NotABaller

How should I go about removing this??

JimGnitecki

Mechanics often use a telescoping rod with a magnet at the end - assuming the bolt is steel.

The tool is available at most auto parts stores.

Jim G

NotABaller

Good news! It's sitting right on top of a metal thing on the underbody panel. I can access all the bolts to the panel without raising the car. Gonna try and remove my panel to remove the bolt now. Lesson learned..... don't leave loose **** around an open engine bay

JimGnitecki

Be sure to not under-torque or over-torque when remounting the panel you are removing to get to the bolt. Do you know the correct torque?

Jim G

NotABaller

I'll be honest, I have no idea about the torque specs. I usually just go by "tight enough" where I can't really further wrench it without putting in excessive force.

JimGnitecki

Under-torquing can result in the bolt coming back out, due to vibration, etc. Over-torquing can strip the threads on the bolt, or worse strip the hole in sheetmetal so that any bolt, even a brand new one, won't hold. In the really bad situations, the bolt itself breaks and you have part of it left in the hole.

If you are going to do work on your vehicle yourself, you really should get a good quality torque wrench. It's a one-time investment.

Jim G

Alex.currie44

I have the magnetic rod with a small mirror on the opposite end that is rigid, a flexible magnet and and a three prong grapple on a flex that opens by pushing the cable out from one end. It is spring loaded and snaps back after grabbing the piece.

If he is talking about the under tray I have never seen them torqued on any of the 11 MB cars I have owned. Just don't break them. Tight is good.

NotABaller

Was able to hook it out with a coat hanger!!!

JimGnitecki

Be sure to label that coat hanger as a "C63 Precision Tool".

Jim G

sventastic82

Did taking the picture and posting a thread take more time than actually removing the bolt?
If you really question how to recover a dropped bold you shouldn't remove them in the first place. let a mechanic do it.


For future, just turn the car upside down to get the bolt out.

NotABaller

Removing the bolt took like 2hours....

BLKROKT

Or you could have just ignored it and gotten a new bolt like everyone else does, and used those 2hrs that you'll never get back for something more constructive. They eventually rattle out of the underbody panels, or come out the next time you have them off. Did you think it was going to hurt something down there.

Alex.currie44

Yo! Dude! Chill. I have had some PM time with this newbie and he is tad excited about his new toy. Cut him some slack while he settles in.

Jasonoff

Yeah, your rear tire will pick it up for you...

BLKROKT

Ah, so that's where that came from. Doh.

zcct04

You might want to rethink that. Leaving something lying around loose that could go through the windshield of the poor SOB behind you is totally irresponsible.

NotABaller

There was no way I'm leaving this bomb in my baby!!!

BLKROKT

Oh well that's different. I usually fish things out, but there have been times that it's just not worth it. I'm not advocating it or have like a hundred bolts down there or anything.

realjones88

For next time pick up a telescoping lighted magnetic pickup tool from Amazon for less than $10. Works great - I used one when my keys got so far under the front seat (somehow) and I couldn't get them out with a long screwdriver.

JimGnitecki

That could really do a job on a serpentine belt and a pulley if it got bounced up by a road bump.

Jim G

Alex.currie44

So when you get through fooling around with bolt issue how about some clean up detailing before you put cover back. Pretty nasty.

NotABaller

Nasty? More like tasty

If I clean my engine bay it better last longer than this matte paint job. It gets so dirty so quickly. It is a lot of work to hand wash it every week in my Condo garage. I live with a bunch of rich asian kids and I get the weirdest looks when I take two buckets downstairs. They must think I'm fabbing meth.

JimGnitecki

Your condo building does not have a car wash spot within it? Ours has a designated large area with good lighting, water spigot, hose, adjustable spray nozzle, and floor drains. Because the underground garage stays within a roughly 50 to 70 degree temperature range not matter how cold or hot outdoors, it is also usable year-round. And, you never have to worry about water spotting because The Sun doesn't get in. Because there are only 30 units in our building, there's never a wait either. It's the best at-home car wash facility I have ever had.

Heck, I'm on our condo council, so when the last adjustable spray nozzle failed, I made sure I was the one who shopped for its replacement, and got a really nice one with great pressure and pattern control.

You need to talk to your condo board! A garage car wash is not costly to provide, and it saves the owners a LOT of money, especially when you live in a wet, snowy climate like you do.

I'm surprised though that the condo council lets you do work on your car in the garage. In virtually every British Columbia condo association, that is forbidden, as the owners typically do not want the "red neck ghetto look" that often results from allowing it (cars on blocks, cars that don't run, project cars that gather dust, oil and coolant spills, etc.). In our building, a number of owners complained when one car owner let a brake fluid leak persist for weeks (just kept refilling the brake fluid reservoir!), and the hydraulic fluid etched a spill trial in the concrete coating.

Jim G

NotABaller

Honestly a condo car wash is a foreign concept to me but it makes a lot of friggen sense. We have a basketball court, badminton court, mini kids playground, and even a dog wash but I haven't seen a car wash. I'll have to ask around.

I'm pretty sure "work" is forbidden on cars in the condo garage but this hasn't been an issue since I typically have low regard for rules and nobody has complained yet. If someone is ******* enough to report me for cleaning my car then I would have choice words for that person LOL

Alex.currie44

Always remember it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.
I have used a pressure washer to clean down my engines. Just don't be getting real close and don't blow water into the airbox inlets. Car starts fine. A quick wipe and you are done. A do it yourselve coin carwash is ok. I do not use any detergents.