what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

One time I spent an hour trying to get off this nut on the susension. I gave it everything I had, breaker bars, impact wrench, everything. It was really pissing me off, so I finally took a break and when I came back I looked at the nut and realized it was welded to the frame, the bolt came out the other side! I felt like a complete dumbass.

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

i took my intake manifold off to clean the inside and injectors, etc., when i put it back on, i snagged one of the injector plug wires between the head and i.m., then had to undo it all and re torque the hard to reach bolts, then i had snagged the coolant bypass hose between the i.m. and the brace that goes to the back of the block, had to undo and re torque once again, oh yeah, i also broke my knock sensor in the process. got it all back together and had a cel that i figured was for my broken knock sensor, so my car ran like ass for two weeks, finally checked my codes and i had one for the knock sensor, tps, and iacv, well i never even plugged my tps back in, and i had a small vacuum leak throwing the iacv cel because i re used my t.b. gasket ::) the only reason i even did this is because it was not suppose to cost anything (except i.m. gasket), and i just felt like working on my car. ended up costing me 100 bucks, 100 head aches, and my car ran like ass for a month. the sad thing is, i had done this before :P

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

read the post called stupid mother fucker

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

I pulled the dizzy on my 89 supra turbo after having to remove all the charge piping to get to it and didn't mark its position. I spent the next couple of hours putting everything back together, try to start car, pull everything apart, turn the dizzy one-two clicks, try again. fun stuff, I won't forget that again.

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

I took my distributer off to polish it(make it shiney :P) and in the prosess some how broke a piece of the magnet that rotates and tell the I.C.M what the cam is doing.....it cost me $350 for a new dizzy at the dealer.
:-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

i bet its still not polished.. lol

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

NO its not.I put it on verry carefully and left it alone...now im even scared to set my timing :P

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

Doing a head swap, i put the intake mani on the head outside the car, torque the head on then, realized i forgot to put the IM gasket on, kicked myself in the face, then spent the next hour getting the IM off and on without pulling the head. i cant beleive how much of a bitch honda made that.

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

Replacing a head gasket for the third time or so I went to line it up with the block to set the head on and torque to spec and it didn't line up. I stared at it for a few minutes and moved it around and the fucker was not going to fit. I went to the auto parts store and made them take the fucker back even though it clearly said "NON-REFUNDABLE IF OPENED" in bold letters all over the fucker. I bitched and cried that it was the wrong head gasket and sat with the guy going over numbers and ---- until he gave up and gave me my money back. I went to another auto parts store and got a new gasket. Went home and it didn't fit either. I thought "WTF?". I stared at it again and moved it around trying to see what was wrong and why it wouldn't fit. I flipped the gasket over and it fit just fine. :-[ ::)
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Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

went throught the agony of changing my whole harness to obd1 when i switched over to the d16z6 when it turns out i did not have to . NOw i have to a/c no heater no nothing i had to rig everything :-[ but the girls like the gutted look. :P

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

we were installing the KYB AGX struts on my friends MR2 and did the most common stupid rediculous mistake in car mechanic history.... forgot to tighten the lugs. we drove around for a little bit thinking, holy ---- this suspension feels like ass. then realized we were idiots.

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

Ok I have another one. I'm sure I have thousands of them, but these few really come to mind.

I bought a new set of Eibach springs for my Civic. I don't bother to read ---- and just start tearing ---- apart and slapping springs in. I get the front on and HOLY ---- did those sport springs drop my little Civic. Cool. Ok, get the back ones on and lower this bitch to the ground to scope out my new pimp mobile and ----. I created a ------- stink bug. I put the back springs on the front and the front on the back. What a ------- idiot. ::)
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Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

after i put my engine together i forgot to put a oil filte ron it.. and all the oil went all over the driveway

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

I did an oil change and when I was done I lowered the car onto the carwash bucket with the oil in it, and dragged it back down the driveway.

I did my motor swap with a z6. I wanted the motor clean before I put it in, so I sent the head for porting, and took the assembled block to the spray it yourself carwash. I still don't know why ran great. I don't think that was very smart.

Changed my spark plugs, started the car and I hear, "clack,clack,clack." Looked under the hood, and one of the plugs came out of the threads with the wire still attached. It was still firing, but it was popping up and denting my freshly painted hood. >:( ;D

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

I did my motor swap with a z6. I wanted the motor clean before I put it in, so I sent the head for porting, and took the assembled block to the spray it yourself carwash. I still don't know why ran great. I don't think that was very smart.

nuttin wrong with taht

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

i put premixed gas with two stroke oil in my explorer not knowing it was mixed. good luck passing smog to the guy I sold it to, hehe

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

Back in the day I was putting coilovers on my car, wasn't using spring compressors and I was taking the nut off the top of the shock. My friend was standing right in front of me watching me do it. I said "you might want to move this might fly off." one second later the thing flew off and if he didn't it would have taken his nuts off

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

Ok well hers another one....

