Dropped Washer in Oil Pan! Help!

[wildrnsswackadoo]

The story - I picked up a 1st gen Sequoia Limited with 220k for cheap. Diagnosis from the mechanic who looked at it said it was likely a head gasket. Oil was milky. I've always wanted to do a project like this so I pulled the trigger and started the engine tear-down. I've got the FSM for my year have been using that as well as this guy on youtube who did this on the same engine, though his was in a 4runner.

Two nights ago I had finished pulling off the cams/buckets and was working on the head bolts. The FSM highlights a particular section of the heads and say, "Don't drop the plate washer down this hole or it will drop into the oil pan." I had messed up the orientation in my head and thought it was on the read of the heads and not the front. This led me to doing exactly what the FSM warns NOT to do, drop the plate washer down into the hole of death. What now?

I think its too big to come out the oil plug drain hole. Any creative ideas? Is there an oil sensor plug that might be big enough for me to fish it out with a magnet?

The Sequoia is 05. Its got the 2UZ engine with VVT.

 

[Jgrauman]

Drop the pan

 

[Smotride]

The story - I picked up a 1st gen Sequoia Limited with 220k for cheap. Diagnosis from the mechanic who looked at it said it was likely a head gasket. Oil was milky. I've always wanted to do a project like this so I pulled the trigger and started the engine tear-down. I've got the FSM for my year have been using that as well as this guy on youtube who did this on the same engine, though his was in a 4runner.

Two nights ago I had finished pulling off the cams/buckets and was working on the head bolts. The FSM highlights a particular section of the heads and say, "Don't drop the plate washer down this hole or it will drop into the oil pan." I had messed up the orientation in my head and thought it was on the read of the heads and not the front. This led me to doing exactly what the FSM warns NOT to do, drop the plate washer down into the hole of death. What now?

I think its too big to come out the oil plug drain hole. Any creative ideas? Is there an oil sensor plug that might be big enough for me to fish it out with a magnet?

The Sequoia is 05. Its got the 2UZ engine with VVT.

Oh, that's a frustrating situation to be in after all the hard work you've put into the tear-down! The 2UZ engine is quite robust, but like any engine, it doesn’t like foreign objects in its oil pan.

Here are some suggestions from my point of view;

The first thing I'd try is a long, flexible magnetic retrieval tool to try to fish the washer out from the same hole or another access point. If the washer is within reach and is ferrous (magnetic), you might just get lucky.

If you can't retrieve it with a magnet, the next best step (albeit labor-intensive) is to drop the oil pan and retrieve the washer. This method guarantees removal but does require more work.

You've mentioned that you don’t think it's small enough to come out of the oil plug drain hole. But, you might consider removing the plug and using the magnetic tool from that point just to see if it might be within reach.

You also mentioned a YouTuber who worked on a similar engine. It might be worth reaching out to them or checking the comment sections to see if anyone else faced a similar issue.

Regardless of the approach you choose, it's crucial to ensure that the washer is removed. Leaving it in there can lead to catastrophic engine damage if it obstructs oil flow or gets jammed somewhere critical

 

[wildrnsswackadoo]

Just closing the loop here - I ended up dropping the pan. After some online research and first-hand investigation on my sequoia, I found I could reach the front bolts without raising the engine. I DID have to pull the CV axels and drop the front diff out, but once that was done I had plenty of space. Found the washer sitting on top of the oil baffle.