@BobCross - Haha, just keep your fingers clear or they'll get pinched! Those magnets be STRONG! :o)

@IanC AFAIK those 0-9 NM ranges are mostly used for bike repairs (one doesn't want to ruin the delicate aluminum frame when bolting on the bottle carrier) or similar jobs.

@IanC That is surely the best way: Don't do something drastic. Most likely it will lie around somewhere.

@motosubatsu regarding your edit on the "wire dangling out of the tire"-question: I suppose the "stepny" would be a limited-use donut.

Fitted 15000 km's ago..

@Martin I see, when I looked for wrenches for low torque they were all advertised as for bikes as you said. I ended up getting only the click wrench, december I should have it in hands

@Martin I surely hope so, at least I tranquilized my mind a little bit: if the worst happened and the bolt felt there, I don't have to remove the gearbox apparently. Only lift the front, remove the sump protector, and remove the gearbox sump cover. Oil will come out, I can remove the bolt, reinstall the cover and fill it with oil again

Still a lot of work for a newbie like me, but much easier thab removing and disassembling the gearbox

@Martin possible.. a quick google showed no signs what "stepny" could be - that's a plausible explanation I suppose (and it would certainly explain the severe degradation in the relatively short distance)

@Martin electrical folks nowadays use low-torque torque wrenches (typically in-lb calibrated, though)

@Shalvenay Ok, that is new for me

@IanC I recommend something like this: amazon.com/VASTOOLS-Flexible-Magnet-Mirror-Glass/dp/B075F48B3M

@Shalvenay I suppose for tightening clamps or something?

@Martin tightening connection lug screws, actually

@Martin iaeimagazine.org/magazine/2010/07/16/…

(see also 2017 NEC 110.14(D) for folks in the USA)

I see

@IanC any luck with the Demon Bolt?

@Martin that would be a cool thing to have, not sure if there's something similar here in Brazil, or I can try to get it by december here through amazon

@BobCross well, I used a replacement bolt, found out a mechanic nearby would charge R$ 140 (about 50 dollars) to change the gearbox oil, but he convinced me it's very unlikely the bolt went in there, told me if I switched the car on and there was no noises it was probably going to be lost under the hood

I took the car there (no weird noises), he checked too, and said even though he could get some money for changing the oil he really thought it was very unlikely the bolt went in there, brought the car home and now I'm getting ready for work

even though he convinced me not to do it, I'm still thinking about going there again and asking for the oil change. Worst case scenario I'll have spent some money to get the transmission oil changed, but I'll have my conscience more clear. I'm a little paranoid, and every little noise I hear I'll be thinking of the damned bolt haha

on the bright side, I think I fixed the odometer on my panel. The gear was slightly dislocated, so the screw wasn't turning it. Now I only need to reassembly it, reinstall and check if it's working

there is a point at which you should consider trusting the guy who would make more money by doing the work and yet declines.

My guy tells me that you’re dealing with situations that I’ve seen a zillion times: the bolt is likely caught in a tight spot somewhere and you won’t find it for a few years. When it does drop out, you’ll go “huh, I wonder what this is for....”

@BobCross usually proceeded by a couple of weeks of "I wonder what that rattle is?"

For me, it’s the little teeny bolts. They’ll sit down in the battery tray or some nonsense, not making any sound at all until “tink” on the garage floor

@BobCross I dropped a bolt into the radiator fan cowling of my XR4x4 once.. it was mostly silent, except at certain road speeds that must have caused a vibration in the cowling when it sounded like an angry robotic bee

I had tat sort of sound on my old Integra. The stock exhaust manifold had a resonance right at the fun zone so you’d be bombing along and then BZZZZZZZZ!

@BobCross damn..that's really annoying when something like that happens. Annoying noises are much more tolerable when it's at a speed you aren't going to spending much time at

When I put headers on that car, the most exciting part was that Buzzy the Humingbird went away

I can't really ask this on the site so I thought I'd drop it here, anyone have strong opinions on flex-head ratchets? I'm thinking about getting a set of extending flex-head to replace the crappy stanly set I've had since my teens; but I don't want to buy them and figure out I can't put much torque on them due to the flex-head.

@Sidney flex-heads are very useful tools to have in the collection - not as a replacement for fixed-head ratchets though but rather as an addition

Sounds about what I thought. So if I'm looking to replace my existing set (they're garbage, I can only assume 1/3 the internal gearing is stripped) I should probably go with fixed-head, and only get flex if I'm feeling fancy?

yeah get a decent fixed-head set and then if you've got the funds/need pick up a flex-head to compliment it

GearWrench do a rather nifty flexer that's reasonably priced (at least it was last time I looked) and rather a nice bit of kit

I used to (still have?) one somewhere and it was a lifesaver, feck knows where it's got to though

Cool, thanks for the advice!

any time :)

@BobCross hehe.. I love that you actually went as far as naming it

Those headers were gorgeous, too. That’s when Comptech was making consumer parts.

@BobCross the Comptech headers were supposed to be very nice bits of kit on the ITR, haven't actually seen one running them though

Such beautiful welds. It made you want to be a better person to be worthy of those welds!

@BobCross I think you are right, though my paranoia still might convince me to change the transmission oil before needed to kill the doubt, but maybe it can wait a little while. Been not even a month I have the car with me, so you can imagine every penny saving is welcome at the moment since my wallet been feeling light with those initial repairs

I feel you. I have two boys in college right now. They’re like money furnaces. Any money I make poof wait, I had money here a moment ago!

@BobCross hahaha, I imagine it's rough, colleges in the USA seem expensive

My sister managed to get a scholarship there and even with it the costs are still high, the dollar conversion doesn't help much too :p

Which state do you live in?

A state of perpetual poverty (see previous remarks about two boys in college). ;-)

amazon.com/ZOTAC-Graphics-IceStorm-Backplate-ZT-P10710G-10P/dp/…

Would be an awesome Christmas present ... you buying, @BobCross?

:o)

I know, see previous.