Naughty screw waiting for potential disaster

If your asking advice, I would say you may have the potential for timing belt damage here, although given that the timing belts are covered by metal housings, seems unlikely if the bolt was lodged in the timing belt area, that it would escape to the rear deck.

Perhaps it was launched by a vee belt, such as the one on the ac compressor, the vee belts are just out in the open and if a part was lodged between the vee belt and some bracket, it could eventually get caught on the belt and launched.

I do think you are on the right track though about having a "come to jesus" meeting with your mechanic. The fact that the errant bolt appears to be a perfect replacement for the odd bolt out in the hood hinge screams of "FOD" ....foreign object debris (or in the past tense "foreign object damage").

I would not drive that car any more until it was thoroughly checked out to be sure the timing belts and vee belts are not damaged.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune.


Andy

L.A.

 

I would further state that I have found it is hard to get "technicians" or mechanics to admit (they have pride too) that they dropped a bolt somewhere, especially if the consequences are dire, ie a "lunched engine", and therefore, if you are contemplating a "come to Jesus" meeting with your mechanic, you might want to approach that very diplomatically, and be careful how you couch your questions, such that you don't put him on the spot right away.

When I work on my Ferrari, I keep a running written log of all nuts, bolts, and washers that I drop in the course of working on the car, that way I can go back and make the best possible effort to find and recover them when I finish whatever I am working on. Right now I have 3 nuts (1 @ 6mm and 2 @ 8mm), and (2 ea. 6mm) 2 washers that are AWOL; I will be sure to find them before I get back on the road.

(if beer had never been invented, I doubt that I would ever drop a nut or washer)

 

It's probably the mechanic put all the bolts on that rear shelf when he pulled the bonnet for service. When it came time to reconnect the hinge, he simply missed that bolt, grabbed another, and it's been sitting there ever since.

Squeaking belts? Have him re-check the tension.

 

"When I work on my Ferrari, I keep a running written log of all nuts, bolts, and washers that I drop in the course of working on the car, that way I can go back and make the best possible effort to find and recover them when I finish whatever I am working on. Right now I have 3 nuts (1 @ 6mm and 2 @ 8mm), and (2 ea. 6mm) 2 washers that are AWOL; I will be sure to find them before I get back on the road."

Good idea. I usually go after them right away, but a "log" would be good for the ones I don't find. Then, if I find them on the garage floor or driveway, I can take them off the list. I'm STILL looking for a magnetic retrieval tool thats stuck to something....somewhere.

 

Damn. Thought the thread was about a trashy novel...

 

I believe the later (?) cars had a plate that effectively sealed off the belts from this sort of thing and that Verell, of Unobtanium Supply fame was/is considering making those two plates/covers. If something dropped down there it might be almost impossibloe to find short of removing the covers.

I saw a photo of a belt that had a hole punched in it from something just like this - lucky guy found it before it broke.

Anyone know if the plates from later cars can be retrofitted to a 77??

curious,
chris

 

Ace, I can't tell you definitively, however, that particular type of bolt is typically used for body fastenings, not mechanical. Why? I believe the backside of the integrated washer head has a scored surface to help lock the bolt in place - you wouldn't use that on most mechanical bolts because it would eventually destroy the surface of corresponding face, particularly where used in aluminum. Instead, a different locking mechanism is used (lock washer with a flat washer, locktite, etc.). Net, you're likely looking at the missing/odd hinge bolt and not some critical/missing mechanical fastener....

 

Yes, where later = QVs,

except that sometime near the end of the QV run in '85, Ferrari dropped the fibreglass rear plates and came up with some funky metal hardware that DID NOT stop a NH toll token from taking out a newly installed cam belt with disastrous results.

Yup, I've got making perforated metal rear plates on my list, hopefully this winter. I need my CNC mill running to cut them out & that saga is moving all too slowly(sigh).

 

That bolt is only used to hold the engine cover on.


Sometimes it costs us a fair amount of time but I have a rule in the shop that ANYTHING that is dropped and goes missing under the hood of one of the belt drive cars will be found before proceding. I know people make mistakes and drop things, I do it myself so I don't get on people when it happens because I don't want them covering it up but it just has to be found. I have been in too many shops where something was dropped and got into the belts. Trust me, it is cheaper to spend the time finding it.

 

You can't "Make" people have pride in their work.

They either do, or they don't.

 

This reminded of my father-in-law, the last time we visited him, he told me he had something for me, it was a nice 24" 3/8 extension. Well, his mechanic left the extension in the engine after the tune-up. And also years ago, a surgeon also left a big clip in my father-in-law's body after a major operation....Ouch!

 

YEAH, still not usable.

I just got another pair of the controller cards. Initial results before I left were encouraging. Will pick up testing when I get back on the14th.

Just spotted the servo amplifiers I need to fix the Y axis on eBAY. I can't snipe them as I'll be midway between Canon city,CO aend Amarillo,TX when the auction runs out. Guess I'll have to give it my best shot before I start driving.

 

I found a saltus wrench on my car once when it returned from the only time a mechanic worked on it. To ad insult to injury it was an SAE wrench. I also look for anything I have dropped although I once lost a small washer under the radiator and one fell down and landed in the SS cover on the bottom of the parking brake. I ended up finding that one.

I am not kidding i was working late one night and a june bug did a few circles and went into my oil fill plug. I had to take off the valve covers anyway but it was still weird. I dont work at night anymore!!! That said i would trust Brian to work on my car!!! I dont envy Ferrari techs we are a very picky group of owners!

 

I bought a 1973 Norton basket case years ago, and could not for the life of me get the rear tire off the rear wheel of that bike (tried for days) ....I took a hacksaw and cut off the 30 year old Avon (no great loss) and found a pair of 8" channel-lock pliers inside that tire, between the tube and the rim.

I was told the previous owner of the bike was a "biker" (read "doper")

That's was the strangest one I have ever found.

 

aren't all naughty screws potential disaster ?

 

You can get really screwed with a naughty screw

 

OK, so not exactly a lost "tool" or "bolt"....

A friend of mine once bought an old mercedes sedan at an auction - the car had a terrible smell to it that was really strong under the hood. Upon examination it became clear that the prior owner liked to "cook" various parts (or all of!) his evening meal on the exhaust manifold on his way home. Trouble was, any time something fell down it just landed on the plastic tray which goes under the engine of most mercedes. The pile of rotting food down there was pretty amazing....and amazingly stinky. It would take my appetite away, but I guess not for some.....