So, after reading dozens of threads here, I decided to do the headgasket on my wife's 2012 prius 3. All went well, until I bumped a rocker and the valve stem cap fell down the oil return after torquing the new headgasket on. !@#$ &*^% %!@# $%^&!!!!!!! Has anyone here dropped anything down the oil return ports in the head? Does it go straight to the pan? Will boroscope here after I mentally reset, but thought someone here might have done something similar. Will post results after FOSAR with magnets/etc. Photo doesnt seem to upload, but its the #3 cylinder exhaust, starboard oil return I think. Thanks.
Update: 3/8" (~10mm) boroscope head is just to large to fit down the oil return. 1/4" (~6.5mm) head will fit down the return and past the shelf to the oil pan. There seems to be a shelf at ~8" from the top of the head, and the distance to the pan seems to be ~19-20". My stem cap is at ~19-20", so if I can't get it with a small magnet retriever, I'll just have to take the pan off.
Can you get the boroscope down another passage, to have eyes on it while trying to fish it out? Something like this for fishing: LED Magnetic Grabber - Lee Valley Tools
I did get a small boroscope down to see it @ ~19". Most magnetic pickups were too wide to fit down the channel, so I used a coat hanger and a very small donut magnet and it came right out. Thanks for the response, your posts have been a huge help in learning and working on these cars. I can email photos of the special tool if anyone needs, but I cant upload photos here. the boroscope was this:
My question is my engine ran with it loose and it went into the oil return. Does this drop straight to the pan? Do I need to worry about it? Still trying to find it!
Idk about running, I had mine apart and fished it out with a small ring magnet on the end of a 20AWG wire. I didnt take my oil pan off, but if I hadnt found it with the wire, that would have been my next step. Have you boroscoped it to see if it got caught on that shelf half way down?