WHY ARE MY TOOLS ALWAYS MISSING?

[Killer50stang]

This ever happen to anyone? Seems like everytime I'm working on cars, there's a tool missing. Like today, I flush a tranny, changed the filter and needed to remove the gasket from the pan. What do you know? My gasket razor blade tool is now missing, along with my F-ing pliers. My favorite is when this is my fault too. I sent down the rachet, and boom 1 minute later, the tool monster took it and now I'm looking for it for an hour.


Jason

 

[Aaron]

I run into this problem all the time. I suck at organization. Period.
Today I was working on various suspension items and kept losing sockets, then wrenches, then my pry bar...it was just rediculous

 

[ryan218]

ive walked around the garage for 20 mins looking for my spark plug socket...had it in my hand the whole time.

i dropped a 10 MM open end wrench into the bay of the mustang...2 months later..after it got wrecked..i found it lol. laying about 10 feet in front of the bumper.

 

[LiquidGT]

I have that problem all the time and I'm a pretty organized guy, if I'm doing a small project like a t-stat or plugs, I'll keep the parts on the factory too tray (top of the radiator), but even then I'll still loose stuff. The tool monster loves to come by when I'm tearing apart an interior.

I just love when sockets fall in the holes in the front frame rails, if you havent done so already invest in a magnet.

 

[lang williams]

I haven't found my racheting half inch wrench an its been a few days! But, after I bought the car I found a 7/16's ratchening wrench in the cross member!

 

[dcurtis]

I still havn't found my 1/2 inch deep well?

 

[Shakerhood]

I am really into keeping things organized so I have my entire tool chest shadowed and I am able to inventory it prior to and after anything so that nothing comes up missing.

 

[2BADSTANGS]

I agree, for me it's usually the project-halting tool that I have to have to finish. I always "just remember seeing it." And find them just after I manage to complete the project without it, or after I go buy another one. If I ever meet the tool monster I'm going to give him a swift kick in the poop deck, if ya' know what I mean!!!

 

[HISSIN50]

I once dropped a really old screwdriver that I used for adjusting the carb on a particular car. It was my Great Grandpa's driver. I looked all over for it and never found it. Almost a decade later I had to pull the K after ripping the control-arm pins out of it and I found the screwdriver in a hole (in the K). The screwdriver still had my blood on it too.

I lose tools when I need a third hand and toss a tool someplace logical (at the time). Fender troughs, the plenum, the top of headlights, etc all hide tools (especially if you look right at them). It's the same phenomenon as looking all over for your sunglasses when they're sitting on your forehead the whole time.

 

[stykthyn]

yes, but why is the rum always gone??

 

[Vipersix]

You know how you always lose random socks and undies in the washer/dryer? Well everyone knows that those are stolen by the Underpants Gnomes but not many people have ever heard about their cousins, the Garage Gnomes. These canny little buggers are infamous for the abilities to sneak into your work area and steal various tools and parts while you are sitting there! If you ever hope to get your tools or parts back you must catch a gnome in the act of thievery. But good luck, because it is nigh impossible!

 

[DLFD911]

I have foam pads in each drawer of my toolbox, with cutouts for the tools. I just marked the areas and burned a hole with a soldering iron. Now if a tool is missing, I know right away and look for it. Haven't lost one yet since I started doing that. Also, wrap some brightly colored tape (I like green) around your ratchet handle so you can locate it if you set it down in the engine compartment. When I worked for a garage years ago I found quite a few tools under people's hoods.

 

[Killer50stang]

ive walked around the garage for 20 mins looking for my spark plug socket...had it in my hand the whole time.

i dropped a 10 MM open end wrench into the bay of the mustang...2 months later..after it got wrecked..i found it lol. laying about 10 feet in front of the bumper.

This is when the antenna magnetic comes in handy!

 

[Killer50stang]

I usually spend more time looking for tools than it does to get the job done. My garage is a wreck too which doesn't help and I always blame my wife on the missing tool. Since my wife likes to throw everything way. Ever done that? My wife will ask me...."Do you want those speakers in the basement?". I say "yes, I want to hook them up to the media center computer". So when I go to look for them, they are gone and she tells me she threw them away. This my excuse for anything missing.

 

[jrichker]

Try being an aircraft mechanic for 11 years. You will get to be a fanatic about keeping track of everything. Tools left inside airplanes have a way of causing problems that are potentially dangerous to other people and to your livelihood.

 

[DLFD911]

I hear that. I got my start in the USAF as an F-4E crew chief.

 

[Turkey Sammich]

They're called Tool Gnomes. They come by when you're not looking and steal your tools. I had the same problem for awhile, then came the Screw, Bolt, and Nut Gnomes.

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

I never found my pair of needle nose pliers that I lost 11 years ago. Those damn things sprouted legs and walked away. I've been fortunate that I've never lost anything else. I've gotten into the habit of putting them back into the drawer as soon as I finish using them, so I don't lose them. It's always the tool you need at that very moment that disappears.

 

[NIKwoaC]

Garage Gremlins. The same creatures that nudge your arm so the wrench slips off the nut and you smash your knuckles on the alternator.

 

[2BADSTANGS]

Garage Gremlins. The same creatures that nudge your arm so the wrench slips off the nut and you smash your knuckles on the alternator.

You tell me where their garage is. I'll fix their rosey red little wagons...