Dealership dropped something in cylinder head during spark plug replacement

All they gotta do is turn it upside down and shake it till the part falls back out...

 

I doubt the email is technically accurate because a mechanic didn't write it, a service writer did. Pulling the head won't shorten the life of your engine. Ask to talk to the tech his boss, and to be there when they pull the head so they can show and explain what happened, what they were looking for, and what they retrieved.

 

You’re right. The op’s wife/Gf was probably getting banged by the neighbor while he was shelling out $150 for a plug change at the dealer.

So OP got fucked twice, and his significant other did once, all in a matter of an hour.

 

4 Inch extension maybe.

 

They most likely did,and cannot retrieve whatever it is for whatever reason.

 

I have both of those grabbers ,and have used them countless times for different reasons.

 

I'm amazed the Toyota tech knew to turn the engine off before changing the spark plugs.

 

I am sure the O.P. would be really pleased with a Heli-coil fix in his mint condition truck.

 

I would ABSOLUTELY lose my shit if I saw them heli-coiling a spark plug hole in my top end. And I consider myself an almost defectively patient person.

 

Off topic ....

You should see what kinda damage done to a cyl , piston and cyl head from a brass 6/32 throttle plate that's maybe less than .025 in length

It ruined a nice running race motor !!!!

 

They tried that with @jarvie 's truck.

 

Probably dropped the bolt for the coil pack.

 

Update in case anyone's interested!

TL;DR is that they DID run the engine, it's damaged, they're trying to talk me into fixing it or replacing the engine. I think that they have demonstrably decreased the resale value of my car and should buy it off me for its pre-incident value or replaces the car with a similar one, certified pre-owned. Thoughts?

Photos of damage: https://imgur.com/a/uuRjFZd?

Ok, got a lot more information today. The plot has thickened. Below is an email I wrote to the dealership confirming my notes. I also have some pictures of the engine damage.

Incident:

During a routine spark plug replacement, a Toyota SF technician accidentally dropped a stainless steel pin from a tool into the engine of my 2014 Toyota Tacoma. This went unnoticed until the engine was turned on and a problem was audible. The technician turned off the vehicle once the problem was noticed. The cylinders were visually inspected using a scope until the #2 cylinder was discovered to be the location where the pin had been dropped.

In order to diagnose the damage and remove the pin SF Toyota took the engine out of the took off the cylinder head. There was obvious visual damage to the cylinder head and valves, you believe the piston may have been damaged though it was not obvious, you believe there was no damage to the cylinder. You also believe that the pin did not leave the #2 cylinder and did not cause damage to other parts of the engine.

Proposed Resolution:

You presented two alternatives

1. Repair the engine by replacing:
   -the affected cylinder head, which is the cylinder head for 3 cylinders and contains all associated valves for those three cylinders

-the affected piston within cylinder 2
OR
2. Replace the engine with an engine of comparable vintage and mileage (proposed was an engine with 55K miles recovered from a totaled vehicle)

 

Thats bullshit, they owe you a brand new engine. You never know what you get with a totaled vehical and they will not be able to repair that cylinder corectly, The block may be damaged. If they replace the head and that cylinder, the engine is not going to last as long as it would from the factory.

 

Honestly, raise hell and demand a new engine, not one from a totaled vehical. They want to save money, I get it, but I would be LIVID. I'm actually pissed off and its not even my truck. Dealers trying to put a fucking bandaid on a severed limb. That shit is done dude. Even if repaired correctly, it will not last. New engine, or lawer up and see what they can do. Fuck that.

 

I do it all the time, let’s me know I’m doing it right by listening to how the engine sounds

 

Thanks dude - this is extremely helpful.

 

No problem man, I'm a mechanic and work on CAT machines for a living. If I fuck something up I fess up to it and do my best make sure my company pays for the damages. It pisses me off when my company tries to pull this type of bullshit too.

 

Also I know that if a customer is pissed off enough about something we may have fucked up, the customer usually gets what he wants.

 

Whoa, they didn’t tell the whole story and are now trying to get out of it but offering that bullshit?? Nope, new engine or new truck. The very next thing I’d be doing is sending all of this to Toyota corporate while CCing the dealership to keep everyone involved and on the hook. People that know engines, know that small mistake can lead to huge issues down the road, and this bullshit 3.5s that Toyota is putting out these days isn’t immune to it. This is gonna be a longgg battle with them.