post your tools left in the engine bay story

[PoorOwner]

Did you find it? Did it end badly?

I have left a socket extension or two in the cowl.

 

[PartsGuy27]

Had a magnetic light take a 45 mile trip on my leaf spring! All was fine when I pulled it off.

 

[bmwsancho]

Forgot the cap of my oil funnel once (left it near cylinder 5 on the VANOS housing and it somehow fell down) and I drove for 20 miles when a weird noise came up. that noise was there all the time but I didn't pay attention. When I pulled over a few miles later the cap was gone, somehow.

 

[ambenz]

My13mm wrench went "clanging" down the road when I took a turn.
Pulled over and looked for it for a good 10 minutes!
Yesterday, Sears had single wrenches on sale for less than $6 so I got a replacement.
As I was putting it in my tool box,I noticed the 12, 11, 10, and 9 mm wrenches missing....WTH! No kids and no clue what happened to those!

 

[goodysgotacuda]

Best I found on a car was a Mac ballpeen hammer. It was a Porsche Boxster and it was sort of laid onto the upper control arm of the car, had been there for quite a few miles.

 

[az45]

I was fixing a wipe out tire on a BMW years ago and pulled a Mercedes branded wrench out of it that the guy must of run over.

My first few Snap-on tools were those pulled from engine compartments and under dashes, still have them..they remind e to check for tools.

 

[Toofast28]

Dad took his 93 corvette in for its first oil change after buying it new. Took it the Chevy dealership. Guy left a tool on top of the intake, shut the hood, cracked/spidered the paint on the whole hood. Was metallic maroon 40th anniversary edition, they put a new hood on and repainted multiple times, never matched

 

[Ron Swanson]

I left a 15/16 so combo wrench under a utility body I installed at work many years ago.
About 5 years later the truck came back to have some work lights installed.
My wrench was still there on top of the fuel tank. It was now completely rusty but I keep it in my box as a reminder to count my tools before a truck leaves.

 

[jerseykat1]

I saw a e36 BMW with Mercedes radio in it at the scrap yard (Yes i know its off topic thanks).. I found an old snap on ratchet under the hood hood of a honda that came in for a headlight bulb. I gave it to a coworker that don't have many tools.

I left a Led light under the hood never saw it again (customers car), left a GW 10mm semi deep socket in the back seat of a Buick that I did a window regulator on. Got a new one an hour later via advanced autoparts delivery.

My coworker found a nice Milwaukee m12 led stick in a Chevy that went to the dealer for ecm reprogram. Tried to return it to the tech, but he never came to pick it up so he kept it.. Same light he left under the dashboard of the same type of Chevy.. Crazy.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Sticky Grips]

Lost a 15mm socket after working on my wife's (then gitlfriend) maxima. Couldn't figure out where it was, searched everywhere. A year later I was rotating tires and found it nestled in the lower control arm. I don't know how it stayed there that long.

 

[george4]

Dropped a spark plug socket in the passenger side engine bay of my ’89 corvette, could not find it. About ten years later when I redid the heads, I found it wedged in a motor mount. Dirty but fine.

 

[wasfuzz]

I once found a 18"? pair of channellocks under the hood of my Moms VW Dasher. She stopped for gas and has the oil checked, needed a qt and the oil fill cap was always a bi**h to get off. Guessing it got left when they were done! It was out of state so no way to return. I sent the guy $25.00, never heard from him.

 

[wttwoa]

2 weeks ago me and my dad had to do a water pump replacement on his truck at like 8pm before the rain started and lasted for 3 days, i almost lost a 10mm taking off the radiator shroud because the craftsman extension was wore and the ball in it decided to fall out. i managed to get the socket out, but it claimed a 14mm that my dad swear he can hear move around sometimes when he hits a bump.

 

[steed andersen]

Let my step father borrow my tools to work on his K-car. Next day he drove me 60+ miles to pick up a car I was buying. The car needed a jump start so we pulled his car up to it. When I opened his hood there in a row were several of MY wrenches and pliers on his core support. The hood must have held them there. Still no idea how many were lost.

 

[chris142]

I lost a long 12mm snap on indistrial finish wrench. Somewhere on a petetbilt

 

[84GT350Annv]

Took my ring off so I wouldn't damage it, set it on the battery....Needless to say I forgot about until after the test drive. My brother and I rode around on motorcycles for an hour and of course never found it.

I realize the topic was tools in the engine bay. In my story I am the tool. [emoji1]

 

[rodsnratfinks]

A did a guy's water pump a few months back and left my serpentine belt tool (!) on ledge near the firewall of his car. He came back a day or two later because his water light came on. It turned out that he had an LOF done and the lube jock left the cap off. That's when I found the belt tool sitting there. I hadn't even noticed it was missing ...yet.

Sent via homing pigeon using methamphetamines

 

[davethorik]

When I worked at Auto zone, found a craftsman 3/8 drive 1/2" socket under the back seat of a Cadillac Deville iirc (where the battery was).

Gave my Easco 1/2 rhft to a friend, he became a tech, left it and one of his deep impact sockets under the back seat of a Subaru Forester. Dealership called left a msg they never called back. Hope you enjoy the rhft.

 

[MBfreak]

This is a real life story from way up north in Sweden where it gets real cold in the winter. And the sun is off for months.
A ( somewhat unpractical ) guy took his old crappy Volvo Amazon 50 km up a dirt road in January. He wanted to visit with his old mom, who lived alone in a cottage. He made it there, parked and spent the Sat/Sun there, got ready to drive home Sunday late, it was -25 C. Volvo would not turn over. Nada. Opened the hood. Due to low charge the battery had frozen and cracked. Did not dare to take it indoors, the liquid would run out. Took his mothers iron and managed to heatseal the crack. Put on a charger. Two hours later the car started fine, he kissed Mom goodbye and went away down the dirtroad. Slacks, street shows and an anorak.
In the middle of nowhere the car stopped with a bang. Went out, water quickly freezing under the car. Opened the hood, but no flashlight. Went back in the car and started to pray/curse. ( This was before cellphones)
After a while a timber truck comes along, on a Sunday nite. Salvation!!
The driver goes out. Looks under the hood with his flashlight. Our guy comes out of the Volvo. Driver tells him to get in the timber truck and joins him and they drive away. People up there are not very talkative.
However, after 20 minutes the truck driver asks

" What was that iron doing stuck in your radiator? "


Ola

 

[atomicpunk]

Not an engine bay but I found a Mac stubby Phillips head screwdriver on top of a Mack Superliner cab behind the clearance lights, been there a while too- shaft all rusty.

 

[Fedwrench]

I learned quick that it gets expensive laying tools in an engine compartment. I always have a cart close by or a magnetic tray that everything goes in. Nothing gets laid under hood. Work pant cargo pockets are handy too. However, I still manage to screw up though. I left my M12 stick light stuck to the underside of a car awhile back when I was replacing a back up sensor. I still get pissed when I grab its replacement daily. I just have to let it go and move on.

Finds range from all kinds of sockets, ratchets, pliers, trim tool, to a pair of oil filter pliers. I even once found a snap on 8mm wrench still attached to the clutch bleeder valve years ago.

 

[MF'er]

Replaced some hoses in an 80' boom lift. When it came back off a rental over a month later, the truck driver handed me my 2 9/16" wrenches. They fell out as he was loading it. No idea how they stayed on i5 that long.

 

[dlcwent]

I found a SO serpentine belt tool under a radiator in a Blazer I was working on once. And I knew it didn't belong to the owner of the Blazer, 'cause he didn't ever open the hood for anything.

 

[Tim-Bob]

Found an 18" screwdriver Meant for beating on inside the driver's door of a brand new 1988 Plymouth Turismo. Customer complaint of a banging noise on rough roads.

Found a pair of snap-on battery pliers between the condenser and radiator of an LHS New Yorker. It had chewed through the condenser.

Left a 10mm wrench on a radiator. Was still there 3 months later when it came back for an oil change.

Left a snap-on 1/4 ratchet, extension and socket on the cowl of a bank manager's truck. It was in a spot where it couldn't fall out with hood was closed. Phoned him about an hour after he picked up the truck. He checked and then asked me what they were worth to me. I said they weren't cheap, and I needed them, and that I could come get them. He said he'd drop them off the next day. He never did, despite several more calls. He went so far as to change shops to avoid me. All over a ratchet he apparently really wanted to keep.

I worked at a place where tools would go missing very regularly. I found out early on to check the co-owners tool box. It was more often than not in there. He wasn't stealing them, he was just very absent minded and would randomly pick up a tool from a job and "put it away". It became the first place we would check for missing tools. He would also do this with shop tools and then complain bitterly about how we were losing/stealing/not putting them back.

A co-worker left a gasket hammer under the intake of a dodge 318/360. Came back several years later and he had to take the intake off again. The handle was apparently rather swollen.

Not a tool, but an apprentice left the debris catching rags under the intake of a 318 in an RWD New Yorker. It took a couple of days, but the threads from those rags were everywhere. He had to pull the engine and strip it right down. Everything had fur and fuzz on, in and around it.

Lots more that don't come to mind immediately.

 

[84GT350Annv]

Did the same thing once except I actually found it. I found it by waiting until nightfall, placed a flashlight flat on the ground and spun it slowly around. Eventually the flashlight beam reflected off of the diamonds and gold...found.

It is amazing that you were able to find it. I was a young teen husband and father in the early 80's so eventually I was able to save up 20 or 30 dollars to get another ring from kmart. No diamonds in those days for sure.

 

[PureLeaf]

Worked on my sister's car doing a timing belt and water pump. Lost my house/car keys at some point, but I had no idea it had been while working on her car. 6 months later she drives back for a visit, I popped the hood on her car just to do a fluid check, and there were my keys sitting on top of the radiator. Couldn't believe they hadn't moved for 6 months of driving.

 

[Tippletrash]

I brought home my light from work (a cordless led wheat light upwards of $200) to use when working on the old ladies Legact GT. When I was done took for a test drive then we went to the store. We'd probably drove 30-40 miles before I realized I didn't have the light. Pulled over and looked luckily had put it up against the hood hinge and it was still there. I was quite relieved.

 

[jmckenzie9713]

A few years ago I had an '05 SRT-4 Neon, I had the radiator go bad, after a 5 hour swap I drove it to work the next day, I heard a boom and the temp spiked badly..left a pair of Channelock needle nose pliers in the bay, they fell into the electric fans and seized them...new radiator, new fans, serp belt. I did find a 6" flat pry bar under the alt in the same car.

 

[ilikedirt]

Most common occurrence i'll leave random tools, items, drinks on top of the service body on my work truck and when I get to my detestation they'll still be there. Top of that bed is like glue. lol

 

[littleponderosa]

9/16" proto combo wrench from a smallblock rebuild. Somehow wedged itself next to the battery tray. Found it after breakdown runs, 1st runs in 4X4, pulled trees with the winch getting firewood, and a full hunting season.

Still have and use that wrench today. Now the truck is another story.

I caught it on fire. Bad Bill.

Bill

 

[Agentwho]

I remember dropping a 1/4" 8mm while working on my mr2. Knew about where it fell just couldn't find it. Years late when I did an engine swap there it was nestled in one of the brackets by the oil filter

Back when I did car audio I had a truck come in for an alarm. The hood wouldn't pop open. With some work managed to unstick it. Turns out the last place to work on it left one of those nice expensive $$$$ scan tools under there wedging it shut. They were so happy to get it back they dropped our shop off a case of beer when picking it up.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

Lost a 1/2" Williams Stubby Combo first week of having it. Wrench took a ride on the back of a Kenworth AC compressor, never to return.

When I was in Diesel school, we fixed a JD tractor that had been sitting there for over a year, with multiple classes going through (and screwing it up). Had it done in under a week (someone left a nut under the clutch finger when putting the front half back on, and the wiring was all torn out by students due to ONE BLOWN FUSE). Backed it out and about a half dozen tools fall out from the previous semesters. I kept a 7/16" MAC Knucklesaver since they had no interest in hunting down previous students that worked on it to find out who some misc sockets and wrenches belonged to.

Most recent was me leaving my 10mm Craftsman combo on the clutch bleeder of my Pathfinder and finding it still there after a week of commuting 100 miles a day.

 

[txvwnut]

Many years ago I was doing a carb set and tune up on a customers rail buggy. The phone rings I answer it then a couple of customers come and go then I'm, okay where was I. Oh yeah ready for a test drive, so out the door of the shop and into the field behind the shop. Come back double check the timing and, never did find my 3/8 Matco stubby ratchet snap on extension and ten mil socket.

Never have found replacement as it seems Matco only made those a few years.

 

[RedneckWelder]

This thread makes me want to shadowbox my toolbox

 

[Xmoonstompx]

Was doing a carb job on a bike and lost my 12mm matco combo wrench, I had just bought the set. Luckily the customer never rides it and it came back in for a gummed up carb and I found the wrench wedged on the throttle cable adjuster.

 

[shoggoth80]

When I worked at Firestone, I left my ratchet, and 10mm deep in someone's trunk because "hurry hurry hurry!." It was a HF composite, and a HF 10mm, but they still cost more than doing the light for the customer made me. But you know, can't slow down! Things are different now, but I still try to get most jobs done quickly as I can.

I have left stuff in other people's bays, despite no one having an "assigned bay." I've had to reclaim some of "my" tools from other people, because they just put it in their boxes. I on the other hand return what I borrow, and bring back what I find. Some of the guys are more honest than others. Most stuff at work is issued, so there is little personal property wrapped up in our boxes.

One of my coworkers brought back my Snappy 9/16" flare/open end... because it took a trip down the road in the engine bay (MC job). I have to put stuff in and around the hood/bay/cowl... magnetic trays don't stick to aluminum and fiberglass skins. I try to get things back in their trays, on their clips, what have you, because I hate having to triple check on tools.

I've sent a couple vise grips, and a pair of diagonal cutters out in trailers, under the frame of trailers etc. That's one of several issues that can come with impatience, or an impatient boss.

 

[kylefitz]

I found a pocket knife I lost a year before on a truck mounted forklift like you see for Lowes/ Home Depot delivery. I was replacing a blown hydraulic hose and found it buried under more hose on a tray underneath.

 

[anndel]

My boss and I were working in an engine compartment and he ALWAYS warned us of leaving tools on the air cleaner (before fuel injection became popular) and closing the hood. He left a ratchet and socket there then slammed the hood leaving an indention.

 

[Smokenarrow]

I lost a Snap On 15mm semi-deep 3/8" socket into "no mans land" of a Wrangler. I looked for it for 10min or so and just chalked it up as a loss. I bought another one off of the truck. About 8months later, same customer, same jeep comes in for brake work. I start the job and see my socket just laying on top of the frame rail on the driver side. It rolled down the rail and was laying against the firewall. It was all rusted to hell. I still have it. Couldn't believe that it just rode around there all that time.

 

[shoggoth80]

Today, when poking under the hood of my car, I heard a clatter. I apparently left my short 3/8 extension under there. Been driving for a couple months now after doing the last job on my car... Lol.