Help !! Valve goof.

Hi all. A friend's 04 1150rt had a valve jamb nut came off while riding. Don't think it did any damage.

Options. Would it be laying in bottom of engine sump ? If it is there would it do damage if is not removed ? Does oil pickup have a screen on it?. Could it get bounced up into the crank ?

Right now we are draining the oil and considering dragging a magnet across engine bottom to see if we can get it to the drain hole. Any ideas ??

Is it a special nut ?

That has happened a few times in the past. The general consensus is to leave it.

Hi all. A friend's 04 1150rt had a valve jamb nut came off while riding. Don't think it did any damage.

Options. Would it be laying in bottom of engine sump ? If it is there would it do damage if is not removed ? Does oil pickup have a screen on it?. Could it get bounced up into the crank ?

Right now we are draining the oil and considering dragging a magnet across engine bottom to see if we can get it to the drain hole. Any ideas ??

Is it a special nut ?

Afternoon Joeb

If it made it to the bottom of the crankcase then it will just sit there & cause no harm. Yes, both oil pump pickups have screens that would prevent a nut from entering a pump.

The problem could be if it didn't get all the way into the crankcase & down to the bottom. You sure wouldn't want that nut to end up in a cam chain or sprocket.

Have you looked EVERYWHERE in the outer valve train & rocker arm area? (might still be sitting in the outer cyl head area or oil return area).

I kind of agree with leaving it, but wondering if there is another way to access sump pan. I notice a plug on the side of the engine opposite of the sight glass. Any chance that is just a whole with a plug in it ? If so I'm thinking a magnet on a flexible stick might be able to make it to the drain plug area as it seems just above drain plug. I pulled a magnet over bottom and 5hink I hear a little click from the nut .Thoughts ??

Also, can that nut be replaced at local hardware, or is it a special hardened metal ?

Evening joeb

I kind of agree with leaving it, but wondering if there is another way to access sump pan.-- Nothing good. Drain plug hole is about it unless your remove a cylinder.

I notice a plug on the side of the engine opposite of the sight glass. Any chance that is just a whole with a plug in it ?-- Not that I'm aware of.

If so I'm thinking a magnet on a flexible stick might be able to make it to the drain plug area as it seems just above drain plug. I pulled a magnet over bottom and 5hink I hear a little click from the nut .Thoughts ?? -- I doubt that you are hearing that nut move but I suppose anything is possible.

Also, can that nut be replaced at local hardware, or is it a special hardened metal? -- Not really special but it is metric. That nut is probably an 8, 9 or possibly even a 10 & a good chance that a hardware nut is a 6 or possibly an 8. That nut is cheap at BMW & you sure don't want another one coming loose while riding.

I did the same thing on my R1150R about 10 years and 50,000 miles ago. After frantically asking the same questions as you, I finally decided to take the most common advice which was to not worry about it. I did install a magnetic drain plug but never found the nut.

2 years ago I crashed while riding off road, which tore a hole in the valve cover letting little pebbles and dirt inside the engine. I removed the valve cover, removed the oil filter and drain plug and flushed the engine with gasoline for while. A bunch of dirt came out. Interestingly, no pebbles though and still no 10 mm nut. Anyway, it's been running just fine ever since.

Hopefully this works out for you too

I bought a little camera on a flexible cable from Amazon for less than twenty dollars. It connects to my small laptop computer. It fits into a spark plug hole and has some attachments like a angled mirror and a hook to pick something up. It has lights that can be adjusted for a better view. I think it even touts to be water proof to some extent.

Anyways it could easily go places you normally can't see easily without disturbing anything. I used it to see inside the cylinders and assess the carbon buildup and valve face condition in my RT. The program it recommends to load for free can capture video or still pictures to view later. It is well worth the twenty dollars but I would not call it a quality tool. Just something to ease your conscious at this point. Mike

Drain plug hole is about it unless your remove a cylinder.

Couldn't you remove the oil sight glass on the left side of the sump? Compare the sight glass location in this photo with the wide-open cavern of the sump in this rendering. There'd be plenty of room to insert a magnet on a flexible stalk and go fishing for the itinerant nut, if so desired.

The usual advice for removing/replacing a leaky oil sight glass is to drive a wood screw right through the clear window on the old one, then use that as a handle to pull it out. IOW, if you want to remove the old sight glass for access, just plan on replacing it so you won't have any reservations about destroying the old one.

Drain plug hole is about it unless your remove a cylinder.

 

Couldn't you remove the oil sight glass on the left side of the sump? Compare the sight glass location in this photo with the wide-open cavern of the sump in this rendering. There'd be plenty of room to insert a magnet on a flexible stalk and go fishing for the itinerant nut, if so desired.

 

 

The usual advice for removing/replacing a leaky oil sight glass is to drive a wood screw right through the clear window on the old one, then use that as a handle to pull it out. IOW, if you want to remove the old sight glass for access, just plan on replacing it so you won't have any reservations about destroying the old one.

Afternoon Mitch

You could try it but there isn't much access to anything through the sight glass hole due to the oil filter housing coming way up & the sight glass hole being in the front chamber divided from the crankcase area where that nut probably now resides. (see picture below)

Also, before driving a wood screw into the sight glass you best make sure it has not been replaced with the newer real-glass lens sight glass or you will have a crankcase full of broken glass shards.

Afternoon Joeb

Mitch's post got me thinking so here is a picture of the of the R/H side crankcase so you can sort of see where that nut might have ended up (it more than likely got into the crankcase through the chain passage if it isn't still stuck up in the rocker bearing area)

You can also see how far the crankshaft is above the bottom of the crankcase (upper bearings) so it would be very difficult for the nut to get back up that high. Now the cam chain sprockets & shaft (lower bearings) that the sprockets run on is much lower so hopefully the nut has now migrated to well below that)

Android borescope $13 at walmart.

Also, Amazon for $12. Looks like it might be an updated version of the same scope with a combo USB/Micro plug and same attachments:

https://www.amazon.com/Creazy%C2%AE-Android-Endoscope-Inspection-Waterproof/dp/B01F4X003Y/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1513897008&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=Newest+6+LED+7mm+Lens+Cable+Waterproof+Mini+USB+Inspection+Borescope+Camera+Android+Endoscope+Waterproof+Inspection+Camera+Hot