Garage ****ed my car up BAD... need advice ASAP.

[e34.535i.sport]

I tend to do all jobs on the car myself, don't trust anyone else to touch it (besides the captain of course)... Decided to take it to the shop to
get the clutch done... Got it back this afternoon and here's the most recent picture of my car...


Got it back and clutch felt fantastic so took it for a 30mile drive (15 each way). Almost home (about 4mile away) and all sorts of lights come
on... It overheats so I pull over ASAP. Alternator/waterpump belt has come off and some coolant lying around but can't see a burst hose.
(Could be the ones going under the manifold though don't know yet).

I also notice this while waiting for the tow truck... WTF?


And another pic...


Turns out to be a 17mm socket with a 10" extension on it left in the engine... Obviously from the BMW specialist that done the clutch. I am
pissed.

My argument is if he's dumb enough to leave this big ****er in my engine I'm assuming the cunt has not tightened the alternator belt properly
when putting it back on... He will have removed it for the clutch job won't he? Going to get on to him in the morning and tell him the
score... If he's leaving things in the engine I'm guessing he could have been incompetent enough to not tighten the belt correctly.

I know the belt was good as I replaced it only a couple of months ago with OE part from the dealer and double checked it was tightened
myself recently.

I'm hoping its only a coolant hose and not the Head Gasket. If it is i'm ****ed cash-wise and I can't get him to admit guilt.

Any thoughts or advice welcomed and info on wether he will have removed the belt for the clutch job... I'm assuming he will have.

It's unbeleivable that the first thing I get done in a shop in my ownership ends up like this...

[Ferret]

lol got caught rockin the M badge. Base model e34 ftw!!

I wouldnt call a 535i sport a base model...

A lot of UK spec 535i sports were shipped badged as M's from the factory - in fact the first E34 I ever had the pleasure of driving/working on was an M535i.

It appears they were special editions or something, as they were shipped with sports suspension, Mtech lights all round, Mtech steering wheel, Mtech shifter and handbrake parts, Red Clocks and cloth sports seats (upgrade to leather avail.)

Sadly they're quite rare these days.

[Lordsneldon]

What a pric springs to mind!

I wouldnt have thought the alternator belt should have needed to be taken off for this job - could of course be coincedance but it seems strange for a so called grease monkey to leave his tools floating around someones engine?!?!?! I should have a good look your self and try and decide what the score is, i doubt the headgasket though. best of luck

[winfred]

it ain't hard to forget a tool in a tight spot especially if someone is annoying you while you work, it happens to the best of us


ps you don't need to touch the starter on a m30 to do the tranny, the starter is totally bolted to the block

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

That's not an ///M badge on your trunk is it?

[Ross]

There is no reason to mess with the belts during a clutch job, nor the starter as has been stated. Probably why it was forgotten.
This sort of thing is why I don't work on peoples cars I don't know.
Keep the tool if it makes you feel better.
I see no correlation between the clutch job and your belt going away. Didn't over rev 'er did ya?

[bmwpower]

I can hear it now.... "That's not mine...".

What brand of tool is it??

[nirvana19]

http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34999

Read my first post, sound familiar? Never figured out what caused the belt to shred, but the car runs today... though the belt squeals and slips when its cold (shop put it on too loose after the water pump chaos explosion?)

You probably didn't blow any hoses, when the system overheats coolant spills out from the hose that leaves the expansion tank (opposite of the return hose into the top) and lands somewhere near the rear exhaust side of the engine.

[nirvana19]

That's not an ///M badge on your trunk is it?

BTW, recently saw an original BMW accessory catalog from 1989 and the M badge is actually listed as a FACTORY accessory for non-m cars. I don't have one, but anyone with one of those M badges can say it came from BMW and was intended for my car...

[vuyodaddy]

lol got caught rockin the M badge. Base model e34 ftw!!