On Wednesday I posted about the lost then found license plate screw.
♪♫♪ Should it stay or should it go? ♪♫♪
I had some time today and decided to futz around and see about getting it out.
eewtoob had some good info of why I chose to not go deep into the project.
Basically, the TJ tank is strapped to the skid plate and the whole assembly is
raised into postition. Fuck, that.
Here is a still from one of the videos.
You have to depressurize the fuel system. Disconnect hoses and the fill tube. Wiring etc.
At any point, as Murphy's Law notes, I know something would go wrong.
I grabbed the little endoscope wifi camera and after a few tries I got this view:
The screw had made it's way into one of the formed stiffening channels.
There is plenty of room to let it spend the rest of it's life there but I figured
I would make a little more of an effort to get it out.
I aimed a flash light through the drain hole and could see that the screw was aft of the hole.
After some manipulation with the flexible magnet doo-hickey I got the screw to the hole
and hanging down.
I was able to easily fish a piece of 22 gauge stranded copper wire through the hole
and up and out of the skid plate.
The plate is wet from the PB Blaster that I had prepped all the hardware
with ahead of time.
I just took a rag and wiped it all around.
Someone noted how rust free this TJ is.
It lived it's life in Florida and it is completely void of any rot other than surface rust.
 |
| Here you can see the screw and wire in the drain hole. |
I flared the stranded wires and wrapped them around the threads of the screw.
A small strip of gorilla tape finished the job.
Slow easy pull and it was extracted.
I'm gonna put it under my pillow and see if the missing hardware fairy will visit
in the middle of the night.
 |
| I win. |
Congratulations. But I would have said, Fuck It, and went to the hardware store and bought a couple more. If you buy just one, sure as hell you will lose that one also.
ReplyDeletePersistance, you have it.
ReplyDeletewell done ! it does make you wonder who in the hell draws up shit like this though. it almost like they enjoy making shit hard.
ReplyDeleteModern vehicles are made for ease of assembly, not ease of REPAIR.
DeleteNever doubted it for a second.
ReplyDeleteWay to push through to a successful conclusion, without any extraneous part removals. Well done!
Leigh
Whitehall, NY
DAMN ! I would not want you mad at me.
ReplyDelete😂😂
Well Done Sir. Most folks would call it done, and when act all surprised when things go South... Badly. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteGood job.
ReplyDeleteAt least the flexible magnet doohickey helped out.
Pretty handy little thing for such situations.
I gotta give you big props for the copper wire trick though.
Very clever Mr. Irish.
Amazing…….. That you are!
ReplyDelete"I'm gonna put it under my pillow and see if the missing hardware fairy will visit
ReplyDeletein the middle of the night."
I've found that only works with 10mm sockets.
Just when ya think ya got it handled,, and a nut or bolt takes a trip,, good goin,
ReplyDeleteGood on ya mate
ReplyDeleteNice
ReplyDeleteThat drain hole was put there specifically so that people could recover their dropped screws. Nice retrieval!
DeleteNicely done. Good on you!
ReplyDeleteIf you are anything like me, and I think you are, the satisfaction of retrieving that screw beats the satisfaction most days/weeks/months at the salt mines. Something engineered and performed by and for yourself is fulfilling. I need more of that in my life.
ReplyDeleteI believe you did say it was your boss' Jeep.I hope he appreciates the time and effort.
ReplyDeleteThe boss is she who rules the house :-)
DeleteAh! That boss!
ReplyDeleteI first saw that when I guy installed a trailer hitch on the company van. He had a long wire with a curly tail. He drilled the holes in the frame, then wrapped that wire around the bolt and fished it to the hole. Coolest trick I'd ever seen. I keep some piano wire in the garotte stash for just that reason. But noodling it to a hole and then getting it out with one, is definitely an advanced technique!!
ReplyDeleteOne of the trailer hitch makers includes those in with their kit, for easy bolt installation. I was initially perplexed about their use when I first saw them, then was surprise at what a clever idea it was. I've done the same thing installing a bolt into the right trailing arm of the wife's Edge. The welded nut twisted off, so the remnants got torched off. I then used the bolt on a wire trick to fish it through a larger hole in the frame.
DeleteLeigh
Whitehall, NY
No one? Well me then, Irish can I have the Fairy when your done?
ReplyDeleteThe wire was an excellent DIY good onya again and you forgot the video with the "I win again ha ha" statement. You could just copy Leigh's and post it, ha ha.
Doo - Hickey _____ I Knew You Had It When You Broke Out The Doo-Hickey !!!
ReplyDeletePretty damn hard win, in my opinion. But I have to admit, tearing apart, and rebuilding the carbs on a CB 200 that had been sitting in a garage for 30+ years, Three times! Before they functioned, was worth it! Rode it to work for two years, before I just couldn't resist a KLR 650.
ReplyDeleteIf the fairy shows up can ya send her my way to help me find the 2 #4-40 lockwashers I dropped in the snow yesterday?
ReplyDeleteGive it time...
Delete;P
Damned impressive!
ReplyDeleteOhio Guy
You do know, don't you, that Murphy is going to be madder than hell the next time he shows up in your garage?
ReplyDeleteWow. You aint got much going on to be writing about this, lmao
ReplyDeleteNice! I love it when somebody beats the gremlins. I have had a case of them for a while now. Some recent victorys but I'm still way behind. But I keep on fighting...
ReplyDeleteA quick PB BLASTER story! I owned a 22 foot Aquasport fishing boat and as anyone that has a boat knows about PB BLASTER. Well I had a can out on the carport and winter was approaching soon so I brought it inside and put it under the sink with other chemicals. I had recently hired 2 ladies to clean the house while I was recovering from rhabdo myalosis or something like that and while I was in the hospital I had a few spoons that were in the sink that had some light rust on them so I showed these girls how to take a stainless steel pad and a little water and it comes right off. I did a few to show them! I went to bed to lie down and I woke up to a horrible smell so I went to the kitchen and asked what that smell was and they said they has found something under the sink that was good for rust so I had them show me what they used and it was that can of PB BLASTER! I said did you not read the instructions on the can? Of course they didn't and one of the first things on the label was do not use inside...and all of the other scary stuff and they had sprayed it all over the silverware, the sink, and even a squeaky door hinge! It took me months to get that smell out of the house! Of course this was the same pair that covered up my heat and air duct with dog toys and blew one of the hoses off so I air conditioned the crawlspace for months! Then they said my cabinets needed cleaning which I had just spent $2000. Repainting and they cleaned the paint off of the them! They overloaded my dryer 3 times causing it to overheat and cut off...then they pushed the dryer back to the wall and pinched the vent hose off! They ran my vacuume cleaner without emptying the dust holder and overheated it 2 times! Needless to say they don't work for me anymore!
ReplyDelete