Hello everyone;

This is why you should not trust mechanics and always try to do the job yourself when possible.
i heard a noise coming from the front left tier rod and it happened to be a Plier found hanging from the front left tier rod .
A mechanic replaced the intake manifold gasket, Thermostat assembly, return manifold coolant hose and knock sensors and apparently forgot his pliers, then obviously it dropped down to the bottom of the jag hanging from the tier rod.
Find pic attached

 

Another set of pliers, with bright red handles, very nice.
A name brand or junk?

 

While we were just discussing in another thread the tendency of repair shops to overcharge and do unnecessary work, I think its unfair to generalize in this case. **** happens and the home mechanic is just as likely to misplace a tool or goof up a repair somehow, probably even more so just because we don't do it all the time. I was working on my 1966 Mustang quite some years ago and despite that I thought I was being extremely careful in all things, using fender protection, etc., I forgot and left a ratchet lying on a shop towel on top of the air cleaner while I went to the workbench to work on something else. Sometime later I decided I was done for the day, shut the hood and put the cover on the car before heading to the house. Next weekend I took the cover off and realized I'd put a nice outward dent right in the middle of a brand new, freshly painted hood. If a shop had done that, I wouldn't have had to pay for it. Just be thankful for a free pair of pliers. I got you beat though. I once found someone's Snap-On brand 10mm swivel socket in an engine oil pan. I've used it several times.

 

That's where I left them????

Can I have my pliers back??? (kidding)


bob

 

Just yesterday I found my favorite screwdriver and a wire-stripper in the engine bay of my car. Been looking for 'em for months!

Cheers
DD

 

All those who have never made a mistake please raise your hand.

Cheers
DD

 

Not me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

junk

 

I am just happy that nothing broke with the pliers hanging from the driver's side front tier rod especially in that area when turning left and right.

 

I've had a couple of snap on items donated by mechanics over the years. One was a torx screwdriver that I use all the time and a torque wrench.

 

I haven't lost any of my Snap On, Mac, Cornwell or Matco tools, but I lost one of my favorite Craftsman U.S.A. 10mm 6-point sockets somewhere on top of the AJ26 in a friend's XK8. I suspect it's wedged somewhere in the valley, but since I had already done the thermostat, valley hoses, etc., I probably won't get a chance to pull the intake manifold anytime soon.

Don

 

If I know that I've misplaced a tool or something, I try my best to find it and retrieve it, worried like the OP that it might work its way into a spot where it could interfere with the operation of the car or even worse, make a rattle that would drive me crazy. I'm really bad about carrying a tool or part away and setting it down somewhere. For example, I might need an o-ring and so I'll go over to the parts bins and set my ratchet down while I look for the correct size. Then I'll need some PAG oil and I'll go over to the cabinet (and maybe set the o-ring down there). Then I'll go back to the workbench to get the compressor, etc., etc. By the time I get back to the car, ready to install the compressor, I have no idea where I left the ratchet and I spend the next half hour searching the engine bay and then the rest of the shop. I have been known to tear an engine back down again looking for a missing bolt, but its frustrating because I sometimes don't find what I think I've lost until after I've given up and it appears while cleaning up the shop after the project is done. More frustrating though is starting the next project and only then discovering a tool is missing. I've tried to get in the habit of putting my tools back where they belong in between tasks even if its only going to be a few minutes till I need it again and that helps, but I still occasionally lapse. We really should do like a surgeon, make a list of everything used during a project and check to be sure everything has been retrieved before we button it up, but then I'd probably spend half an hour a day searching for my pencil.

 

Retracing ones steps works the best for me.
Nothing works that great,
But retracing where i went, & why, helps me the most.

 

I've worked on jets for 22 years, You get in the habit of accounting for you tools at the end of your job. Enjoy your flight.

 

I repair Old Rolls Royces and Jaguars but I also have my A&P so accounting for tools is a good way to avoid liability issues.
When I attended classes for my A&P I was advised to NOT mark or identify my personal tools for obvious reasons.
If a tool became 'missing' from my tool box, the rational was to replace the tool ASAP.

The anecdote is that as soon as the aircraft leaves the repair facility and crashes upon take-off, the repair logbook will fall onto the runway with the relevant page open to your last repair (Murphy's Law) and a pocket screwdriver with your name on it will be found next to the wreckage.

bob

 

For some reason....a total mystery to me....I simply cannot keep 10mm sockets. Darn things are constantly escaping my custody.

My problem isn't so much losing tools, per se. But, rather, keeping track of them. I seldom have fewer than 4-5 cars in some stage of repair at any given time. I have tools in or around all of them. When I find myself spending more time looking for tools than working on the cars I take an hour or so and get everything gathered and sorted.

Cheers
DD

 

10mm is a popular socket size, on metric cars, & bikes.

 

10mm is by far the most common size fastener I deal with, not only on European cars, but on Asian and almost any U.S. domestic less than 40 years old or so.

 

My least used size, I think, must be 11/16". Seems like only old Jags and old Fords have 11/16" nuts/bolts!

Cheers
DD

 

My father was an aircraft mechanic, retiring about 25 years ago. I remember from when I was a kid when he worked for Braniff, him worrying about a plane that he'd worked on and not being able to sleep until he heard it made it safely to its next destination.

But I used one of those electric engravers to mark many of my tools in case they got stolen. I also maintain an Access database with an inventory. Speaking still of not remembering tools, a friend of mine had his rollaway tool cabinet stolen out of his garage, filed an insurance claim and then went on a shopping spree to replace his tools. Over the next several years, every time he started a new project, he'd have to go buy a tool that he was sure he'd previous had but forgot to list on his insurance claim. He remembered all the major tools that were really expensive or that he used frequently, but forgot probably several hundred dollars worth of minor tools like that 11/16" offset wrench that he'd bought when he had a Ford and only used once. I wanted to be sure that if my stuff was ever stolen that I'd have an inventory and the law would have evidence to prosecute if they happened to catch the perpetrator. I never thought about having my initials on a socket that falls in the wrong spot and binds a brake caliper.