8 replies to this topic

[taffy1967]

After getting the sump plug hole heli-coiled a week or so back on my 90' Mainstream Cooper, I decided to empty my sump because I've got some Duckhams Q Classic 20W/50 just waiting to go in.

The oil that was in the engine has barely been used, but it was relatively cheap 20W/50 oil that I'm just using as a flush.

But when I removed my sump plug (which thankfully is to original spec and has a magnet fitted again), this was attached to it: -




I hope it's a piece of swarf, such as something to do with the heli-coil? But I'm really worried and like I said, it's only now that my sump plug is magnetic again, so if bits of my gearbox are breaking loose then it's possible that more bits have been emptied out even though I never knew?

Anyway my engine and gearbox have done just 20,000 miles since the gearbox was supposedly fully rebuilt. The gearbox, or primary gear got damaged by a so called insurance recommended bodywork repair firm (very long story) and so we paid a small fortune to have it fixed out of our own money. We were told that it was fully rebuilt (with new synchromesh etc) and we also had a new clutch fitted at the same time.

They were also supposed to have heli-coiled our sump plug hole too, which they never did and that's why we paid £60.00 last week to get it done somewhere else.

I've heard that the third motion shaft bearing can break or explode or whatever after heavy use, but surely that should have been sorted whilst my gearbox was in bits?

My Mini has done 95,000 miles now and the repair work was done back in early December 2001, so there's not much hope of getting it done under warranty now. Sorry for waffling, but I don't know whether to take it to Castle Combe on Saturday now and what is the worst that could happen?

Edited by taffy1967, 26 September 2007 - 01:51 PM.

[Dan]

It's the end of the Helicoil that gets snapped off on fitting. It should have been removed when the fitting tool was withdrawn but I guess they dropped it.

[Jammy]

How big is it?

EDIT: I guess with Dan's reply it no longer matters!

[GraemeC]

That looks to me like the tang that is used to wind the helicoil into place. If you look at the picture on this website:
http://wireinserts.c...CFQ3tlAoduQ4MSQ
you can see the tang on a new coil.

The last part of the helicoiling process is to snap this tang off - it probably fell into the box and the magnet picked it up as soon as the sump plug was wound in. I wouldn't be overly worried unless there is more fragments of metal next time you do an oil change.

[taffy1967]

Phew, Dan you're a star buddy and I was all for reaching for the anti-depressants or just having a bloody good cry this morning.

You've put my mind at rest and given me confidence to carrying on enjoying driving it again and take it to Castle Combe on Saturday.

Thanks and just as well the magnet did it's work then and to be fair there was no other metal filings/swarf attached to it.

Edited by taffy1967, 26 September 2007 - 01:59 PM.

[taffy1967]

It's tiny, about the same size as my thumbnail and I really can't express to you all how relieved I am.

[dklawson]

As Dan and the others said, it's the drive tang off the HeliCoil.

When I've installed the HeliCoils I use needle nose pliers to wiggle the tang off and extract it. In industry the common practice is to whack the tang with a drift to snap it off. If you had the insert professionally installed, I guess the garage used the drift method. I would find a polite way to tell them not to do that. If the drain magnet had not latched onto the tang there's no telling where it could have ended up and what it might have done to the gears.

[The Matt]

I am gutted, gutted that I knew what it was but everyone else beat me to a response!

Helicoil doofah!

[taffy1967]

Yes thanks and the thought of what it could have done did cross my mind and I'll certainly tell them when I'm next over there. Like I said, it's lucky that there's a magnet in place again.

Well I told them off for slopping some oil down my engine anyway and I asked why they hadn't cleaned it off too!

Okay it was only a little patch, but I did point out that you have to fill it slowly to let the oil go down. I've been at it with the Gunk so it's all ship shape again anyway.