I was not imagining such a thing.

 

[john_morris_uk]

That is just what I was thinking of. I recall them being used to extract mini pickled onions from a jar once in our house but the prongs were in a tube so only popped out and expanded when a trigger on the other end of the tube was pressed. I asked in our local Trago Mills (Falmouth) and nobody knew what I was talking about! Good to know I was not imagining such a thing.

You’re not imagining things. We used to have some of those exact same things and they fascinated me as a child.

 

[Momac]

Not sure that would have worked but the tool you have in mind is like this ?

 

[Ningaloo]

I think Neptune was smiling on you.
I know I have done equally foolish things when my enthusiasm to get a job done overrides a more considered approach.
Moral is: make a plan then give yourself 5 minutes to consider anything that can go wrong.
Glad you got this sorted.

As an aside I would always prefer to drain oil rather than suck it through the dipstick but my current boat had no access to allow me to get any container under the sump so I'll be extracting with a small pump. Wish me luck!

 

[William_H]

If the tube were still in the dip stick tube then what was needed was something in reverse of what has been pictured. In other words concealled inside the tube until triggered to exit and expand to grab the inside of the plastic tube. Now along similar lines I have a pair of circlip pliers. Like pointy nosed pliars but expand onn squeezing the handles. Wonderful for splicing rope. Just push the points (together) in to the lay of the 3 strand rope then squeeze to open up a hole to pass the strand through.
Now I have just come from fixing a water leak in my irrigation. A 12mm joiner broke in the middle. How to get out from ends of the hoses to 2 broken parts of the joiner. easy use circlip pliers into the plastic tube of the joiner squeeze and grip the bit of tube and pull, out it came same other end.

 

[Stemar]

I think Neptune was smiling on you.
I know I have done equally foolish things when my enthusiasm to get a job done overrides a more considered approach.
Moral is: make a plan then give yourself 5 minutes to consider anything that can go wrong.
Glad you got this sorted.

As an aside I would always prefer to drain oil rather than suck it through the dipstick but my current boat had no access to allow me to get any container under the sump so I'll be extracting with a small pump. Wish me luck!

If I had a fiver for every dumb thing I've done, I'd be sailing this: