Removing the cylinder head

[Eckhard]

Was using a dowel to check for the TDC thru the rear spark plug hole. Dowel got cocked in the sparkplug hole, engine spun coming off a cam lobe and a piece broke off and is in the cylinder. Anyone got any experience at removing the rear cylinder head of the 998 V twin engine? Please share. 2011 RT,

[Mikey]

Would a stiff wire and some duct tape pick it out of there

[Grandpot]

I would do something like Mikey suggested. Maybe something sticky like gum on the end of a coat hanger.

[Mikey]

They also make a fingered pick up tool, do a google search of it, it may be handy foe this application!

[Eckhard]

Would a stiff wire and some duct tape pick it out of there

I scuttled that option when I tried to float the piece to the spakplug hole by filling the cylinder with oil. Didn't work but now the wood is soaked in oil and probably nothing will stick to it.

[Eckhard]

The only finger tool my local auto parts place won't bend enough to get into the area where the piece of wood is. And the fingers have a bend that I would n't be able to remove the tool from the sparkplug hole even when in line with the piece of wood.

[Grandpot]

Wow, I feel for you. Keep trying. The last thing you want to do is take that engine apart.

Do you have a bore scope? They are inexpensive and connect to your phone or laptop.

Take the other spark plug out, so you have no compression. Turn the engine with a wrench and try to maneuver the stick. Try to stab it with a pointed steel rod, like a piece of coat hanger.

Instead of trying tape, put some thick sticky grease on whatever you are using to fish it out. The grease will stick better than tape in this case.

I'm sure you already tried some of this. I'm just trying to help.

[Possible]

How big of a piece of wood is it?

You might try putting a vacuum cleaner attachment in the spark plug hole, run the piston to TDC, making sure a valve is open,
and try to suck out the piece of wood. If it's small enough, you might get lucky.

Howard and Peggy

[larryd]

Maybe if you'd run the piston down by turning the engine by hand...Than would lessen the angle...Also working in a dark surrounding area sometime helps seeing in dark holes better with a light...I'd be working and trying different things before removing the cyl. head...Like others said, something tacky and you could practice on another piece of oil soaked dowel outside the cylinder...Be sure to let us know the outcome...larryd

PS. I had a similar situation many years ago while winterizing a jet ski...The red plastic straw on the WD 40 can blew off when I was spraying the lube into the cylinder thru the spark plug hole...It took a while, but I got it removed...I had some black gummy stuff off the backing of some silver tape that I made into a ball and pushed onto the end of a flexible spring like shaft...Wife thought I was crazy working on it at night out in the driveway, but I won in the end...larryd

[Eckhard]

Got 3 boresopes, one that has a bad image but the right diameter and I have seen something wood colored. The problem is that the Spyder uses a 12 mm plug and that makes the hole about 10mm or .4 inches. The second borescope is about .34 in diameter and the clip on right angle mirror is too big for the hole so I can't see the piece of wood with that one. As the mirror clips/slips on, friction fit, I am afraid to lose it in there.

The last one is too big.

I am going to try and vacuum it again using a silicone bendy straw and may be Ill have more luck. Next is to remove the throttle bodies and try and blow it out thru the open intake valves.

[Poasttown]

If the bendy straw fails to work I wonder if a short small diameter rubber hose attached to your sweeper hose might work.

Poasttown

[davev1pa]

I know it's been said ...but the wood is soaked in oil...so it's soaked and heavy...And not knowing the shape and size of the piece you may just need to alternate the amount of suction off n on til u git er out..manipulating the angle etc of the extraction...seems daunting but probably the easiest method...but it'd take a lot of trial and error and obviously you'd need to capture the offending piece. What a PIA ...anyway keep us updated ...we feel ur pain