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This isn't anything technical, just a recount of what happened today.

Following the invaluable Pedro's guide to cleaning out the throttle machanism, I get to it today, tools all over the place, towels over the bodywork to protect the paint etc. I'm not very mechnically minded, so me working on cars is like Columbus sailing the Pacific without a map.
A successful venture under the hood for me, is not making the car worse. It's not often I actually fix anything.

So there I am, I've successfully taken the throttle body off, cleaned it all out, and am putting it back again. The top two bolts go in, I give them a little WD40 to ease the way , the third bolt goes in, slightly more difficult, and then it's the last one. This is the bolt that sits underneath the throttle cable linkage. You can't see it, just feel it with your fingers. So I get one of the four different tools I've used to get the 10mm bolts out, slide it into place.....actually that makes it sound simple.
Real description;
Farted around for about 15 minutes unable to line the bolt up with the hole without my hand being there to guide it, then finding I needed to move my hand to guide the bolt in for the last few mm, and losing the direction...

Anyhow, the upshot is, I drop the fecking bolt. I can't even see it, it's not on the floor underneath the car.

I put some towels across the boot, and lie on it and peer down with a torch. I spot the bolt. Not even a catwalk model could have got her arm and hand down there to get it, it's in such a small place. And guess what, I didn't have a magnetic tool to retrieve it.
Ok, so I get some thin wire, I twist it together at one end and use a drill to bind two together so it makes a 'rope' looking wire, good enough to guide in, with a loop at the end.
I lie back on the boot/trunk, and with torch in one hand and flimsy wire in the other, guide the wire down into the crevice......a few minutes later I've hooked the bolt, and and bringing it up UBER-CAREFULLY.
Thinking to myself "Keep it steady, don't drop it", I let go of the torch, and guide the wire further up with both hands. I'm nearly there!
Until........the towel that I'm lying on, decides it's a great time to start moving. I start sliding VERY slowly down the boot, the bolt is about to hit one of the hoses and fall again, I have both hands on this flimsy wire.....and *gentle knock* there goes the bolt into the engine again, I try and catch it with my left hand but manage to knock the roof lid (the bit that covers the rear of the roof when down), which then comes down slowly just as I am raising my head on my descent backwards and down.

Yes, it hurt, and yes, I swore, yes, out loud.

And to damage my pride further, I spot my neighbour almost bent double with laughter, having seen most of it happen! Apparently it's the firt time he's heard the word "B*stardC*ntF*ckTw*t" too.

Doh :dance: