HELP! 4g64 engine....hydraulic lifter missing.......any chance it get into engine???

Today....started as a good day...I fixed my Honda's head....it runs happy....I changed oil for my motorcycle...deciding getting back on bikes before I am too old.........

Then I replaced water pump and belt tensioner on my mighty max...... Then i decided to take the rocker assembly off and see if i can clean the HLA and replace valve stem seal....... Then when i lifted up the rocker assembly.....lifers fell off... not a big deal...i kept my cool..it happened before.....BUT.....I could only find 7....Where is the last one..............Me and my dad spend time looking but couldn't find anything.....We worried that it might had fallen into engine.........two ways it can go......1. thru the spark plug holes (unfortunately i left the holes open at that moment.) 3 thru the opening on head... there is a opening connecting head to the block....i think its big enough for lifter to go thru.......

We turned crankshaft slowly with sparkplug holes open......no sudden resistance......
if its not in one of the cylinders....then what if it went thru the hole on head and made its way inside the engine? anyway to find out???

It's not a big deal to get a new set of lifters....but i fear it may be inside engine somewhere ..........the engine may blow up some day i was driving on highway...

HELP ME!!! HELP ME SAVE MY MIGHTY MAX......

If it is inside engine.....can i find it if i drain oil and take off the oil pan???

Thank God.... I just found the lifter.............. For guys who run into same situation, the diameter of the lifter is about 13mm... bigger than the oil path holes on the head.......and i think bigger than or same as the size of spark plug holes......kinda difficult to get into the engine.......

Thank those engineers that design these things...

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Originally Posted by LSR Mike

Thank those engineers that design these things...

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You are right... Smart engineer!

Us guys are all scared of holes, no matter where they are....it can be a scary thing, lol.
Glad you found what you lost. Always push rags into those holes and carb and whatever when working with small parts. You may not be able to hit the 3 pointer with a crumpled piece a paper in a trash can, but you can always make a rim shot into an engine cavity with a motor part or tool without even looking.

Murphy's Law!

If that lifter just vanished while running, lol. That would be a serious issue if never notice. It will most definitely be punched right thru the head casting, then you'll find it. :shakehead:

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day - he bought a 77 chevy pickup with a 350 in it that ran but not right. The tranny blew , so he swapped out the motor and trany from another 77 chevy truck he had with a bad body. He pulled the intake off to see what could be wrong with the motor, since it looked like it was worked on before. Apparently, the po changed cam and lifters and didn't know what they were doing - left a couple of lifters floating in the block. A lifter or 2 shattered, taking a couple of cam lobes with them.

A little lesson learned recently about loosing things in holes:

While cleaning the intake manifold gasket surface with a razor blade, for the first time ever the razor blade simply flew out of my hand. (By that stage of the game I honestly couldn't feel my fingertips anymore anyway.) The intake holes look huge when you're lookin for a blade man, HUGE!

After 12 minutes of heart pounding panic searching for the blade I found it wedged in the alternator casing. Whew!

But learned that the little hole in the middle of a razor blade is perfect for tying a string through! Next time I drop a razor blade under the hood I'll know right where it is & hopefully be able to pull the string attached to it in order to get it out of whatever hole it may fall in to. Or at least poke needle nose pliers down the right black abyss to grab it out.

So maybe ya'll would like to tie string through your blade holes, too? IDK just trying to help :)