Yeah I have the round one and the rectangular one. The magnet itself won't scratch paint, but when it picks up metal shaving it sure as hell will.

 

I've dropped and left many tools in mine never seems to hurt and the bonus is next time I work on it I find a tool. Besides most cases if you cant get it out it probably wont fall out and if it does fall out there not much it can hurt. I would never cut out a welded part in any of my hondas to get one small wrench the wrench is cheaper and quicker to replace.

 

Greetings all!

I know this is an old thread but it is so relevant to my situation that I thought it'd be useful to continue it rather than start a new one.

Yesterday I decided to take a look at the air intake filter of my 2009 Accord EX-L V6 because it has almost 30,000 miles on it.

My approach was to loosen each screw holding the cover of the filter in place first before totally unscrewing any of the 4 screws. This way I could identify any screws that seemed stuck before proceeding further (I leave tougher jobs to my local Honda dealer)

I was using a Klein screwdriver set, which includes a handle into which you can fit a shaft which further holds different bits of screw or nut drivers - the bits fit into both ends of the shaft, and the shaft fits into the handle, each using a ball bearing detent to keep things together.

If anyone is interested, this is the tool that I was using: https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-3...ct_top?ie=UTF8

Unfortunately, as I was loosening one of the phillips screws securing the air intake filter cover, my screwdriver shaft separated from the handle and fell into the engine bay.

I heard two successive clanging sounds as the thing fell, but after long searches with powerful flashlights I just could not locate the screwdriver shaft in the engine bay. Yes I also checked the floor but unfortunately the shaft managed to avoid the openings in the underside of the engine.

The shaft is about 4 inches in length with Phillips screwdriver bits mounted on both ends. It fell as I was loosening the screw that was closest to the windshield.

Judging from the potential trajectory of the shaft, it should have slid through various engine parts and landed on the metal underside of the engine compartment, but was probably blocked from view as I looked down from the top of the engine. However, not being able to see the shaft, I am not sure exactly where it is.

So I took the car to my trusted dealer earlier today to have them take a look (they also changed the air intake filter in the process). The mechanic said that he looked hard, and even raised the car to look at the engine from below, and could not find it. He surmised that the tool might have fallen out from the engine bay on my way to his shop.

I had also asked him to check all the parts of the engine that might be vulnerable to having a piece fall in, and he said he did, but I realize that my request was kind of vague. Also, who knows whether the shaft itself might shift (if it's still in the engine bay) or the bits that are attached to its two ends (secured by ball detent) might also separate and move around while I drive this car.

I know people have already shared some good advice in this thread, but am not sure that the following question, which is central in my mind, has been specifically addressed:

• Are moving parts within the engine (other than the fan and timing belts) fairly self enclosed and protected? I checked the belts and could not see the screwdriver shaft lodged in any of those (the shaft dropped on the driver side of the engine anyway, whereas the belts are on the passenger side). For example, are the crankshaft assembly and transmission self-enclosed to prevent debris and stray parts from falling in?

So, since this mishap, I've driven the car for about 6-7 miles without incident, and the dealer's service department could not find the missing tool. However, unless I can locate this tool, I remain a bit concerned.


For what it's worth, the lesson learned for me is to never bring a multi-part tool like the one I used even near a car engine.



Any suggestions or perspective on the above would be welcome.


Thanks.

 

Everything like that is enclosed. After all, the car can drive through puddles of water, etc.

You might have to worry about the moving suspension arms & links, but those are pretty much visible for your mechanic. I'm inclined to believe it worked its way to the pavement when you drove over.

When that happens, the first thing I do is hit the flimsy splash-shrouds with my fist & listen for the tool rattling. (yes, I've dropped tools in there too)

 

Thanks, Jim. Good point about the suspension and linkage. I'll double check with the mechanic to see whether he actually took a look at those.

Love it when someone knowledgeable can give some perspective.

 

Yes, I think we all have lost "something" in the engine bay before

Like Jim, I found many of them on that "splash shield".....look, look again, then start tapping on that thing listening for something to "rattle"/move around.

My most recent loss, not even two weeks after getting the 2016 Pilot I just had to pull the engine cover and look under it - I'm just that kind of person. Well there are four rubber grommets on the cover that hold it to the "pegs" on the intake.

Somewhere in the abyss of the engine bay goes one of those grommets . Oh well, went and bought two new ones from the dealer...one to replace the lost one, the other for a spare when another one decides to go MIA.

 

Thanks poorman.

Yes I've already tried tapping on the inner fender cover, as did another auto mechanic (friend of mine) to whom I took the car for an additional inspection in my quest to find the missing tool. Unfortunately no dice.

My buddy did look at all the parts of the engine compartment which he thought might be at risk, and even deployed a magnetic pick-up device to fish for the tool. Even though we did not find the tool, his view was that it has either fallen out of the car or is lodged in a fairly innocuous spot.

I've driven the car well over 100 miles since I lost the tool and so far so good. I will keep my fingers crossed and hope that I will be as fortunate as the guy who wrote in another forum that his tool vanished in his engine but one day 6 months later just fell out of his car when he pulled into the garage.

 

For the record....the outside hex on those bolts should be 8mm. I use a 1/4 drive set up when changing/checking the air filters on mine. So a 1/4 inch ratchet, a 10 inch extension, and a six point 8mm socket....no worries.

If you are going to "dab" with simple DIY items on the car I would get a metric 1/4 drive set of tools - main socket sizes you will use are 6, 8 and 10 mm. Pretty sure you will have to buy the longer 1/4 extension as an add on but still shouldn't run more than ~$25 in total for the set and the extension

For the most part these cars can be torn apart with a 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 17 and 19 mm socket set. For the 14 and up you will have to go with the 3/8 drive.

Either way, good luck and don't let this little "lost tool" thing set you back from doing some of your own work down the road.

 

Thanks poorman that's good advice.

I will probably soldier on as far as reasonably easy DIY car maintenance, but my next car purchase might have to be an all electric. Mechanically I imagine it's going to be a lot simpler than an ICE (most of the complexity will probably lie in the software, for which most if not all of us will probably need to surrender to the dealer or car maker). But that's a topic for another thread perhaps.