cam timing ?'s

[RatLabGuy]

Hm, I'm w/ Gnarls on this one. If it were me I'd take a giant peice of red tape and put it across teh steering wheel w/ the words PIN IN OIL PAN as a reminder.
I'd be less worred about it getting sucked into the screen than somehow gettin' knocked up around the bearings/bottom end!
And, oh, hope you have lift 'cause otherwise I know why yer hesitant to pull off that pan...
... but then, around here there are some great top-secret tips on getting that sucker off....

[yodta]

certainly in your best interest to pull the pan. if you have a catastrophe, you'll wish you had.

buuuuut, on the other hand, my first Toyota pickup (granted, a piece of crap due to the previous owner) ran for three years with a timing chain guide bolt and pieces of the old timing chain in the pan, unbeknownst to me.

I'm not sure how oil flows in the the bottom end or whether parts of the crank are splash lubed.

so there's one instance of a similar situation working out okay, but obviously, as you know, you're taking a risk.

[JEFF_S]

Maybe it will come out when you drain the oil. No I am not in a hurry for the valves at all. I am getting parts ready for a rebuild in the future.
Jeff