When I put the AGxs on the car about 2 months ago and for some reason I didnt torque the drivers side wheel.


So the next day I went to a job that was like 30 miles frome my house.About 2 miles from the job I hear this claking sound and its getting louder.I borowed a work truck,drove to the shop 20 miles away,picked up a trailer,got my buddy(whos work truck it was) to drive me home,got home at 9pm.The next bay I jack up the car and find out that all I had to do the previouse day was tighten the ------- wheel lugs!!!

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

I've done the lugnut thing. After putting in my illuminas and springs, I tightened the lugs while the car was in the air, but it started raining so I was scrambling to get my tools put away and forgot to re-tighen them when I dropped it. The next day, I was driving to work and my car is pulling to one side really hard. It took me a minute to realize what I didn't do. All 4 lugs on the driver side front were loose enough that I could turn them by hand. Luckily, I had tools in the car so it didn't become an issue.

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

I was putting on my new rims but tried to use the stock lugnuts. It was a VERY tight fit but they worked. I tightened them by hand with a torque wrench... all but the front drivers side. To this day I swear I did that one too.

ANYWAY I take it for a ride around town. Its rattling like a bitch so I immediatly head for home. About a 1/4 mile from home, I see a shiny object go flying from my car. And then another and another and then all hell broke loose when my wheel started shaking REALLY bad. I got it slowed down and pulled off into a parking lot. I got out and i had NO lugnuts left on. We only found 3. They were on the side of the road.

Needless to say, I waited till my aftermarket lugnuts came in the mail. No problems since.

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

i was installin my new suspension and my crx fell on my legs.

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

HOLY ----! the dumbest thing I ever did was... I dunno I cant think of one right now but I have plenty.

I think dropping my car 4 times in a row off the jack was pretty bad. I was ------ pissed.

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

I was checking the cam timing on my B16 and left the socket on the crank pully, when i started my car it made one hell of a noise.
Also forgot to put the lower control arm nut back on and let my car down off the jack and fucked the fender up pretty good since the wheel was turned a little.

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

back in the day, my friend was doing donuts.. he pulled out of the parking lot and said "listen to this" he turned the wheel as hard as he could before he took off... next thing you know we are putting the spare on cause the front tire hopped off the rim.

he told me this is how you put the tire on.. i said that it didnt look right. he swore it was right, so i put it on (inside out) and his car would not move... again we take it off. turn it around (twice) and he says "there that is how it is supposed to be. your stupid" im like.. ok man. put on again (inside out).. yet again, we go through the task of jackin the car, pulling off the wheel and putting it back on (the right way finally). and he says "why did you put it on wrong. you should have done what i said" ::) needless to say with the donut on right, the car moved, until the inside out way where it would not hardly budge
-rollmodel

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

i dont know if this is stupid but owell, my buddy and I were changing a CV joint on his Mazda, and the truck is pretty tall, so we were working, then I got a weird feeling to moove away, and sure ----, the truck fell over. :-X

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

1st stupidest thing i ever did was try to change the clutch myself on my old eclipse(mind you i had never even changed the oil myself) I didnt know what i was doing and 7 hours and many leftover parts later and i was done... That same week I was ------- with a Mustang and on the launch my tranny ate ----, Broke all but one of the tranny to motor bolts, Bell housing broke, clutch ripped itself to peices, and the flywheel was warped....

Culprit..... Forgot to reinstall the dowlpins and no locktite(locktite is your friend)

Second Dumbest thing I did was think that if i drilled a bigger hole on my fuel pressure regulator on the ecplise i could get more fuel to go through it(more fuel more HP right?).... did this on a sunday night... come monday turned it on and drove to work...
Car ran like ----.... accelerated with the willingness of a schoolbus

3rd and by far dumbest thing I did was drive my car uphill for about 10 miles with a seized thermostat. (didnt know it was seized at the time) well the car started shooting out smoking... and i checked the temp gauge... was hotter than hell.... THen it started making horrible noises... like someone was banging it with a hammer....

Results.... Burned all the oil...Coolant, warped the head
Poor little 4G63!!!

