Silly screw ups

[VirginiaBRZ]

Installed intake... decided that it was a good idea to push the car out of the garage to start it.

Well i left the driver side door open while i pushed it out andddd well giant dent in the door

[Ultramaroon]

I've done so many dumbshit things over the years, I've forgotten most. One was pretty good.

Waaay before I knew any better, I repaired a leaky AC hose on my Datsun 210 by cutting and splicing it with a good tight barbed fitting and a couple hose clamps. Then, with no evacuation or any other prep, I charged that bad boy. It actually worked great...

...for a day.

Second day, a friend and I were driving along minding our business when "BANG!" it let go with the force of a shotgun blast. Shook the car. My passenger jumped so hard she just about went through the roof with a scream. Amazed that I didn't react at all she asked what happened. I just kept driving and said with an expression of disappointment, "AC hose blew out."

Never did fix it properly. Just went without.

[g33k]

Originally Posted by sqd

Haha when removing my OEM wing, I dropped one of the bolts into the trunk lid too, and we tried EVERYTHING to get that thing out. Iit rattled around when you drove, but you could NOT get it out, it always got stuck on the way up. So in the end, we just sprayed that type of goo that is supposed the eliminate rattles that you can't reach, that turns into thick, sticky paste when it dries, and drenched the bolt with that so it's now stuck in there.

But at least it's quiet

Had almost the same thing happen. When I got my car it had some scratches from the dealer to do a storm making debris fly and scratching the car. Had a scratch on the spoiler, trunk, and hood. When I got it back it looked good but one day I opened the trunk and heard a rattle. My first thought was damn guys dropped a bolt or something and just left it. I tried for so many days on and off to get that damn bolt out. One day opening the trunk it just fell out onto the trunk mat. Turned out it was actually a hex bit and not a screw. Now I got to solve the rattle I got around the passenger rear windows almost sounds like electrical interference.

[zberz]

Haven't done a lot of terrible things but I do have a good one:

Replaced the clutch on an 83 Ford Escort. After disagreeing with the Haynes manual for too long about needing to drop the engine first, I finally did. Clutch replacement went fine, but as I put everything back together I swapped a large vacuum line with a coolant line. (Why would you make these the same size Ford?)

It took me a bit to figure out why coolant was spraying out of the tail pipe as I tried to turn it over. To the little Ford's credit, it did finally turn over after I fixed the problem and I drove around with a giant cloud of steam behind me for a few days. It ran for another 6 months until I parked it long term for about 8 months. Couldn't have expected more from a car I paid $100 for in 2006.

sent from my phone using black magic

[strat61caster]

Left the oil fill cap sitting on the exhaust manifold heat shield for about a week on my gf's car. She complained about smelling oil, popped the hood, stared at it with incredulity, popped the cap off the exhaust manifold heat shroud as it had melted a bit and deformed, screwed it back on, popped another quart of oil into it, wiped it up as best I could.

Two years later, another 10k on the clock or so and the car reeks of oil and gas fumes when it sits but runs o.k. Hoping to get rid of it soon...

[Cole]

With this car? Many things. Almost to the point where I'm not sure I want to work on it on my own anymore because my dumb luck has just about run out. Most recently, changing from winter to summer wheels, I got lazy, didn't use jack stands. Jack slipped, tire narrowly missed landing on my foot and knee, while the jack dented in my AC condenser. AC still works, I have a condenser sitting around waiting to go on, but can't be fucked to mess with something that isn't broke at the moment.

Doing RLCAs, was jacking up the rear wheel to tighten everything up, jacked a touch too high and the car shifted, and came to a rest while I scampered out from under it. The jack saved my leg there, yet again. After the dust settled, I looked at my friend who was helping me, I laughed and cracked open another beer.

Scratched up the fender with one of the studs on a set of coils.

Dropped 20 lug nuts from about 8 feet up in the air onto my hood.

Put my undercarriage through hell being slammed last summer, and am slowly working on getting everything replaced that I ruined.

Probably more, but that's all off the top of my head without thinking about it too hard.

[Impureclient]

Cole, it sounds like you and you're car are trying to kill each other.

[soulreapersteve]

Only thing I did on this car (off the top of my head) was trying to jack it up from the front jack point on a non solid ground.. gravel + dirt essentially. It was going ok, until the ground gave way and the car slipped off the jack point -____-

Last time I checked, it was bent and dunno if its able to be used again LOL!!
I'll try it out when I do upcoming oil change.


On my old Corolla, I saw a commercial while working out for Silverstar Ultra XZE bulbs. Yeah, they were bright as hell. But didn't know jack shit about how reflector housing worked... I feel bad now...

[DarkSunrise]

I once pulled a front wheel off to check brake pad thickness, but forgot to torque down the lug nuts afterwards. Drove a mile or so before getting some noticeable vibrations from the steering wheel. Thankfully that jogged my memory and I pulled over immediately and tightened it down. Somehow didn't lose any lug nuts.

Another time I was coming back from the track and could hear/feel a tapping noise when turning the steering from lock to lock. I was too tired to jack the car up so I brought it into a shop. Turns out some of the bolts securing the skid plates had worked themselves loose (I had pulled the header earlier that week). That was a waste of $110.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by VirginiaBRZ

Installed intake... decided that it was a good idea to push the car out of the garage to start it.

Well i left the driver side door open while i pushed it out andddd well giant dent in the door

Installing an intake is ONLY a ONE beer job ...... no more .......


humfrz

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Cole

With this car? Many things.Probably more,............................... but that's all off the top of my head without thinking about it too hard.

That's OK, there @Cole , no need to think about it any more ...... we get the idea .......


humfrz

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by humfrz

That's OK, there @Cole , no need to think about it any more ...... we get the idea .......

Ok, now, fess up. Your shit stinks too.

[Karl07]

I'm the most unlucky person I know, so I have to take the good with the bad on this one.
I had just put a set of wheels on to an old car but managed to leave the lock nut on one of the lug nuts.
Was driving along oblivious to this fact until I went past a traffic island with a sign on it.
The lock nut decided now was the perfect time to come off and my side window got smashed.
Scared the crap out of me.
Checked it out and found my lock nut in the car.

At least I didn't lose it...

[ZionsWrath]

I bought... AND installed Megan coilovers once

I damaged a ball joint thread when the ball joint remover tool slipped. I was replacing the front lower control arm. So now I needed a ball joint. So I was taking the knuckle off because the ball joint is pressed into it. I broke the ABS sensor. FUK ME! I ended up buying a junkyard knuckle with a speed sensor, wheel bearing, and ball joint all attached. Then I had to spend $25 to overnight a nut for the ball joint because I couldn't find one local that would fit. Because I was going on a trip to Canada the next day. I kept pulling over to make sure the nut wasn't backing out.

I bought my favorite tool after that and remove balljoints properly thereafter. 4lb hammer

I done more but that was probably my most annoying fuck up because I had my car on jack stands for at least a week plus it was close to ruining my trip.