A visit from Mr. Murphy.

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Rebuilt right front caliper and replaced hose today. Went to torque inverted flare nut/hose connection and of course the crows foot adapter departed torque wrench and disappeared. After searching a few minutes I saw a hole a little bigger than a quarter in the top of the lower suspension arm. Inspection mirror and flashlight and there it is inside the suspension arm. That hole isn't an eighth of an inch bigger than that wrench and it dropped straight down and into that hole. What are the odds of that happening?

 

[supton]

According to Mr Murphy, just shy of 100%.

 

[hemitom]

In your case really good...

 

[AutoMechanic]

Lol

 

[ZeeOSix]

Go buy a lotto ticket !

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

According to Mr Murphy, just shy of 100%.

Per my AMT schooling, a dropped fastener will ALWAYS fall into the most inaccessible location on the airplane.

 

[Leo99]

I was in a taxi in Wales and we must have hit about 10 red lights in a row and the driver was none too pleased. Lots of things on the drive were going poorly. Everything was going wrong and the driver said it was Sod's Law. I asked if that was like Murphy's law and the driver yelled at me. Told me we weren't Ireland and there wasn't no Murphy's Law in the UK. It's Sod's Law and I'd have to go to Ireland if I wanted to talk about Murphy's Law. Sheesh. So sensitive.

 

[wwillson]

What are the odds of that happening?

Try to make it happen again and I think you'll find the answer.

 

[Dinoburner]

Replaced the right side exhaust manifold on the 95 GMC two years ago and about a month later there was a new loud leak on said manifold. What happened was a plug about the size of a quarter blew out so called the parts store and the counterman who said no part like was available. Rechecked the area and saw a plug balanced on a cooler line and the frame. It was about 22mm.

 

[FordMan59]

I was changing an alternator a couple months ago and was laying my bolts/nuts/tools up in the cowl area just the way I always do on that car. I laid one of the bolts for the alternator up there and heard it drop. I got to looking and there was a hole in the cowl that I didn't know was there.
The hole was about 1' deep and fishing with a magnet was unsuccessful. I went to 4 different auto parts stores and the local hardware and no one had that bolt. I ended up having to go to a junk yard to find a bolt with the right thread pitch. I spent half a day hunting for a bolt that they charged me $1 for. I've owned this car for 12 years and this was the first time I'd ever seen that hole. Better it was a bolt that fell in the hole than a $15-20 wrench. Sometime when I think of it I think I'll screw a cover over that hole so nothing else falls in it.

My dealings with Mr. Murphy are always the same. If something can screw up it will.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

I was changing an alternator a couple months ago and was laying my bolts/nuts/tools up in the cowl area just the way I always do on that car. I laid one of the bolts for the alternator up there and heard it drop. I got to looking and there was a hole in the cowl that I didn't know was there.
The hole was about 1' deep and fishing with a magnet was unsuccessful. I went to 4 different auto parts stores and the local hardware and no one had that bolt. I ended up having to go to a junk yard to find a bolt with the right thread pitch. I spent half a day hunting for a bolt that they charged me $1 for. I've owned this car for 12 years and this was the first time I'd ever seen that hole. Better it was a bolt that fell in the hole than a $15-20 wrench. Sometime when I think of it I think I'll screw a cover over that hole so nothing else falls in it.

My dealings with Mr. Murphy are always the same. If something can screw up it will.

Right you are Ford, some three decades in power generation and Murphy has taken a piece out of my backside many times. One such occurrence cost the company over one million in lost revenue and repair. The suits were not happy(the guys that can't find the front door of the station) no matter the explanations. Get er back on the line gentlemen.

 

[WylieCoyote]

After 34 years of wrenching my own cars, I finally invested in a "magnet on a stick" 2 weeks ago while working on the Fiero. If you drop ANYTHING down into the engine compartment of that car, you're not likely to find it visually, and if you do, you'll be needing a magnet on a stick to get it back. Murphy's had a few laughs at my expense lately. There's till a 10mm socket down inside the driver's door. I can't see it, hear it, or find it with the magnet.

 

[FordMan59]

After 34 years of wrenching my own cars...
If you drop ANYTHING down into the engine compartment of that car, you're not likely to find it visually, and if you do, you'll be needing a magnet on a stick to get it back. Murphy's had a few laughs at my expense lately.

I've been working on my own cars for about 43 years and it doesn't get any better with time. They're also making things more cramped and crowded on cars all the time making it even worse to find that dropped bolt/nut/tool and, it never fails, every time I work on something I drop at least 10 things before I finish. If I didn't have to spend time looking for lost parts/tools I could cut my work time in half.

 

[andyd]

Just after my brother moved to VT, he T-boned a guy making an illegal U-turn on I-89. When he was inspecting the front end of the Cutlass he found the 1/4" ratchet he had dropped into the front cross member or some such. The collision had knocked it loose. In the yrs of stall and crawl up and down rt3 into Boston. I sighted,located and retrieved several hand tools from the median.

 

[doitmyself]

After 34 years of wrenching my own cars, I finally invested in a "magnet on a stick"

I've retrieved things several times by attaching a piece of gooey duct tape (sticky side out) on a stick or clothes hanger wire.

 

[PimTac]

If you can’t retrieve that piece it will bounce and rattle around for the rest of time as a reminder that Murphy’s Law always prevails.

 

[Number_35]

I was in a taxi in Wales and we must have hit about 10 red lights in a row and the driver was none too pleased. Lots of things on the drive were going poorly. Everything was going wrong and the driver said it was Sod's Law. I asked if that was like Murphy's law and the driver yelled at me. Told me we weren't Ireland and there wasn't no Murphy's Law in the UK. It's Sod's Law and I'd have to go to Ireland if I wanted to talk about Murphy's Law. Sheesh. So sensitive.

My Welsh boss used to refer to Sod's Law. I'd never heard the term before.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

I've been working on my own cars for about 43 years and it doesn't get any better with time. They're also making things more cramped and crowded on cars all the time making it even worse to find that dropped bolt/nut/tool and, it never fails, every time I work on something I drop at least 10 things before I finish. If I didn't have to spend time looking for lost parts/tools I could cut my work time in half.

I dropped one of the three fasteners for the engine top cover and never have found it. It didn't go on the floor. Took the bottom splash guard off and used an inspection mirror for over an hour. Nothing GONE. And I can tell you the Toyota cost for that little fastener is pricey for what you get. *&^%%$$#@%% you Mr. Murphy

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

After 34 years of wrenching my own cars, I finally invested in a "magnet on a stick" 2 weeks ago while working on the Fiero. If you drop ANYTHING down into the engine compartment of that car, you're not likely to find it visually, and if you do, you'll be needing a magnet on a stick to get it back. Murphy's had a few laughs at my expense lately. There's till a 10mm socket down inside the driver's door. I can't see it, hear it, or find it with the magnet.

Here too. There is a new 10mm quarter inch drive socket residing in the sub-frame below engine and has been there for a decade. But I don't want to T-Bone someone to find it like a post above.

 

[vavavroom]

I know Mr . Murphy well. There are two door lock bowden cables in the bottom of the door of one of my cars. One is the old one that I had to replace, the other one is the replacement I had bought. I had to wait another week for a second replacement part and half expected that one to join the other two. Fortuna finally smiled on me.