What's the biggest fuck up (or almost fuck up) you did while wrenching?Once I almost died because I put the jack stand out at an awkward angle. I worked on the car for a couple hours before I noticed that the jack was literally holding the car up at an angle. I fixed it and nothing happened but after that revelation I went inside and didn't touch the car for a week
>>28712304A washer dropped into the clyinder. Luckily I had a magnet tool and got it instead of being a retard and sending it.
>>28712304I tried to swap the lower control arms in my car, and came to know the literal hell that is trying to remove ball joints at home. never again.
cross threaded a spark plug hole
>>28712324i thought the control arms came with the ball joints
>>28712304Did an oil change at home at totally spaced out and forgot to drain the old shit before dumping in 5 more quarts.
>>28712304Undertorqued a spark plug so the ground electrode was eaten by the engine and it destroyed the threads of the spark plug tubeThankfully the electrode blasted out the tailpipe and i helicoiled the plug. Still strong 20k miles later. Compression in that cylinder is a little lower but still good
I dropped a bolt once.
>>28712332You silly anon, it's not the putting in, it's the removal of the old broken one. Ball joints by their very nature have to be wedged in there fucking tightly. They have to support the entire car at times while driving after all, so what do you think happens when you're trying to remove the old one? The old ball joint that has been there, sitting and caked with debris and a little bit of rust, for 10+ years and 100K+ miles in there, doing solid work until it couldn't anymore?I'll tell you what happens at home, you get 10+ hours of hammering away and blowtorching the metal while trying not to melt the plastic parts of the suspension at the same time. And this is for one (1) ball joint. You still have to do the other one tomorrow cause fuck working another 10+ hours through the night.Your other option is removing the entire thing out. Wheel hub and bearing, with the control arm attached and doing it outside, and it's still a fucking bitch to remove. You can use an impact wrench, and specialized tools, but you're not gonna be one of these faggots with their M12 Stubbies that they only use for rotating tires, no sir, you need the big fucking gun for this one, and hope against hope that you don't strip the threads that are holding the tool in place so that the impact wrench can wrench.All of this so that I could take it to the fucking mechanic anyways for an alingment. I said fuck it, next time I'll just bring it to the mechanic shop and let him play with it.
>>28712304Took the oil drain plug out before I had a drain pan underneath.
>Changing spark plugs>Reconnect spark plug wires>Start to to admire my blue collar work ethics>Stick hand in to see if wire is firmly booted>Get a good shock running up my arm>MfwAnd that was the day I learned that electricity can still travel through rubber.
biggest fuckup? I didn't cleanout the threads for a headbolt on an LS1 camaro I was helping a buddy with and when I torqued it down it turned into a hydraulic jack and busted the block along the hole.
>>28712317I had all the screws loosen up on a carb base plate. They all fell out when I took off the carb.Only found 5 of 6. Didn't see #6 in intake and figured it fell into ito the atreet of got hung up on the frame somewhere.Fired it up and it rattled like mad for 2 seconds then ran like shit.Pulled sparkplugs and found 1 shattered.Swapped it and still ran like shit.Pulled plug and it was shattered again.Pulled engine apart and found the screw embedded in the piston directly under the sparkplug.
>>28712304Friends father was working under a car with just a hydraulic jack, no stands.Jack blew a seal and crushed his head, killing him instantly.Not just urban legend shit, it actually happens.
>>28712558Wild. I had a car on a scissor jack for like two months. At some point I prayed it would fall on me but it never did. I guess God isn't done laughing at me.
>>28712324>>28712366mine are integrated with the lower ball joint, and they're specific to RHD cars too so my only option is to have them refurbished if they ever get excessive play in them. the top ones screw in so i tried to get a 12 ft cheater bar but that did absolutely nothing. took it to work and one of the boys chucked me his fat 1000+ lb ft impact and it zipped it off like it was nothing.
>>28712572>12 ft cheater baroops i mean 6 ft
>>28712304Spun the valve cover upside down, forgetting that I left the bolts inside it so I wouldn't lose them. Two of them dropped down the front of the timing chain cover, and presumably down into the oilpan... by some fucking unbelievable stroke of luck they both kinda jammed against the chain and the cover, so I was able to fish them out with a magnet, but hot damn was that a stressful 20 seconds.
>>28712553
>>28712304I only put my lug nuts on a few finger twists then took a lap around the block. Somehow the lug threads didn't get destroyed and I never lost my front wheels.
> Car requires oil filter stack clocked in a specific orientation> Done oil change several times so not worried about this> Change oil, drive to work> Next day driving home from work, weird flapping sound> Pull over> Engine seized> "Weird, why didn't the oil pressure light go on?"> Follow light from oil pressure sender> Not plugged inTwo small goofs makes one huge goof
Not mine but my brother in law's best friend died while doing an oil change because he out his car on planks and bricks and it rolled off. It was sad and ironic because the man worked for a company that made car lifts. Be careful out there br/o/s
>>28712304Replaced my spark plugs, but I must've dropped #5 or it was defective or something because my engine knocked all the way to work the next morning, and then all the way home because that's where my spark plug wrench was. And because I mixed up #2 and #5 when I replaced it with another plug I bought near work.>>28712558>>28713174Yeah, I'm usually paranoid about this. One unsung bonus to trucks and SUVs is if you're not a fatass you can shimmy underneath and do your wrenching without jacking the car up.
>>28712324>I tried to swap the lower control arms in my car, and came to know the literal hell that is trying to remove ball joints at home.When I saw the videos of how to get one done, I immediately knew I'd have to hire a garage or rent a bay. That is not an easy job on many cars.I have to get one done and I already know that I have to buy a case of beer to get a buddy to help out.
>>28713208>Yeah, I'm usually paranoid about this.The truly paranoid buy the 22-ton jack stands. If it can hold up a tank, it can hold up a car. Sure, it's probably 300 pounds of steel to hold all four corners, but that's pretty hard to move.Surprisingly, Hazard Fraught is not the cheapest option for a 22-ton jack without a coupon.
>>28712304>have '99 XJ Cherokee>be apartmentfag forced to work on the street in Chicago>be working on the rear drums>have both wheels on jack stands>sitting on the ground with my legs under the axle>BOOM>some retarded spic woman crashes in my rear bumper>get pissed>walk over to the rear of my car to yell at her and exchange information>she backups>doesn't turn the wheel>drives forward again>BOOM>i start glancing back and forth between her and a 3lb engineers hammer I have in the cargo area>dumb bitch backs up again>finally relaizes it might be a good idea to get out of her car>she is insured>ask how much money she has on her>its $80>tell her she can either give it to me or I can call the cops and she can pay several hundred to get it out of impound>she starts trying to haggle with me>eventually get $80 from this retarded spic>be graterful the car wasnt knocked off the jack standsI'm now terrified of getting under my car on the street again. I have race ramps but they're only so much better. ICE isnt doing nearly enough. pic from an unrelated accident with another retarded woman who ran a red light.
>>28713251>>she is insureduninsured
>>28713251>>28713253Should've beaten her to death with the hammer and moved her car to somewhere in the south side
>>28713251I'm gonna go on a limb here and say you're not much better than Maria seeing as you're driving not just a jeep, but a garbage jeep shitbox that is on such a level of garbage, that you're forced to tape down the hood. I would buy a fucking bicycle rather than own or work on that piece of shit.
>>28713259I was forced to tape down the hood because some retarded cunt ran a read light you retard. you see the tow truck back there? pic related it the rented seabring she was driving.
>>28713259>>28713260RIP AutoZone tools
>>28713262battery acid fucks things up
>>28713260Yeah, bullshit. if that was caused by an accident you wouldn't need to tape up the entire hood, just own up to the fact that your hood latch rusted to hell and back like most of these "iconic" pieces of garbage do anyways.
>>28713266technically it was not the hood, it was fine and didnt need to be replaced, its the plastic header you retarded wrenchlet that got broke. do you see how utterly wrenched that seabring was? and how you're surprised a plastic body panel cracked?
>>28713271>wrenchedwrecked
stripped a seized alternator pivot bolt last week doing a head gasket job. turned into a fucking nightmare spent a whole day trying different shit to get it out, ended up just removing the whole bracket that holds the alternator and the air pump after I was luckily able to get the air pump out, which was near impossible because one of the bracket head bolts was completely buried behind the alternator.
>>28712304Was pouring in a little more coolant into my engine, it was running with the cap open as I was trying to see the level after the thermostat opened. The level kept oscillating up and down as I poured more in. Every time it oscillated up it got so high that it went into the overflow tube and onto the ground, wasted like 1 quart of the OEM coolant concentrate, which was not cheap.
