Admit your Garage Mistakes - Page 19

XH-Fan119 · 15-04-2011, 05:18 PM

sad to say this,
instaling a new cd player in the missus's camry became a real castrophe.
first things when we bought the camry it had a replacement hook for the bonnet catch, made it hard to close and open but wasnt a real problem. got started on removing the cassete player to put in cd player by disconnecting battery leaving bonnet open, after 30 mins and several words that should never be repeated it worked. i reconnect battery and only closed the bonnet on hook not on the catch aswell,

left home hit the 90 signs there's this horrible rattle... thought it might be a shifter in the engine bay as i couldn't remember removing it and just as she was slowing down so we could check... Bang! our vision is engulfed by a white bonnet, scariest thing in the world at 80ks.... turns out hook couldnt take the pressure snapped its cheapo spring flung the bonnet at us distorting itself destroying its hinges and cracking a windscreen.....
there was this redface of rage staring at me for weeks untill i got new hinges, but the bonnet remains the same, distorted.

i told her it adds character to an otherwise boring vehicle, she just glared in rage. "gulp"

shedcoupe · 15-04-2011, 08:11 PM

Installed a new CD player in a boat. Couldn't get the darn thing to fire, raced into town and bought an identical example as time was vital. (Holidays)
New one failed to fire also, so I read the instructions this time and noticed that there were TWO positive leads to connect, one to 'accessories' to make it fire, and one to a permanent active to keep the clock running.

Last time I installed a stereo it was a cassette player and there was only a red and a black to connect to the supply. What is it about not reading the instructions ? Okay, I do get a bit manic on occasion, but really ..........

Anway, gave the spare to a mate so it wasn't all bad.

Auturbo6 · 15-04-2011, 08:42 PM

As an apprentice at Citroen, during a service, was filling the engine oil using the automatice retractible oil filling divice. Macca walked past and yelled SMOKO Andy. I in all my wisdom went on smoko. 15 mins later, the service manager came into the smoko room asking for me. Id left the pump running. Oil in his office, down the stairs, dripping on the new cars down stairs through the walls, etc. lol, things we do hey....

93EB_SXR6 · 15-04-2011, 11:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shedcoupe

Installed a new CD player in a boat. Couldn't get the darn thing to fire, raced into town and bought an identical example as time was vital. (Holidays)
New one failed to fire also, so I read the instructions this time and noticed that there were TWO positive leads to connect, one to 'accessories' to make it fire, and one to a permanent active to keep the clock running.

Last time I installed a stereo it was a cassette player and there was only a red and a black to connect to the supply. What is it about not reading the instructions ? Okay, I do get a bit manic on occasion, but really ..........

Anway, gave the spare to a mate so it wasn't all bad.

Yeah these days theres ACC (live), battery feed (Constant) and *obviously* earth.

shedcoupe · 16-04-2011, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Professor_Evans

Yeah these days theres ACC (live), battery feed (Constant) and *obviously* earth.

I've now reached the age where I'm being tuned-up by smartbottom kids, just like I used to be. Sigh.
Nah, just having a laugh Professor E.

Read my PM re the apprenticeship you're chasing.

jpd80 · 16-04-2011, 12:30 PM

Many years ago, I replaced the heads on my 351 ZG Fairlane with a set of
Yella Terra 302 Closed chamber types. Got an early start , tore her down,
did the change re assembled everything, attached all the hoses and lines...

Started it up and it idled slowly but like a hairy goat... couldn't work it out,
I'm looking at this engine struggling along wondering what is wrong because
it's idling so slow but keeps going.....

then it dawned on me, all the pug leads on the left bank were off.....

SIMBAD · 26-04-2011, 11:33 PM

Took the boat up the dam one day and couldn't get it started after a while, managed to float off the bank a fair way.. After cursing and carrying on i started the little little motor to get me back to the bank to take the boat back home.
Got home and after about 2 hours of thinking of any possible reason why it wouldn't start like checking if it's getting fuel,spark plugs, wiring or what ever I gave up.. Then when talking to the missus old man about it a day later he asked me if the safety kill switch was right.. As soon as I got home turns out it wasn't.. Switched it back.. Primed the fuel and then kicked her over and away she went... "head slap"

TheInterceptor · 26-04-2011, 11:40 PM

Worst ive done was leaving a 10mm spanner next to the coolant bottle in the AU.
It was there for a while since i installed the sound system, discovered when i went to disconnect the battery to work on the footwell light wiring some time later.

