rmaynard 15,927 #1 Posted January 28, 2015 I'm posting this in "Engines" since it is an Onan P-216G which is the source of my frustration. The first rule of Murphy's Law says: "If anything can go wrong, it will". There have been many variations to that law, one of which is "if you drop something, no matter it's shape, it will roll to the farthest corner of your work area". The distance it goes it directly proportional to the value or availability of a replacement. So my story goes like this. I am in the garage last night doing some more assembly work to the P-216G. All the covers are on and I am completing the repair and reinstallation of the wiring harness. Then I notice that I have failed to install the linkage that runs between the carburetor and the governor. Well that's simple enough. Remove the air cleaner housing, and install the darned thing. All goes well until I attempt to install this. Over the last few years, I have lost sensitivity in my finger tips, so holding on to small objects is a challenge. As I am inserting the rod into the clip, I drop the clip. I grab my LED flashlight and start looking down into the area of the engine where it logically could have gone, but I don't see it. So...off comes the front engine cover, ignition module, etc. Still no luck. Checked the floor, under the shelving, in my shoes, everywhere. So I go on to my local NAPA store this morning and buy a new one. Came home and decided to take one more look, and there it was, stuck between two of the magnets on the back side of the flywheel. So I am creating a new law called Maynard's Law. If you can't find something, just go buy a new one. The old one will show up immediately. 20 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AMC RULES 37,146 #2 Posted January 28, 2015 Based on where it turned up... probably was money well spent. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rmaynard 15,927 #3 Posted January 28, 2015 You are right there. I can just imagine the damage it may have caused to the stator. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dclarke 4,058 #4 Posted January 28, 2015 That law must be in effect in Illinois too. I was buffing a small piece with my little air grinder last night and it took off like a shot. Still haven't found it. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
newt 14 #5 Posted January 28, 2015 i never find anything unless i stop looking for it, or like you say, grab a new can of brake cleaner from the case, then i see the one i just opened right beside where i was working. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
19richie66 17,578 #6 Posted January 28, 2015 Glad im not alone. I hate going to get something and then when you get there you forgot what you went for. Then I have to go back and think about it where I started. Never fails, this is the time the wife asks me to do something for her. Then I remember. Sometimes..... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chazm 413 #7 Posted January 28, 2015 Yea Bob, Maynard's Law applies up the road from you in PA as well... Just had carpal done on my right hand last week , Hopefully I can feel the part I just dropped & can't find... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
specialwheelhorse 174 #8 Posted January 28, 2015 (edited) If it makes the floor my golden retreaver wil most certainly Find it. He finds washers ,nuts ,bolts you name it , I forgot I lost If I hear this weird sounding crunch crunch, he has got so I can hold out my hand and he deposits, Im sure he has consumed A few items in the past and I don't go thru his stool with a magnet. That's karygans law here. Edited January 28, 2015 by specialwheelhorse 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zeek 2,286 #9 Posted January 28, 2015 (edited) I'm posting this in "Engines" since it is an Onan P-216G which is the source of my frustration. The first rule of Murphy's Law says: "If anything can go wrong, it will". There have been many variations to that law, one of which is "if you drop something, no matter it's shape, it will roll to the farthest corner of your work area". The distance it goes it directly proportional to the value or availability of a replacement. So my story goes like this. I am in the garage last night doing some more assembly work to the P-216G. All the covers are on and I am completing the repair and reinstallation of the wiring harness. Then I notice that I have failed to install the linkage that runs between the carburetor and the governor. Well that's simple enough. Remove the air cleaner housing, and install the darned thing. All goes well until I attempt to install this. Over the last few years, I have lost sensitivity in my finger tips, so holding on to small objects is a challenge. As I am inserting the rod into the clip, I drop the clip. I grab my LED flashlight and start looking down into the area of the engine where it logically could have gone, but I don't see it. So...off comes the front engine cover, ignition module, etc. Still no luck. Checked the floor, under the shelving, in my shoes, everywhere. So I go on to my local NAPA store this morning and buy a new one. Came home and decided to take one more look, and there it was, stuck between two of the magnets on the back side of the flywheel. So I am creating a new law called Maynard's Law. If you can't find something, just go buy a new one. The old one will show up immediately. Ha . . . me too. I was on my hands and knees last night with a light on the floor looking for one of the LITTLE clips that holds the hood emblem on. Of course it's round and rolled under the biggest tool box I have Edited January 28, 2015 by Zeek 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 42,570 #10 Posted January 28, 2015 Happens all the time. If I don't find it in 5 min. I get a new one and then I end up with a spare. I have drawers full of extra stuff! I had my Power King throttle apart and lost this special gizmo clip. No way I could ever find a new one. I looked for 2 hrs. Nothing. Wife walks out in the shop and wants to know why I ' m laying on the floor. I said I lost this tiny clip. She says you mean that? She's pointing 15 feet away and there it is! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coadster32 793 #11 Posted January 28, 2015 I too am victim of this law. That or the only wrench I have missing is the only one I need. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SousaKerry 502 #12 Posted January 28, 2015 That or the only wrench I have missing is the only one I need. You must have teenagers with crappy cars at home too. Went to go rescue the 19 year old the other day when his lower ball joint on his s-10 snapped in half. He always has half a ton of junk in his bed as he scraps whatever he finds for gas money. Well anyways laying right on top is a log chain that looks really familiar. Apparently Murphy put it there 3 months ago when I couldn't find it to tow a tractor with. