98 S70 Base B5254s motor - Big Mistake removing rear camshaft seal - trashed?

[rockridge]

Hi All,
Been trolling the site for years and there is tons of knowledge here.
So I thought I had a RMS leak but thought I would change out the exhaust cam seal first to see if the oil was coming from there.
I had a tough time removing the old seal so I used a drill for a pilot hole to sink in a metal screw to remove the seal. The drill penetrated not only the seal but the mating surface behind it. I don't know if it is part of the camshaft or the head or what. A 1/2 in. piece of the metal went into the internal engine. Am I now looking at pulling the head to see if I can get the metal shard out and what is the surface that the cam seal sets up against? Am i "screwed"?
Thanks for the help!

[abscate]

You are in luck. On a 98, the cam doesn’t have VVT, so the next piece of metal is just a webbing of the cam cover. I’ll confirm by picture tomorrow. The sealing surface isn’t thiswebbing but the circumference of theccylinder head cover, so a hole won’t matter

I think you are clear of the cam thrust surface but a hole in that wouldn’t matter either.

Don’t sweat that piece of metal. It will just sit in the cam cover. I found a flock of Canada Geese in my oil pan once. The only effect was the oil life was down.

God, thst was awful, even for me.

[454cid]

I found a flock of Canada Geese in my oil pan once. The only effect was the oil life was down.

God, thst was awful, even for me.

I don't know what that means, but I can imagine all the poop.

[Chuck W]

No, I know what you're looking at. Kind of a rough-looking hole in the lower part of the casting?

That's supposed to be there. You didn't damage anything.

Install the seal and carry on.