Watch me swearing and scouring the garage for my 10mm for 10mins.....

JG65TE · 26-04-2011, 11:57 PM

dropped a distributor clip down the dizzy hole in my newly installed rebuilt engine. Got a boroscope from work, magnets , cliplockers and still couldnt find it. Pulled the engine up a bit, took the sump off , not there...must be on the cam chain... fan,waterpump,alternator, backing plate all off ..not there either.....found it on the manifold........

mrghia · 27-04-2011, 12:44 AM

the worst i think i did was looking at the range of fuel additives and i unknowingly grabbed a oil one and put it in on a fuel tank, the worst part was i watched it go in the tank and thought that it was really thick for a fuel additive. I only really worked out what it was when the car started running like crap

**TUF_302** · 27-04-2011, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrghia

the worst i think i did was looking at the range of fuel additives and i unknowingly grabbed a oil one and put it in on a fuel tank, the worst part was i watched it go in the tank and thought that it was really thick for a fuel additive. I only really worked out what it was when the car started running like crap

Whoops!!

2011G6E · 27-04-2011, 08:02 AM

My second car was a little 1971 Mazda Capella. It had a worked 1.9ltr engine in it, and the previous owner had fitted an old MSD unit he had sitting around, to it used to really have a great spark!

I bought a new set of silicon spark plug leads...yellow ones...and drove around like that for months. Then I started to get a misfire, and stopped outside my girlfriends house to see what was going on. Being night time, I remembered what my old man had said about driving Dodge taxis back in the late 1940's...they'd take them to a dark part of town and open the bonnet with the motor running, and you could see if there were any spots where a litle blue flash could be seen from a "leaking" dizzy cap or spark plug lead.
Anyway, sure enough, halfway along a couple of the leads was a little tiny blue fleck. My girl had come out to see what I was doing, and I told her, then pointed to the little blue fleck of sparks.

Now, at night, in the almost total dark, your depth perception isn't the best, and I put my finger right on the lead.

You know, I think that was the first time I'd sworn in front of her, but she took it in stride by laughing heartily at my discomfort.

Just recently I replaced the bearings in the diff center of my '82 Celica, as well as the center bearing in the two piece driveshaft. Finally got the diff center back from the guy doing the bearings and setting up the backlash, chucked in the diff center, then axles and wheels, adjusted the rear drums, and went off to work for the night.
Back the next morning after a short sleep, put in fresh oil to the diff, made sure the brakes were adjusted properly, lowered it off the chassis stands under the diff, and started her up to go for a test drive. Nothing. I could hear the gearbox going into gear, I could hear the clutch engage, but the rear wheels wouldn't turn.
They'd been a bit tight when turning them by hand, but I thought it was probably a combination of new bearings and brake pads possibly a bit out of alignment which would center themselves once I'd driven it a bit.

So I sadly walked back into the shed to get the tools again and start the long process of pulling things apart to find the problem...and then I saw the driveshaft sitting on the second shelf of the bench...

93EB_SXR6 · 27-04-2011, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shedcoupe

I've now reached the age where I'm being tuned-up by smartbottom kids, just like I used to be. Sigh.
Nah, just having a laugh Professor E.

Read my PM re the apprenticeship you're chasing.

Hey, I think this forum tends to be about giving everyone a bit of a hard time about their mistakes with cars

I once pulled apart a bmx when I was about 12/13 years old and promptly threw half the nuts and bolts away as they were a bit ugly looking and I knew dad had heaps in his shed.
Only later on did I realise they were an odd thread

2011G6E · 27-04-2011, 04:33 PM

Not my stuff up...or anyones really...but a really funny workshop joke I saw done in 1981 when I was doing a Pre-Vocational course at TAFE college in Bundaberg.
Underneath the TAFE building were the workshops where mechanics apprentices would be trained, and we used to do some engine stuff down there. They had Holden red motors and Ford log-head 250's and a couple of 2 liter Escort motors on engine stands for the guys to practice on.
One exercise was for them to wheel over an engine stand and completely strip down an engine, lay out all the bits and pieces on a big tarp, identify everything, and put it all back together, then get it running on the stands, which had a battery and small fuel container.