>>28712558this type of shit is why I bought jack stands that are rated for much higher weight than any of my vehicles>use jackstands ALWAYS if you're getting under the car even partially>put one or more wheels under the car as soon as you take them off>once car is lowered onto jackstands, shove the car a bit in each direction to make sure it won't slide off or tip>keep jack in place, touching the jack point as another backupI don't fuck around when under cars.
>>28712304I was replacing intake gaskets on a 2001 eclipse v6 and left the shop towels in the intake ports that I used to prevent bolts and debris from getting in.>car doesn't want to start>eventually does>runs like ass and backfires>see pieces of blue shop towel shoot out of the exhaust>FUCK>rip it back apart>shop towels jammed under the valves holding them open>pull them out piece by piece with needle nose pliers>put it back together>runs perfectcrisis averted.
Heres the starter
-And heres what the starter did to the flywheel! :^)
>>28713276Blowtorch and mole grips?
>>28713468yea man i tried everything but taking the front end apart to have an angle to drill it out.
>>28712304I have a similar story: I had a parts car for my E28 out in the yard and I needed to pull the exhaust from it. I jack up the rear from the subframe, jack stands on the rear pinch welds, okay. Give it a shake, okay. Get under the car, but leave the jack under the subframe, just in case. Okay.This is grass I'm on. The stands come loose and punch through the floor pans. The car FALLS on me, nearly crushing me to death. However, the jack slips sideways and catches the subframe, giving me literally JUST enough room to slide out from under with some effort.That's why you don't work on soft ground, folks. Pic related, the bitch that tried to kill me.
>>28712304>jacking car up>frame looks good>CRUNCH>frame is not good
>>28713458i had similar issues with a chevy 350 but it luckily didn't damage the flywheel. the timing set was loose and damaged the starter teeth from backfiring i guess
>>28713208>One unsung bonus to trucks and SUVs is if you're not a fatass you can shimmy underneath and do your wrenching without jacking the car up.Best thing about being young with an old SUV is climbing all over the spacious hood and underside without an issue or worry
>>28712304I mixed DOT-4 with special magic racecar brake fluid and flew an open wheeler into the neighboring property.
>>28714358>Work roadside assistance in Florida>Stop for one car with a flat tire>They tell me they are from Chicago>My first salt belt car>Howbadcoulditbe.jpg>Took me 15 minutes just to find a jackable spot>Somehow the lug studs weren't that hard to take offHow it even made it down here is the 8th wonder of the world.
I put a set of brake pads on backwards once. Thankfully I stopped before leaving the driveway and fixed it.
>>28714866I did this too but I only noticed it once I the brakes started squealing badly.
>>28714087I feel you
>>28714712Mine was just from hard stops. First time turning over a fresh rebuild. Everything was tight but not all the cylinders were firing and eventually the motor just couldn't take any more.
Pressed out a bushing in my press on a very slight angle, thought I could cheat by just shoving a thick plank of purpleheart wood in there to stop it shifting.Maxxed out the 10T gauge. Plate shifted slightly and sent the driver into a very, very low earth orbit and bent the lower control arm as the wood also shifted during this event and hitched in the centre mass for full leverage.
>>28715023oof. didn't have any washers on hand to make the bushing as levelas possible?
>>28712304>What's the biggest fuck up (or almost fuck up) you did while wrenching?Removed the engine of a classic Mini. Swapped the diff to change the FD ratio and decided to fit new diff bearings. Reinstalled the engine, connected it all up and started it. Drove if 100 yards from the garage and both diff bearings were making a godawful noise.Back to garage, disconnected everything, lifted out engineSplit off diff housing - I had installed the diff bearings (angular thrust ball) the wrong way round.Bought new bearings, fitted them the right way round, put engine back, reconnected everything.All in one day
>>28712304>not on a car but on an outboard.I ate up some of the mating surface between the powerhead of a mercury 350hp four stroke outboard with an abrasive 3m pad and a air die grinder. After installing the powerhead back on the midsection after replacing the oil seals to the pump , ran the engine and notice oil build up in the bottom of the pan. Big fuck up i will , to this day never remove any gasket material with a power tool or abrasive material. >straight patience and a coke blade.
>>28715188That sucks , I went through something similar with my k24 rebuild after getting the head done by someone and taking it out for a test only to have the engine seize up. