Screwed

So I decided to put an old bumper back on my Jeep. All went smoothly and I had the current bumper removed and replaced with the other in no time at all. Time to install the screws that hold my trailer wire harness.

I reach up and saw that the wiring harness was still pushed to the side. So I reached over to grab the harness with the same hand that I’m using to hold the socket wrench. I pulled the harness into place and moved the socket towards the mount hole and realized my screw was missing.

Off the dolly I come looking for the screw. Ten minutes later I’ve got a flashlight looking around the tires, in crevasses between antifreeze, vehicle ramps, buckets… nothing.

It was at that point I realized that the screw was lodged in the frame or worse fell in between the gas tank and skid plate. Back on the dolly I’m looking around in the frame… nothing. I then grab a telescopic mirror and the flashlight and angle the mirror so I can see into this most difficult place to reach and there it is – lodged between the skid plate and the gas tank, with the pointy end facing the gas tank.

No room for my fingers to fit in there , so I grab a magnet in hopes I can lift it out. No luck. I grab a pair of needle noose pliers – but they won’t fit. I try a bent zip tie to see if I can lift it out. No deal. I try a wire, no luck at all.

An hour later and at this point I’m thinking I’ll have to drop the skid plate to get it out and prevent damaging my gas tank.

I decided to see if I had some long tweezers in the house somewhere and while looking I came across some glue sticks. Hum! This may do the trick.

So I take a glue stick to the garage and heat up the tip and fished it down the crevice and push it against the screw – waiting a minute for it to cool off and harden. I start putting, hear it comes… and the flash light falls off the tire, hits my hand and now the screw and glue stick are both deeper inside the crevice. Grrrrrrrrr!!!!!

I then grabbed two glue sticks, taped the flashlight to my tire and frame, taped the mirror to the frame so I’d have two free hands to work with. I melted the two glue sticks together, then attached a rope to a glue stick just in case it too fell inside.

I melted the tip of the glue stick and quickly fished it down the crevice and pressed it against the screw – holding it in place for a minute, then I stepped away for five minutes to ensure it has hardened.

Moment of truth, I begin pulling and everything came out so easily.

I finished attaching the wire harness and call it the day.

What a headache that was!

But I’ll definitely keep some glue sticks handy.