While we did some work on carbys, our teacher was watching some guys finish up, two teams of apprentice mechanics "racing" each other to see who could get the engines back together and fired up first. One had a red motor and the other a Ford six cylinder. The Holden guys finished first, and fired up the engine, standing around proudly as it ran loudly innthe workshop. Our teacher said "Watch this", and with a grin wandered past the guys and casually dropped three or four oily looking 3/8" nuts on the tarp, then quickly grabbed one guy on the shoulder and pointed to the nuts, saying "*****! Where did they come from!!!". The four guys panicked and shut down the engine, and started going over it and turning it by hand, listening carefully, then dropped the oil out again and started undoing the sump as our teacher walked back over and started laughing...

He said "That'll teach them to rush a job...it could be a customers car one day they stuff up by rushing..."

whitesoarer · 27-04-2011, 04:46 PM

Changing the oil and filter on an old fwd Mazda I had, I must have bumped the seal on the new oil filter when replacing it (filter was at the back of the engine under the inlet mani). I only realised my mistake when I started it up and 5 litres of oil sprayed out onto the garage floor

bananas · 27-04-2011, 05:15 PM

I was undoing the oil drain plug on my honda XR250, lying down underneath the bike trying to see where the plug is. I got the socket on then started to turn and when it finally let go all the force spun the socket round really quick straight into my eye socket. Worst bit is i did it again not long after only hit my jaw.

And maybe not so much a mistake but still made me angry. Ripping the heads off 7 of the 8 inner guard bolts on my f100. They were really rusty but the rest of the bolt was hard as to drill through

shedcoupe · 27-04-2011, 09:57 PM

A boat story -
Did an oil change on a yacht in Cooktown. It had a London taxi diesel motor with those old oil filters with a bolt through the middle. Poured out oil everywhere and had to make cardboard gaskets out of whatever I could find, hanging upside down and sideways in a dark hot bilge. Nice fun, but got it going okay.
All good for a while but after leaving Darwin, we anchored off Bathurst / Melville islands in the afternoon. Towards dusk the skipper decided to up anchor and move further offshore as the tide was going out strongly.
For some stupid reason we pulled up the anchor before starting the engine.
Hit 'start' - nothing happened. Sun going below horizon fast and getting dark, depth diminishing rapidly, anchor dropped again but we'd been blown towards the beach. Not looking good.
I mad a mad dash into the bilge and spotted the solenoid wire hanging free - must have damaged the old copper doing the oil change but it had held on until then.
Did the old screwdriver trick and got it happening.
Then coming in to Fremantle in a gale, couldn't get the thing to fire though it turned over (fast).
Anchored and messed around in another controlled panic - crew member hadn't pushed the decompression ('stop') cable knob all the way back in. Only took three hours to work it out.

ado351c · 14-08-2011, 02:13 AM

Mate told me to move my 69 xw ute forward a bit, gave it a rev when starting it with my left foot and half out of the car, Was still in reverse and launched, the tow bar of a van stopped me but not before hitting my mates vu maloo up the *** too. What are mates for

LOCO XP · 14-08-2011, 09:28 PM

very sheepish post. happened today and still kicking myself over it. Oil change in the missus BA XR6T. drained the oil, pulled the oil filter, then proceeded to remove the driver side foglight to replace a blown globe. Fiddled around and got it swapped, then went to check the lights and accidentally started it. only a few seconds, but no oil....felt so stupid, still feel stupid. immediately phoned a mate for some reassurance, who said it's not good for it, but it should be fine. so dumb.

promptly tipped about $100 worth of Castrol Edge in and checked her for leaks, gave her a nice gentle run and listened very patiently. All good. But still kicking myself

GT-Pete · 14-08-2011, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JG65TE

dropped a distributor clip down the dizzy hole in my newly installed rebuilt engine. Got a boroscope from work, magnets , cliplockers and still couldnt find it. Pulled the engine up a bit, took the sump off , not there...must be on the cam chain... fan,waterpump,alternator, backing plate all off ..not there either.....found it on the manifold........

lol..... good story

v8falconsrule · 14-08-2011, 11:30 PM

thankfully i've been lucky so far and not had any major stuff ups ...... *touch wood and say 3 hail marys*...

