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Well, the valve cover gaskets have those metal spacers to get the correct squeeze on the gaskets. The new gaskets come with new spacers. If dropped into the engine it would likely drop harmlessly into the oil sump. Unless there was another reason to pull the pan, I would just leave it. The pick up screen will prevent uptake in the unlikely event of the spacer getting swept up in the oil flow. This is probably the first time I differ from Harv in BC....
As for pistons, they are timed or clocked mechanically to support the firing order, so always changing depending on crank position. Roll the crank around some and you will see how it all works together. Then imagine all that happening 33 times per second at 2000 rpm. It still amazes me.
Thanks Harv and John! I drained the oil before I cranked the engine manually to see if I could hear the valve gasket spacer hit the oil pan. Good news, as I slowly cranked the engine, I could hear a metal cling hit the empty oil pan. I tried taking a magnet to the pan to see if I could drag it to the drain plug, but not luck. I can't imagine the metal spacer anywhere else after hearing the audible sound cling, but I am tempted to take the oil pan out to be sure.
John, I was trying to find schematics to better understand how oil drains from the camshaft to the oil pan. Do you know if there are large cavities for pieces of metal to fall through or is it tighter than that?
Had another thought, could I flush liquid through the camshaft and will that drain out the oil sump?
And John, please always feel free to disagree. I generally try to frame my posts with the caveat that "this is what I would do", not "this is what you should do" (with some exceptions). I have a lot of mechanical experience but I'm not a professional Land Rover mechanic. I really appreciate the helpful feedback that you and many others offer here.
Oil flow is depicted in diagrams in the Workshop Manual. Maybe download it, look for any post by Walt from NY, links to manuals are in his signature block. Maybe search for photos of the underside of Rover V8s with oil pan removed. The cam shaft and bearings are visible from underneath. I just noticed there is a sticky up above noting Rave Manuals also available from Extinct Motorsports website.
link to manuals is in my signature. download docs and use as you please.
here is a pic of a 4.6 (P38) but it will be almost identical to yours....
Thank you, Walt! I was able to get my oil pan off and low and behold, the valve gasket spacer was sitting right in the middle of the pan. Quite the relief.
I've got most of the engine prepped and ready for the new heads. Been slowly cleaning up the engine block from the grime and taking my time to inspect all that I can. I noticed the flywheel cover was missing bolts, at least I believe this is the flywheel cover. Can anyone confirm? Is it weird that I missing bolts?
After a month and some change, I've got the top-end back together and the D1 is back on the road. I got my machined/ cleaned heads back on Friday and completed the rebuild Sunday morning (2AM). I took my time to mitigate making mistakes, but was fighting the urge to "just get it done".
Thank you all for your support with thought and knowledge sharing. I learned so much about my engine and feel way more equipped to solve any potential future issues.