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

I was swaping the rear diff on a 328IS BMW once, I drained and pulled the old noisy diff out, filled the new diff with fluid, took a break, came back and put the new(used) diff in the car. The next day the new diff sounded worse than the old one so we figured it was defective, we called the junk yard and told them they sent us a bad unit. No problem they sent us a replacement. I go to take the second noisy unit out of the car and realize there is no fluid in it, I check the first unit and its full of fresh fluid. I filled the wrong diff up on the ground and put the new one in the car dry. Oh well Car Max ate it so no big deal.
This guy I was working with at the time F#@KED up everything he touched, I could fill this whole thread up with stories about his mistakes. Once he was doing an intake manifold gasket on a Windstar so he lays shop towels in the lifter valley so nothing will get in there while he is scraping the old gasket off. Problem is he forgets to take them out before he puts the intake back on. Now you have to understand the 3.8 in the Windstar has a balance shaft that runs down the middle of the lifter valley and spins while the engine is running. The ballance shaft takes about a week to grind the shop towels to small enough pieces to clog up the oil pump. The customer comes back complaining about no oil pressure, so this guy pulls the oil pan, replaces the oil pump and sends them on there way. The shop towl is still in there and the new oil pump last another week. This time they have no oil preessure and a rod knock. Someone else gets the motor swap and finds the remains of the shop towl in the lifter valley when they swap the intake onto the new motor. The guy lost his job and the customer got a new motor for free. CarMax ate that one also. I dont know how they stay in buisness with all the stuff that gets messed up around there.

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

^^^ thats a ------ goodone

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

back when i worked a lesschwab i worked on big otr equipment (tires easily 1 1/2 times as tall as me) so im out on a service call and this company has a loader with a flat so pull up get the crain on the track all set up then instead of using the air powered jack that can be operated out from under the eguipment i just grabbed a couple heavy duty bottle jacks and some big wood block (thats how i always did it) well i get the flat spot of the tire about 14in off the ground witch would make the wheel almost 3ft im under this thing just getting ready to set up the next bottle jack on another piece of wood when the mother ------ thing fell luckly that even with a flat tire there is enough room for my fat ass to lay under the rear axle of this thing but there is no other type of rush like having 15tons of heavy equipment coming down at you. i guess it wasnt working on my car but deffinatly at the top off my stupid list for working on anything mechanicle



Beau

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

My second car was a 1989 Cavalier Z24 (2.8L V6). I thought I'd be mister-mechanic (at this time i didnt know much about cars) and change the sparkplugs. Well if you've ever worked on a 2.8/3.1 you know its a bit of a pita to change the back plugs. So I get them all in finally, 2000 miles later POP OPOPOPO POPOPO.... back middle blew out! Come to findout i x-threaded it in :(

I tried to heli-coil it, but it just wouldnt hold. Ended up having to pull the motor apart and change the back cyl head ! 8)

Going further on, I didnt check the rocker studs on the reconditioned head and about 400 miles after the headswap all the sudden the car acts like its running on 4 cyls (and it is!) the bastards at the cyl head shop didnt torque down the rocker pedistals and they backed out far enough the pushrods couldnt push the valves open.. effectivly making my engine v6 a 4cyl :) So from there on i always double check anything preassembled.

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

Leaving ratchets on the crank pulley...more than once...all the time lol.

Driving off forgetting to tighten the strut tower bolts.

Have a gas, oil, and water leak on a first start after major work.. 8)

Racking my brain for an hour trying to figure out why it wont start...harness plug not 'clicked' in all the way.

Crank pulley falling off....see #1

<---has ADD

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

LMAO leed.. nice

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

Left out the oil drain plug on the Boss's wife's 2003 Xterra SE..

Let's just say we got it covered under warranty ;D

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

Well, i rebuilt a D series mini me after about 200k miles. Got the thing back together and in the car, fired it up, and headed down the road for a test drive. Drove about 2 miles away, stomped on the gas to see how she was doin, and all of a sudden, the tranny started slippin(so i thought). Got outta the car and realized i forgot to put the axles all the way back in the tranny. So, i had to pull the front end apart on the side of the road at 11:00 at night just to drive it back to the garage. Talk about pissed off! ;D

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Well, my B16 was running Extremely strong with the new turbo, and my great new self programmed P28 ECU. Blundar gave me a base tune for a GSR to work off. I then got over zealous and started to bring the timing closer to stock. Well I was using a cpu at school and didn't have the proper editing software, put in the wrong Hex values. I ended up advancing the ignition past stock and putting a rod through the front of the block.

