Retrieving shaft key from deep in bilge

[Bouba]

A young boy held firmly around the ankles

 

[Davy_S]

A young boy held firmly around the ankles

They should have never got rid of bob a job week, i will never forget the look of horror when we hauled a cub up the mast to change a bulb!

 

[Poignard]

If I dropped anything into the inaccessible bilge below the propshaft in my Twister, I used to push it forward with the end of a stick to a place where I could reach it.

If that won't work for you, you could attach a little piece of tin to the end of a stick at right angles so as to make a sort of scoop.

 

[Farmer Piles]

A young boy held firmly around the ankles

Ha,
That's exactly what I was going to suggest. That said, a young girl would probably do the job as well.

 

[Norman_E]

It's all rigid and well aligned. I did have it apart last year so probably didn't tighten the locking bolt well enough. The key fell out once the prop shaft parted from the gearbox.

If it fell out it was too small. A key needs to be a tight sideways fit into the slot in the shaft and in the drive unit, but needs vertical clearance.

 

[Refueler]

Straighten out wire coat hanger, put short 90 degree bend on the end and cover that with a blob of blu tack. Poke away until retrieved.

Fine on non oily / slippy things ...... but guys key is oily.

 

[Bouba]

I still think my idea of suction is worth a try….even a powerful cleaner could get it

 

[bromleybysea]

Looks like the bilge in my Rustler. Do you have a wet & dry cleaner or workshop vacuum cleaner? I've got an old Wickes one with an extension made from a bit of sink waste pipe, and every year I clean out the very bottom of the bilge which the pumps don't quite clear. It picks up all the bits and bobs I've dropped down there including a 1/4" ratchet handle. It still works!

 

[reallycoliholic]

As others have said, the grabber is indespensable and cheap.
Here's one on Temu ttps://www.google.com/search?q=spring+loaded+claw+grabber&sca_esv=7f9887bee47bdd15&sxsrf=AE3TifPDPB4uZnAY9C0JSmFDlB3g4jQEFg%3A1756489809632&source=hp&ei=UeixaNeiJPO7hbIPlej_wAs&iflsig=AOw8s4IAAAAAaLH2YVqZnp3xB-4fiYcPcIYDtDACZkLZ&oq=spring+loaded+claw&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6IhJzcHJpbmcgbG9hZGVkIGNsYXcqAggBMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yBhAAGBYYHjIGEAAYFhgeMgYQABgWGB4yCBAAGBYYChgeMgYQABgWGB5IlWRQ4QxY_0pwAngAkAEAmAFcoAGOCqoBAjE5uAEByAEA-AEBmAIVoALVCqgCCsICBxAjGCcY6gLCAg0QLhjHARgnGOoCGK8BwgIKECMYgAQYJxiKBcICDhAuGIAEGLEDGNEDGMcBwgIREC4YgAQYsQMY0QMYgwEYxwHCAggQABiABBixA8ICCxAAGIAEGLEDGIMBwgIKEC4YgAQYJxiKBcICCBAuGIAEGLEDwgIEEAAYA8ICERAuGIAEGLEDGMcBGJgFGK8BwgIOEC4YgAQYsQMYxwEYrwHCAgsQLhiABBixAxiDAcICBRAuGIAEwgIOEC4YgAQYsQMYgwEYigXCAgsQLhiABBjHARivAcICBxAAGIAEGA3CAgsQABiABBiGAxiKBZgDCfEFR_pWxEzn_-iSBwIyMaAHwsABsgcCMTm4B8oKwgcGMC4xNC43yAc8&sclient=gws-wiz

But if you've not been on Temu before you'll find loads of other bits and bbs you definitely need

 

[noelex]

I've ordered a flexible spring loaded claw pick up as suggested by [USER=10134]@dansaskip and hope that does the job.

It will.

Over the years, I have picked up many similar items using the same grabber tool.

For more challenging, inaccessible locations, pair it with an endoscope. It takes some coordination to synchronise the grabber with the view from the endoscope, but in the next life, you are qualified for keyhole surgery, or proctology .

 

[Cerebus]

The other day I noticed that the prop shaft had disengaged from the gearbox. Should be a straightforward fix (I thought) but (of course) the stainless steel key had dropped deep into the bilge, just visible but out of reach. I have a telescopic magnetic retrieval tool but (of course) the key is non-magnetic. And (of course) it's wet and oily. The photo shows its position (in the red box). It's right down in the bottom of the bilge below the exhaust.

I can think of various possible solutions but would appreciate any suggestions, including whether there exists a tool to grab this in such a tight space.

Stainless steel is supposedly non magnetic. Depends upon grade of course.

Have you tried a rare earth magnet such as neodymium on a piece of string or a rod?

 

[Poignard]

How about disconnecting the exhaust water separator so you can move it out of the way to give better access?

 

[christopherb]

The grabber from Amazon (£4) worked fine, Thanks for all the other suggestions.

 

[Halo]

Tape a short piece of tube (a little bigger internally than the key ) onto a stick or dowel. Fill the tube with grease. Push the tube with grease onto the key and pull it out with a twisting motion.