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...

[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

[mamilapon]

Used to fix Boeings for a living, if you left ANY tool around the engine and down the track they trace it back to you...you are GONESKI!!!!

[whiskychaser]

I cant see why anyone would touch the belts when doing a clutch. Not being funny but they are the wrong end of the engine for a start. What DOES surprise me a bit is the belt hopping off-would have thought it would scream a bit first and give you a clue. Either way, hope both you and your motor have cooled down and the only damage is a new belt

[Ross]

Used to fix Boeings for a living, if you left ANY tool around the engine and down the track they trace it back to you...you are GONESKI!!!!

The running joke in the av shops I know of is that a missing tool will always show up in the wreckage.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

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

[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...

[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??