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldredrider 2,553 #13 Posted January 28, 2015 I'm with Squonk on this one. The wife can find ANYTHING! Friend of mine couldn't find a mid mount idler for a tiller. Searched everywhere in the garage. Wife walks in and finds it in 30 seconds. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevasaurus 23,072 #14 Posted January 28, 2015 This thread is a riot...but so true. I always figure an extra hour for any job...just cause I know I will have to look for something. Two days ago, I was looking for my can of PVC cement. I was fixing my rotted out trap under my concrete deep-sink in the basement. I had already been to the Hardware store and thought I had bought all I needed (I knew I had a can of PVC). Has anyone ever been able to do only one trip to the Hardware store when doing plumbing? So, back I go, and I buy a small can of the glue. I finished the job and started to put everything away...then I put the little can of PVC cement right next to the can I already had. I must have looked right at it 25 times when I was searching for it. So, I did the job in only 2 trips to the Hardware store. That is a new record. 10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doc724 925 #15 Posted January 28, 2015 I have a story that beats all of these. It happened to a friend of mine. He has these high tech hearing aids and dropped one. Looks all over for it and cannot find it. He suspects that his dog may have swallowed it so he takes the dog to the vets. A few x-rays and a few hundred dollars later, there is no hearing aid showing up in the dog. So he goes back home and looks around some more. After two weeks and still no hearing aid, he goes out and buys a replacement at a cost of between $2500 and $3000. A week or so later, the new hearing aid arrives. A week after that, his wife is cleaning and moves a dresser. Yup, there is the missing hearing aid, it had rolled under the dresser. It must have been Maynard's Law or Zeeks Law at work! I hate it when that happens! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
specialwheelhorse 174 #16 Posted January 28, 2015 So amusing I'm sitting here with tears in my eys, Everything fits and I'm sure glad I'm in the same group That's just as crazy as me. I'm just not going nuts alone !!!!! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wishin4a416 2,191 #17 Posted January 28, 2015 I still have never found the key that I popped out of an axle keyway and I have completely cleaned the garage since that incident. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
squonk 42,570 #18 Posted January 28, 2015 PVC Glue. You need to buy a little can for every plumbing job. Just do it. If you don't and you actually know where you can is, You be all set to glue the pipe. Grab that can and the lid is welded to the can . Or the lid is free but the glue is shot. I buy the small cans so not a lot is thrown away. When I did plumbing at work every job got a new can plus primer on the parts list. We have a big cabinet for storage and there are about 10 cans of glue in varying stages of dryness and every color of primer solvent imaginable. You need a respirator on everytime you open the cabinet to get the sawzall out! 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
varosd 1,185 #19 Posted January 28, 2015 But Bob, at least you didn't lose anything down the Carb! I lost a Onan exhaust baffle/cover bolt down deep under the intake manifold and couldn't reach it with needle nose pliers and didn't have magnet to retrieve it. finally took the little Stinger wet/dry vac and sucked it out! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JackC 617 #20 Posted January 29, 2015 I lost one of those clips and never found it. Mine might still be stuck to the magnets like yours was. Didn't know NAPA had them so I ordered one over the internet. My latest Murphy Law event is after removing and cleaning the carburetor on my 520Xi I dropped the carburetor needle down into the engine coverings towards the back of the engine. There is no way to get to it without removing the engine. I can't just leave it there and replace it because the needle is rubbing against the flywheel. I have to remove the engine from the vehicle in order to take the engine covers off to retrieve the needle. Not such an easy job on a 520Xi. I am getting to know a lot more about the machine than I wanted to. I was not aspiring to be a 520Xi mechanic but Murphy is making me do it. A momentary slip up is turning into several hours of wrenching. Working on a 520Xi seems more like working on a car than working on our typical horses. The engine is buried down in the engine compartment and connected to a drive shaft. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
snowhound 105 #21 Posted January 29, 2015 Last Saturday I took a carb apart to clean put all the parts in a plastic container and went for lunch when I went back to finish the nut that holds the bowl on isn't there. I looked all over for it and resorted to ordering a new one. How long do you think it will take to find the lost one once I have the new one in hand.. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lagersolut 723 #22 Posted January 29, 2015 When I was " squeezing " one of those small C clips on linkage last fall I had one drop , heard it hit the floor - went over the garage floor with a broom and a magnet and never found it. I always buy/keep more than one of those smalls because of that. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KC9KAS 4,744 #23 Posted January 29, 2015 I feel your pain....Me & Murphy go back a long way! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Theroundhousernr 590 #24 Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) I dropped that same piece working on the same model tractor. Looked for awhile.... cursed a little...had the boss come out of the house to help me look a little. NOTHING. So i thought , I have a few parts onan motors laying around. Just go grab me another. Problem solved right? WRONG. All I have where 18 hp onans and sure enough that rod is thicker and takes a different clip. After eating dinner and time to calm down. I cleaned everything up and there it was laying on the floor near the tire. Murphy's law gets us all! lol Edited January 29, 2015 by Theroundhousernr 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boovuc 1,090 #25 Posted January 29, 2015 After reading this tread..............................I feel a little better about myself. (And the screw ups I pull). 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
