"U" shaped hole-of-black-despair

[Coltonis]

Ok, this is noob territory - But I'm tired of looking, so I'm going to just ask:

I was trying to fiddle with the choke coil on my truck (72 D200 360 2bbl) and ol' butter-fingers here dropped the flat head screw driver bit. It fell into this wonderful little upside down "U" shaped hole-of-black-despair that sort of hugs the exhaust crossover port. I've never had a Dodge engine apart and I don't know where that particular hole might lead.

I'm sure one of you guys can tell me in no time (and possibly suggest a good way to retrieve said screw driver bit?)

Here is a random pic of the openings I'm talking about:


What really makes me mad was I first dropped it by mistake - and was like "oh crap thats not good". Went and got a flash light and managed to fish it out with a metal pick till it was like 95% of the way out then it slipped AGAIN out of the pick and fell completely out of sight. Can't even feel it with the pick now.

[712edf]

A magnet (if its a ferrous metal) or properly directed blast of compressed air might get it out.

That 'hole" doesn't go into anything.

Bucky

[digdoug]

According to urban legend...ITS BOTTOMLESS !

[digdoug]

Maybe if you fill it with water it will float it out. BTW

[Coltonis]

That 'hole" doesn't go into anything.

BEST NEWS EVER! I bet air would do it, but I am severely lacking in the compressor department. Unfortunately my picks can't make the angle due to the choke well being in the way and my telescoping "getter" magnet doesn't even fit. I may have a plan though, I'll see if I can find a small fridge magnet that I can tie a string to and shove down there to try and fish it up! (Ooo, or maybe the shop-vac will have enough umph to just suck it out...)

Thanks for the help!

[daytb]

yeah if u put your magnet under the vacume hose and kinda suck around it will usuly come out of there done it sevral times my self

[Cageman]

I dont get it, you dont have a magnet retrieval tool or compressed air and you are working on a choke, yet you have no exhaust crossover which would make the choke mechanism useless, and you have a a roller cam and ported heads, I think you are messing with us.

[wally426ci]

I think he "copied" the photo for referance. If you are going to use any method, make sure you cover all of the OTHER holes first so it doesnt end up somewhere worse.

[JimsRatRod]

That's the crossover port that routes hot exhaust thru the bottom of the intake manifold to warm it up when the engine is cold. The butterfly valve at the base of the exhaust manifold on one side is controlled by a bi-metal spring that closes the valve when the engine is cold. When the engine is started cold the valve remains closed and the back pressure forces hot exhaust thru the bottom of the intake and out the other exhaust manifold which assists in heating the engine to operating temperature. When up to temp the valve will open allowing exhaust to flow freely out of the manifold thru the exhaust not thru the manifold.

In summary if you have a butterfly valve on the cast iron manifold you should make sure it opens and closes freely and that the bi-metal spring works. If the spring is broken or gone at the very least you should wire the valve open to allow free flow of the exhaust. If wired open it will not flow hot exhaust thru the manifold which will make engine warm-up longer. If stuck shut it will cause alot of back pressure on that engine bank kinda like shoving a potato up one exhaust pipe.

Back to your original question it won't hurt anything if you just leave it in there. Worst case scenario if it dis-lodges it will go straight into the exhaust manifold and out the exhaust pipe.

Jim

[Coltonis]

Yes, probably should have been more clear on that pic - That was just the first google image result that showed the "U" port that I was talking about. My engine is fully assembled and running in the truck.

Try as I may, I can't seem to find that d@mn bit... The vacuum didn't even get close due to the contour of the choke so I tried a keyboard cleaner nozzle attachment and a piece of clear vinyl hose, which fit down into the hole but didn't really seem to move anything. So I then tried a coat hanger just to see if I could feel around and figure out which side of the U the bit might be on and I can't even feel anything loose in there.

Is there a picture/cut away/diagram or someplace I could look that shows the shape of that pocket in the head? (It seems to go pretty deep into the head.)

[Sterno]

The "U" shaped pocket was cast into the LA heads to prevent cracking of the exhaust crossover passage which is in the center of the U. It is simply an empty space not connected to the water jacket or the exhaust ports.
The Intake manifold doesn't even cover the "U" so it's not uncommon for it to collect crud over the years.



look just to the right of the carb in this picture to see what I mean.

If you can't get the bit out, I wouldn't sweat it.