Some PH advice... Been a bit of a tit...
Discussion
So, long story short, I tried changing my car battery and managed to drop part of the supporting bracket, which has fallen 'somewhere underneath the battery'.
Below the battery is the radiator, then an under tray. It hasn't fallen out of the bottom so it's either trapped on the under tray, somewhere here between the radiator and fan, or slid somewhere else entirely.
Any advice on how to get it out?
The radiator fan spins freely when I turn it by hand, and I can't see if anywhere...
Local garage advised it would be fine to drive down and they'll take the under trays off and look, but I'm worried if it manages to work itself into the fan, or worse back toward engine...
Below the battery is the radiator, then an under tray. It hasn't fallen out of the bottom so it's either trapped on the under tray, somewhere here between the radiator and fan, or slid somewhere else entirely.
Any advice on how to get it out?
The radiator fan spins freely when I turn it by hand, and I can't see if anywhere...
Local garage advised it would be fine to drive down and they'll take the under trays off and look, but I'm worried if it manages to work itself into the fan, or worse back toward engine...
Car up on ramps/axle stands and remove the undertray yourself, or maybe get a magnetic pickup tool and have a fish around with that.
It's very unlikely to do any serious damage if it does manage to work its way back toward the engine though - all the important rotating bits on an engine are on the inside.
It's very unlikely to do any serious damage if it does manage to work its way back toward the engine though - all the important rotating bits on an engine are on the inside.
Why not buy some car ramps and then take the undertray off yourself? Its very unlikely to move to a position where it'll damage anything, the biggest risk is that it falls off on the way to the garage and you loose it forever, and not least look more of a tit in front of the mechanic who takes the undertray off to find no missing bit...
The cars stuck on my drive right now, which is flat but really narrow. I doubt I'd be able to jack it up on the drive. I have before, but just one side at a time by parking really close to one side and then having to turn around and do the other side... Not much use in this case.
I've been pissing about for an hour or so trying to remove the battery holder to get a better look but it's a massive pain in the arse...
Alternative is chuck the new battery in, and drive the 2 miles or so to the garage with the battery unsecured and a loose bolt somewhere...
I've been pissing about for an hour or so trying to remove the battery holder to get a better look but it's a massive pain in the arse...
Alternative is chuck the new battery in, and drive the 2 miles or so to the garage with the battery unsecured and a loose bolt somewhere...
MysteryLemon said:
Dismantle stuff until you find it.
Not sure that this is the best advice for someone who is an obvious mechanical novice.Some stuff needs new gaskets/seals, bleeding, or correctly adjusting on re-assembly if you take it to bits, so if you don't know what you're doing you could easily end up disabling the car.
If you really can't find it secure the battery in with cable ties (lots of them) and drive carefully to the garage.
Before doing that try laying on the floor and reaching under the car so you can punch the under tray a bit in different places. If you hear something fall back on to the undertray after you've hit it chances are it's your missing bracket, and you might be able to knock it close to an edge so it falls out or somewhere you can see it from the top.
Before doing that try laying on the floor and reaching under the car so you can punch the under tray a bit in different places. If you hear something fall back on to the undertray after you've hit it chances are it's your missing bracket, and you might be able to knock it close to an edge so it falls out or somewhere you can see it from the top.
Yeah probably should have mentioned, novice mechanic would be an understatement.
So far today I've walked a 4 mile round trip to find I'd bought the wrong battery (turns out car batteries are quite heavy, by the way). Managed to drop the bolt, then sliced my finger open trying to remove the battery holder. (Only noticed that last one when I noticed the 'paint' looked wet.
A trip to the garage would probably be best.
So far today I've walked a 4 mile round trip to find I'd bought the wrong battery (turns out car batteries are quite heavy, by the way). Managed to drop the bolt, then sliced my finger open trying to remove the battery holder. (Only noticed that last one when I noticed the 'paint' looked wet.
A trip to the garage would probably be best.
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