Have another car ready to go if you're doing anything more complicated than draining + refilling fluids.
OP learned this the hard way (assuming he's also learned this lesson)

always loctite things that will kill you if they fall off

>>28646629
>What are your golden rules of working on cars?
don't.
my best friend is a diesel mechanic and has been for 30+ years and has built up like 20 cars himself.
He works on all my shit.
In trade I give him frenship and alcohol and upgrade his heating and air conditioning system when needed plus free service on it, I'm also the godfather to both his kids and really his only fren.
Only vehicles of my own that I work on are my motorcycles.

>>28646629
having a back up car in case shit goes south (and it will)
stretching before getting into a big job
ppe
googling as much info as possible before doing big jobs (where i learned to make sure the fill plug could be removed before the drain, avoiding your unfortunate predicament)
>>28646717
for me it was not turning my hobby into a job. weekend wrenching is fun for me, full time job it is not

main rule that I learned the hard way: most preventative maintenance is a scam for retards who don’t understand how parts fail and the consequences, fixing things when they break is, most of the time, the way to go.

>>28647307
Yeah anon changing timing belts every 100k is a scam just wait until it snaps and the valves have sex with the pistons

>>28646717
>don't work on cars
>does HVAC
oof my bones. But yeah I agree the last place I want to be on my day off is under a car fixing shit, or sitting in a car on a nice day.

>>28646629
I always have three different safety things when working under a jacked car

Usually a jack, jackstands and a rim under the rail somewhere

>>28646708
So wheel nuts?