vf500r head removal

So I freakin dropped one of those square hoseclamp nuts in the hole that the carbs clamp to... I think the valve was open... I tried one of those magnet reacher things but it won't fit down between the valve rod and intake wall. So I figured the next easiest thing to do is just unbolt the head. I got the four bolts off and the exhaust up front off... but it still won't come off... I only need a little clearance to get the nut out if it has fallen to the cylinder. And help or sugestions other than taking the head off greatly appriciated

 

No help at all?

 

Eeek..... yeah, that's a problem. If you can't get it out with the magnet then I'm not sure you'd have any other option other than removing the head.

About the only thing I would try is rotating the piston up towards the top (by hand, slowly) to move the nut closer to a spot where you can get to it. Then do something to open the valve manually so you can get in there with the magnet. Not sure how well this would work but it's the only thing I can think of. Good luck!

 

Yeah... it pretty much sucks. So I figured if it had fallen into the cylinder I could get it out through the spark plug hole. I got the magnet thing in there and I couldn't seem to find it in the cylinder (it's pretty small so I probed all around it) so I fed some weedwacker twine through the valve to make sure it was actually open and it hit and moved the magnet probe. I know it there, I saw it before it fell farther in. I don't know where it could have gone... any ideas? Anywhere else that it could have fallen?

 

Chewing gum on a stick ??

 

IIRC, this is an '84 with only 10k on the clock. If you haven't pulled the head yet, another option would be to remove the engine and turn upside down on a secure, padded surface. Gravity is king so the wayward nut should simply fall out.

This is a lot of work, but keep in mind that OEM head gaskets are NLA for the '84/'85. You may be able to use a head gasket for an '86 though - more info can be found here:

http://vfrworld.com/forums/1st-2nd-generation-1983-1989/31074-scan-em-if-you-got-em-vf500f-head-gasket-patterns.html

Good luck and keep us posted on how you make out.