Help! Grommet sucked into motor!

[Mike The Canadian]

Okay,

So I drove to work this morning, car was running normal...
Fast-forward 14 hours and I go start it up... it's running like balls, shut it off after about 3-5 seconds...

I pop the hood, look around, nothing seems wrong... motor wasn't on long enough for me to diagnose anything other than to know it wasn't right.

So I start it up, get out with the hood open and it's clear as day there's a vac leak... I listen around and locate it, shut the car off... it ran for about 30 seconds... The leak was coming from the area where the PCV vac line enters the plenum... I pull it off and the grommet is gone!

Tomorrow I plan to pull the plenum to see if I can find the grommet... What are my options and possible cases here?

If I can't find the grommet do I put a new line, cross my fingers, start the car and hope? I'm so pissed that something so small and cheap could be the end of my car... hell the line isn't more than 6 months old.....

[a.graham52]

its a rubber gromet... could be worse... im sure it will digest :D

[zzyzzx]

I would think that it would eventually end up in your oil filter. If you can't fish it out (and a small enough hose to fit into hole taped to the end of a shop vac might be your best bet to vacuum it up) then when you do your next oil change take apart the used filter to see if you find bits of it there.

[MMGT1]

Might get lucky and find it. Could be sitting on a valve in there. In all likely hood though man you have probably reduced it to nothing like gram said... lol

[zzyzzx]

I just did this today! It was on a 2000 4 cylinder Camry. I fished out the gromet with a pair of locking surgical clips. I grabbed the gromet with them, and with the gromet sideways and with the help of a small flathead screwdriver, I got it out.

[Mike The Canadian]

I pulled the top end off (UIM) and it's not in there... It doesn't look like it's in the LIM either... with 30 or so seconds of running I'd imagine if it was going to damage (and if it did)... it's probably already done :(

[jawa]

its rubber. its probably gone

[Mike The Canadian]

its rubber. its probably gone

If it's not you're coming here and helping me put a 3500 in... I'll even get the rims on next time in Canada and come to Wisconsin :p

[jawa]

lol

[jawa]

wait thire still not on

[Mike The Canadian]

Nope, they're sitting back home in Canada..

[jawa]

what the front lawn man

[xXManwhoreXx]

What the... Get them wheels on!

[sleepyalero]

GET EM ON! :gun:

[Mike The Canadian]

Haha if it starts up without blowing up tomorrow... I probably will :)

[a.graham52]

Also note: it was stated that the grommet was missing where the pcv valve meets the plenum (intake) and not the valve cover. It's either stuck in the intake somewhere or its gone through the cylinder.

[Mike The Canadian]

Yeah, I took the upper plenum off and couldn't find it.
My fear is that it'll sticky/gum up a valve... it's just too big to flow into the cylinder without any intrusion..

I'm expecting it to either grenade, be fine, or run like turd until that shit melts off the valves (if it does).

Thing is that that whole line was like 3 months old... bullshit situation man...

If this happened at home and it did grenade, I'd swap in another motor, or do something along those lines... out here I've got nothing and no one to help me :(

[jawa]

it will b fine

[Mike The Canadian]

By the way here is a pic of the "old" part...
In good condition aside from the part of it that got sucked in...

[zzyzzx]

The one that I dropped in was easily viable from the hole and brittle and falling apart.

[Mike The Canadian]

It's good... aside from a VAC leak that sounds like it's coming from the EGR.

Does anyone have any pics on all of the cables (throttle, cruise, etc). from the firewall to the TB and onwards... I'm having some vibrating from those (they don't seem the same as when I took them off)...

[AleroB888]

It's good... aside from a VAC leak that sounds like it's coming from the EGR.

Does anyone have any pics on all of the cables (throttle, cruise, etc). from the firewall to the TB and onwards... I'm having some vibrating from those (they don't seem the same as when I took them off)...

;)

http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr299/Gflash01/001-22.jpg

[Mike The Canadian]

;)

http://i493.photobucket.com/albums/rr299/Gflash01/001-22.jpg

Thanks man... I don't have that thing at the front though... how do I get one :) The shiny silver one haha

[Mike The Canadian]

Throttle issues are sorted... really though the car isn't right and I'm not sure what it is... At around 2 k rpm when you get on the gas a bit you hear some sort of leak... sounds almost like a vac leak...

At 4 k rpm and above it turns into a bad scream... I thought it was a vac leak but I can't find anything... That and a vac leak usually presents itself off the gas right? This sounds like air escaping when I'm on the throttle which I find unusual... it almost seems like it would be an exhaust leak... but exhaust is completely unrelated to this? My idle isn't steady anymore either though so that points to a vac leak? Not sure what to do here...

[zzyzzx]

Does anyone have any pics on all of the cables (throttle, cruise, etc). from the firewall to the TB and onwards... I'm having some vibrating from those (they don't seem the same as when I took them off)...

Wouldn't we have to know what engine you have???

[Mike The Canadian]

Wouldn't we have to know what engine you have???

3100 good sir...

Also note that about 1 sec after I turn the car off, you hear the exact noise as if it's relieving pressure for a sec after... like letting the air out of a balloon after the car is off.

I don't get it revving in the driveway... only under load and for the first 10-15 sec you turn the car on.

[rustyballs_69]

Get some brake cleaner and spray around the motor while the car is idling.