have seen two absolute pearlers though-

one was while i was a detailer. an xh ute had been traded and was being reconditioned to go on the yard. one of the mechanics had her on a 2 post hoist and had been under there most of the day. he was bashing away trying to free the front left ball joint, when one of the apprentices called him away to check something. he'd taken all of ten steps, when out of nowhere the arm of the hoist comes out from under the car.

the ute falls onto the rhd rear corner, bounces up, then lands squarley between the posts of the hoist. damage was a rhd rear bumper, front lhd guard and a radio aerial ( the guard and aerial caught the hoist arm on the way down)

second one was when i was about 10 or 12. the neighbour diagonally over the back from us had just finished rebuilding his v8 sprintcar. my brother and i were watching over the fence as they unloaded it off the trailer and tinkered with it for a while. at some point they must have decided to test run it.

pushed it to the far end of a quite long driveway, push started, then realised in a hurry the throttle was wide open. ran out of driveway real quick and found out the shed wasn't about to move. hit the workbench and lodged the main spoiler through the top of the shed.

the memory of the engine roaring, the god aweful bang and the image of the spoiler poking through the shed will stay with me forever.

Mulisha · 28-01-2013, 01:52 PM

Ouch!!

manny.miner · 28-01-2013, 02:31 PM

As a first year apprentice with Mercedes Benz I had the task of replacing a battery. I hooked the polarity wrong and went to start the car........No Go! Haha fortunately they have a device called an overprotection relay which protects against voltage surges and thank God, wrong polarity. There is a blade fuse in this relay that blows. I replaced it and no damage done. Phew!

Sent from my GT-I9210T using Tapatalk 2

**Bundy** · 28-01-2013, 03:30 PM

Not having bigger Garage 20yrs ago

klawsterfobik · 28-01-2013, 05:31 PM

I managed to spend 3 hours fitting, rewiring, soldering and testing a pair of trailer lights after deciding the old ones looked shabby. Got it all finished eventually then picked the trailer up to move it and promptly smashed one of the lenses on the concrete, destroying it.

66FAIRLANE · 28-01-2013, 07:46 PM

Pulling the springs off drum brakes with pliers and smashing myself in the face. Done it with headlight springs too. Use vice grips these days.

ShootsWithFilm · 28-01-2013, 08:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by manny.miner

As a first year apprentice with Mercedes Benz I had the task of replacing a battery. I hooked the polarity wrong and went to start the car........No Go! Haha fortunately they have a device called an overprotection relay which protects against voltage surges and thank God, wrong polarity. There is a blade fuse in this relay that blows. I replaced it and no damage done. Phew!

Sent from my GT-I9210T using Tapatalk 2

I did the same thing with a Deawoo wagon that we had bought a few years ago - the battery was dead, so I drove our other car to the local parts shop, bought a new one (the RIGHT one for that car) and went home. I installed the new battery and without even looking, connected up the leads. As I lowered down the negative lead over the post, a spark and light show started like I had never seen. It felt like it was took for ever to rip the lead back off, but I am sure it was probably only a second or two.

In my haste I hadn't really paid much attention to the posts on the new battery. It seems the old battery had the posts around the opposite way. I got to admit that I felt like a total rookie with that one.

BUT, the biggest shame - the WooWoo started straight away when I righted it. I kind of wished the piece of sh.t had burnt to the ground.

XrRabbit · 28-01-2013, 09:06 PM

worse thing, a old mate and I when he got his first car, we thought we would try and fix things on it ourselves as you do. we did a few small jobs including replacing the front brake rotor and pads. but we forgot to prime them before driving. when we backed out we ran into his dads 71 XY. he was not a happy man

Vincenzo · 29-01-2013, 12:20 AM

1975, my Galant had just ran out of warranty. Decided to service it my self. New fuel filter, oil filter, air filter and flush the radiator. Each job was done one at a time taking note of where everything went. Finished and started to fill the radiator with the garden hose. I was surprised after 4 minutes that it still was not full. Parked on a slight incline and all the water was running down under the back of the car. There sitting on top of the air filter was the radiator drain plug. Mia culpa.

Cheers Vincenzo

jamies · 29-01-2013, 10:36 AM

A trap for young players, Lowered my car in a mates garage and it was to low to drive it out..