Yep, thats my big mistake. Pretty ------- domb :-\

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

1)at`s my first "spring job", putting on skunk2 coilover without taking off dust cover on teh shocks...after it get to the ground there`s like 1 feet fender gap... :P
2)putting on fuel pressure regulator with the o-ring smashed, got fuel sprayed all over my face. :P
3)replaced valve cover gasket for my brother, while i put the bolts back on, "click" broke a bolt, so i am telling my brother that`s cool i am going to plug it up and i`d go get one from the dealer tomolo. and guess what one minutes later i broke another two. and it ends up not driviable the next day :P
4)i guess this on happended to everyone whoever worked on a car..u turned the bolt the wrong way while ur tying to loose it..usually it takes like 20 mins for me to fig. out. :-[ :P
5) u know ur hands wil ends up banging on something after u get the bolt loosen and get hurt but u do it anyway (e,g exhaust manifold bolts) :P

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

the other night, i was trying to take off the oil filter on my car to put the block fitting in.. well i have a k&n filter.. (it has the bolt end on it, where you can use a rachet and socket) well i am looking for sockets big enough... i put one up to it.. hey it fits. so i put it on the rachet. wiggle my arms up there. drop everything on my face.. ouch, i quick pull my head up ouch, hit the a arm and drive shaft.. so i quick pull my head down, ouch hit the ground... oh that wasnt one of my finer moments. ::)
-rollmodel

but.. i did get that oil filter off.. and boy did it pay.:)

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

Check this out... I bought this stolen recovery 91 hatch SI that was missing lots of ----, I put it all together and the exhaust pipe was the last thing to go in (the car is lowered, i used an original Honda jack to jack the car up, no jack stands... and one wheel on the oposite side of the car from the jack is off), so there i am laing under the car trying to get the damn thing bolted in when i see that the car started to slide over to one side and then BOOOM it fell right on me, knoked the wind out of me and I cant inhail- I am frikin' out, lucky me two of my friends were standing in a garage next to the car smoking and were able to lift the side of the car high enoug so i could clime out, had some sore ribs that day... <---- dumb ass

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

one time when i was doing a swap at my shop i took the transmition of the old engine to use for the new swap but when i put the trany to the block and started to tighten the bolt i hear a big clakkkkk i was like what the ---- was that i look around the engine and not think nothin of it so i tighten it all the way around but when i get to the last bolt i had seen what i did. it wasent good. i didnt line the spacers that conect to the block so it wasent all the way in so it snaped a big part of the trany off. i got in so much trouble with my manager but didnt looses my job.

and a nother time i did a swap for this one guy his engine had cout on fire so i asked him if he drand on oil allready he said yeah i drand it a long time ago. so i cheak the oil cap no oil in there i could see. so i start doing the swap thinking it had no oil and when i take it off the mount i un do the transmtion and then some oil leaked on my so i drop the engine on accedent and oil poured all of the shop deck it was a big ass mess.

when tighting down a fule rail i forgot to put the o ring metal spacer on and when starting the car fule sprad every were it was so funny.

one time when i was replacing a alternater i left the battery conected. so when i was taking it out i blow a main fuse in the guys car i didnt now i did but when i installed it and done was done i tryed to start his car. and there was nothin. i was like ---- and it all clicked. but the sad part was it was 10 pm at night and we couldent get him a fuse in time so we had to drive him home for the night. and then drop his car off in the morning. i didnt get payed for that install. and i wounder why :-[

Re:what stupid stuff have u done working on ur car?
 

1. first time ever working under the car: (i had a couple beers first) i went to change transmission fluid, put the ratchet driver in the plug and tried loosening it - wouldn't break loose... hmm need more leverage. go get the 1/2" ratchet and adapter. put that in there, still wont come loose, give it hell and it breaks free. plug hits the ground, filled with aluminum from the tranny. yep, i don't know left from right ???

2. changed coolant, drove around the block to the store to get some food. come back, pop the hood, and decide to have a look in the radiator just to make sure everythings full. start to loosen the cap and HOT coolant shoots out and burns the ---- outta my hand. i'm such a retard, it says real big on there 'do not open when hot' hah

3. removed my entire ac system, and needed to take the now useless belt tensioner off the block. i'm using a 14mm box wrench on the nut that holds the wheel to the thing and god damn is this nut tight. i'm pulling the wrench toward the front of the car hard... real hard. it finally breaks loose, my hand flies forward and my wrist (specifically that big vein) got cut on something in there. i was bleeding soooo much. wrapped it up good with a towel and had a friend drive me to the hospital for some stiches.