Removing dropped washer in ignition coil “tube”

[Sea Dawg]

Yep...classic mistake...had extra washer in my hand and dropped it down ignition tube. It’s stuck. Magnet didn’t get it. Permatex on socket didn’t bring it out either. Rigged some hose to vacuum and that didn’t work either. Any ideas?
Thanks.

 

[Pingu]

Screwdriver to tap it loose?

Dentist's pick?

Is sparkplug still in place? Is washer small enough to go through plug hole if you remove the plug?

 

[t-tony]

Pictures needed!

Tony.

 

[Sea Dawg]

Screwdriver to tap it loose?

Dentist's pick?

Is sparkplug still in place? Is washer small enough to go through plug hole if you remove the plug?

tried dental pick but can’t quite get it through to underneath washer.
washer is centered, above where socket would be able to remove plug. Mechanic friend said I might have crack ceramic portion of plug to gain access (careful to remove all bits & pieces before removing plug)

 

[jonco]

If it's only a lightweight washer, a vacuum cleaner with a basic small bore hose taped to the nozzle should work. I've retrieved items from the engine bay using similar - if you have an upright cleaner you may be stuffed or need to borrow the neighbour's

 

[Pingu]

The vacuum seems plausible. I wouldn't break the sparkplug, as ceramic will destroy your bore if it gets in the engine.

Some options...

Try a screwdriver with a strong magnet. You can magnetise the screwdriver by stroking the blade with the magnet towards the tip many times. Don't stroke back towards the handle or you will de-magnetise it.

Welding wire can be used instead of a dental pick.

Double-sided tape on the end of a screwdriver.

The wire from twin and earth cable.

The vacuum with a funnel (or piece of hose/tube) so you can direct the suction.

 

[mwpe]

Another option, get some contact adhesive on a cotton bud or similar and put it on the washer around the whole washer the get a small socket and put contact adhesive on that, let it dry and the lower the socket onto the washer and lift.

 

[Sea Dawg]

Thank you for trying to help me out. There was absolutely no room around the washer circumference to gain access for even a dental tool. I ended up having to crack the ceramic on the new plug, vacuum out the "tube", then remove the bottom half of the new plug. Voila!
To crack the ceramic, I used a chisel at about a 30 deg angle at the top of the ceramic and tapped it once with a rubber mallet.
The attached pictures show an old plug with a similar washer to show the problem and then the two halves of the plug. This ended up being an easy and relatively cheap solution. (A BMW mechanic said he'd have tried this same method.)
Thanks again for your willingness to help.
Paul

 

[t-tony]

Glad you got it out in the end. Bet you won't do that again

Tony.