Your not going to believe this!

So I have 7000 miles on my 2014 Raptor. I ghve taken it to the dealer one time for a oil and filter swap, tire rotation at 4000 miles.

Today I was going to change my oil, i start turning the oil pan drain bolt and the bolt is cross threaded! So I finally get it out, go to the dealer with it, show them and they give me a new bolt.

I get home, grab some qtips and a magnet so I can check on the inside of the pan hole and ensure there are no threads or filings laying near the hole. I. Bed a qtip head 90 degrees and insert it in the drain plug hole. I start to rotate it and I hit something. Hmmm that's not supposed to happen, I focus the flashlight and get some safety wire to use as a fishing tool and pull a big bolt across the drain plug hole. There is a beautiful fine thread 2 inch bolt in the bottom of my oil pan! I maneuver it around across the hole and get the end with the magnet pen. I stand it upright and pull it out. But the head cap is too big to come out the oil pan bolt hole.
I take a picture of it and go back to the dealer! I check with the parts guy on the main bolts for our 4 bolt main bearing caps. We look at the micro fisch and it certainly looks like a main cap bolt.

So I get the service manager and a mechanic together over the picture. They lend me a snap on borescope because I was hoping I could stick it up in the pan hole and maneuver it around and see. If I could find the hole the bolt came from. No such luck. You just can't get the scope where you need it.

The only way to see where it came from, potentially, is to tear the front end apart , cross members, lower the diff,etc a 2.5. Hour job just to drop the pan to see where it might have come from.

My dilemma is I'm nervous to let them tear my front end apart. It's seems no matter what it never is the same afterword. They could do all that tearing apart, vacume line stressing maintenance, drop. The pan a find out nothing. Or the exact opposite.

I could put a few big rare earth magnets on the bottom of the pan and that bolt would go nowhere.

So I asked him about warrenty and he said I'm fully covered even if I leave it in there since it came from the factory like that. They have the picture and they wrote it up for the records for future reference if something goes wrong.

I did put the new oil pan drain bolt back in to see if the pan threads were damaged at all , which might require a pan swap, but alas the threads in the pan are ok.

I'm in a dilemma, what would you guys do?
Has anyone on this forum ever pulled the pan off a 6.2? Is there enough room vertically or horizontally for a main bolt to fall out if it was missed in the torque secuence at the factory? They have the engine upside down when putting on the main bearing caps after the crank goes in. If one got dropped down a cylinder and was sitting in a piston skirt upside down then they flip it over and it's just hung up or it falls to the pan and does not get noticed?

It sure doesn't seem possible to have it come from above, there is just not enough room far a bolt that size to migrate through, it has to be from the bottom end originally.
Sorry for the long post, but im sure in a dilemma. is it a dropped one from the factory. Or is it a main bolt that was never torqued? The bolt threads are pristine, it has never been impacted by anything in the lower part of the engine. It looks brand new never used., as in never torqued down, you can see the bottom the the bolt head skirt from underneath and I can't see any facing marks..

Well since it would be sitting in oil the whole time it should stay clean. lol

I would have them remove it. I would not want the sitting in my pan when off roading that it is for sure. Would you really want that bolt to cause an issue at the worst time.

Have them take it out and fix it. That is a bad day waiting to happen. Have tje dealership send a flatbed to pick it up as well as its warranty work.

Wow what a trip, I'd have it removed asap lol, I don't like the idea of it possibly jumping around in there. They can't just pull the pan, remove and inspect?

Wait a minute. The service manager's solution to this problem is to document that you've got a loose bolt rattling around in your oil pan? And you drove away???

Holy cow. This is like tonsils or an appendix - IT HAS TO COME OUT. It doesn't belong there, while off-roading it could get jostled around to some place where it could total your engine and leave you stranded miles from help. You paid good money for a reliable truck, didn't get one, and the manufacturer owes you one. What happens if it's all fine and dandy with that bolt in there until the day after your warranty expires?

My very strong advice is to take the truck back to them, make them do everything necessary to remove the bolt and check the engine over to assure that it is factory spec, insist on watching them do the work, and then make them warranty what they did for as long as you own the vehicle.

I'd have it towed in too.

lka said:

Wow what a trip, I'd have it removed asap lol, I don't like the idea of it possibly jumping around in there. They can't just pull the pan, remove and inspect?

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To pull the pan on these rigs is rather extensive. They have to pull cross members, disconnect lines lower differentials, disconnect driveshafts and control arms....its 2.5 hours just to get to the pan. Then they have to put it all back together not screw anything up in the process...that's where I go nuts! It never goes back like it was. NEVER. Can of worms.

Hoverp said:

To pull the pan on these rigs is rather extensive. They have to pull cross members, disconnect lines lower differentials, disconnect driveshafts and control arms....its 2.5 hours just to get to the pan. Then they have to put it all back together not screw anything up in the process...that's where I go nuts! It never goes back like it was. NEVER. Can of worms.

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Gezz I don't not know that I have an even mess with anything on mine yet.

OMG!!! Hello, are you f'n serious?? There's a ******** loose bolt in your oil pan and you think its okay to just leave it there! Somebody needs a slap in the noggin to wake the fk up!! Like others said, have it towed with a note over the ignition key hole (DONT START, NO OIL IN ENGINE).

Also, I would want to be there when they pull the pan off to make sure there isn't a bolt missing and FORD just left a spare in the pan by mistake! Don't trust dealers, especially ones that tell you to just leave it, its okay???

Hoverp said:

To pull the pan on these rigs is rather extensive. They have to pull cross members, disconnect lines lower differentials, disconnect driveshafts and control arms....its 2.5 hours just to get to the pan. Then they have to put it all back together not screw anything up in the process...that's where I go nuts! It never goes back like it was. NEVER. Can of worms.

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Also, you're under warranty might as well get it done sooner then Monitor for any mistakes made then return if needed. I'd be very uncomfortable if in your position, sorry dude!