Sparco Strut Bar. Need to know how fucked I am.

[mars3554]

So i got my brand new sparco strut tower bar from turner motorsport and decided to install it today. After I removed the bolts I noticed there where quite a bit of fitment probelms. Not a big deal, just bring out the dremel tool and make the holes a little bigger. I got all 5 bolts on and Im working on the last bolt and I pushed a little too hard. Somehow the bolt fell into the strut tower (see pic). shit. I don't have anthing small enough to get in there and I don't feel that driving around with only two nuts in is safe. Any ideas on how to get this little bastard out? :mad

http://athena.edenpr.org/~jzeng/DSC01278.JPG

[Dr Anonym0us]

magnet on a string

[Doug001]

You can find a magnet tool just about anywhere - it's a simple retractable 'antenna' with a small magnet attached to the end. Very handy tool to have. A magnet on a string would want to stick to the tower, too, so you'd have to push it in there with a pencil or something...

[Dr Anonym0us]

You can find a magnet tool just about anywhere - it's a simple retractable 'antenna' with a small magnet attached to the end. Very handy tool to have. A magnet on a string would want to stick to the tower, too, so you'd have to push it in there with a pencil or something...
True, but I was thinking of him not having to drive and get a tool.
So yea, don’t use a string, use a skewer.

[mars3554]

Ok. thanks a lot guys. Is it possible to drive the with only 5 nuts in? If not i'll have to call in some favours.

[Doug001]

Ok. thanks a lot guys. Is it possible to drive the with only 5 nuts in? If not i'll have to call in some favours.
Possible? Sure. A good idea? No way in hell. But that's just me... :D

[KyleAwesome]

small magnet (neodymium is best) + duct tape + stick = you're golden.

[sixspd]

man just replace the strut tops.

[cooljess76]

I have a really powerfull magnet that I use regularly when wrenching on my car. Especially in tight places where I think I might drop something. I think I got it from an electric can opener. Anyway, I stick it to my screw drivers, just under the handle and its powerful enough to hold a screw pretty darn tight until the threads start. I also use it with my sockets, I either put it on the extension, or the ratchet itself. It comes in so handy, it even helps me grab other tools from the box when I'm under the car.

[325iklu]

magnetized screw driver FTW!

BTW no bad words in thread titles.

[cooljess76]

magnetized screw driver FTW!
:lol No dude, you don't understand how strong this magnet is! I could practically lift my hood with it! I used the magnetic screwdrivers before, they still dropped things and they have nothing on my magnet. Plus, you could use it with sockets. BTW, it's pretty small, about the size of a dime. Electric can opener magnet FTW!!!

[325iklu]

LOL, wad of bubble gum on a stick FTW :buttrock

[cooljess76]

LOL, wad of bubble gum on a stick FTW
Lol, stickiness equivellent of the back of a post-it note + likely to drop whatever it is you're fastening or removing. Ants in toolbox & sticky tools, FTL:nono Ability to pick up non magnetic objects +1

[wulfgang]

Yeah, you're definitely screwed. I'd go ahead and sell the car.

[cooljess76]

dibs on the strut bar, lol.

[325iklu]

Cant see shit in this pic. Take another one.

Got second on the bar.

[94is]

You're not going to die driving the car to get a magnet tool at sears or something.

[SPElectronics]

I don't feel that driving around with only two nuts in is safe. Any ideas on how to get this little bastard out? :mad

I drive around with only two nuts everyday....

and for part two of your question - have you tried lowering your zipper?

Ok, ok, enough of my crude humor. I apologize.

Seriously though, as other mentioned, go get a magnetic pickup tool, or a spring loaded pickup tool (spring loaded pickup has a bunch of little fingers that open up when you push a button, and then clamp down on an item when you release, so you can grab the item to remove it. No magnet needed for that one). The advantage of the spring loaded tool is no magnet to pick up little metal shards, etc. in your tool box, or wherever you store it, and no worrying about it grabbing onto every piece of metal around where you are trying to work.

If you don't have a parts store really nearby, don't drive to get it, but if one is close, drive slowly to the store to get it, and take your tools with you so you can pull the bolt and fasten it in place AT the store before driving back home.

[sixspd]

Those nuts are not meant to come off. You really should replace the strut tops. If the bolt worked it way out, I can just imagine what kind of condition they are in. The bearings are probably shot. Get new one's or replace them with camber plates.

[mars3554]

Those nuts are not meant to come off. You really should replace the strut tops. If the bolt worked it way out, I can just imagine what kind of condition they are in. The bearings are probably shot. Get new one's or replace them with camber plates.

Actually this was what i was thinking because the fitment on the left strut tower was REALLY off. the bolts should be close to parralel to each other but on my car they are obtuse. Also thanks for the humour guys, it really made shitty day a little better. Im going to take the car to the mechanic as I do not have time this week to deal with this. (should've thought of this beforehand :mad )

[exodus454]

I'd just unbolt the strut mount and either remove or compress the strut somehow.. nut will pop right out.

[cooljess76]

are we talking about the nut or the stud?

[sixspd]

Those nuts are not meant to come off. You really should replace the strut tops. If the bolt worked it way out, I can just imagine what kind of condition they are in. The bearings are probably shot. Get new one's or replace them with camber plates.

Sorry i meant to say studs not nuts. Wow that sounds kinda weird, you know what I meant.

[mars3554]

Ok don't mean to revive a dead thread but I took the wheel off and the nuts off, the whole "housing" under the strut falls if you just wiggle it from the bottom. Bad news: No more bolt thanks to driving around. Good news: Got a replacement and installed x-brace while at it.

thanks for the support guys.

[bmw318is1994]

hhhmmm can someone inform me of what FTW stands for?

[Dr Anonym0us]

hhhmmm can someone inform me of what FTW stands for?


FTW
for the win
f*ck the world
ftw- F*ck the world originated In biker gangs
· F*CK THE WORLD, a tattoo seen on bikers, prison inmates, and punks In common use since the early 1970s.
· Also popular among bikers, meaning "Forever Two Wheels"


but in online usage it mainly means For the Win.
"When you see FTW, don't ever get a biker confused with a gamer or else you might be like "stfu n00b" and then get your face smashed in."

FTW, used as an acronym for the sentence fragment For The Win
Possibly a reference to the television game show Hollywood squares, in which players declare their (usually obvious) intention to win the game

It is also WTF backwards




Glad you got your problem worked out.

[mars3554]

Lol Awsome explaination. Better than RTFM. Yup I got the bar on, very similar to the way pbonsalb described. I was using my friends shop so they lifted the car for me to work on. after that everything was a piece of cake.

Im leaving my 323 alone for a while, I got my hands on a nonvanos m50 motor to tool around with. ^_^