Geeeee - I missed the whole "Great Tool Debate"

Maybe this might work (my old "tight Situation" stand by;

Take a 1/4" ratchet (MUST be "good" brand with "fine" ratchet teeth)

Put a 5/16" socket on it

Put a "hex straight blade screwdriver bit - short" (the type used with cordless drills) in the socket.

MIGHT WORK - if not the "Motion Pro" tool might be a good investment.

That "tight spot" is NOTHING - you should try working on jet engines. We used to "homemade" make all kind of special tools - AND THEN, being Military aircraft - have to 'safety wire' every single nut and bolt (every nut and bolt had small 1/64" holes in them for the 'safety wire' to got thru) - the 'safety wiring' often took longer than the actual repair.

 

Hey Dale, I know this is off topic but... I was a CF on KC-10 AR during Desert Storm I. I will have to agree that you can come up with some fascinating solutions to strange problems in the field. We once used coke as a rain repellent remover on the windshield. Kinda got in trouble but we had to improvise. We were in Turkey and had repellent on the windshield with no remover and no replacement windshield. Anyway, glad to find a fellow AC Mech.
Have a good 'un!

Wayne

 

The best one that I heard about (not actually saw) was on one of the C130's that I regularly worked on;
They were stuck on a small dirt landing strip (Vietnam) and 1 of the 4 engines would not start. It 'motored over' but would not ignite. (and they NEEDED all 4 to clear the trees on take off).
Night time was falling and that meant destruction of the plane and death to the crew by the Viet Cong (VC).
The Officers of the Flight Crew didn't have a clue. The Crew Chief (enlisted) was having none of it !!! He took off his T-shirt, soaked it in JP4 (jet fuel / kerosene), stuck it on the end of a broom stick handle, had the pilot 'motor it over', lit the fuel soaked shirt, and shoved it up the tail pipe of the engine - it lit her up and they got the hell out of there !!!!

American Ingenuity !!!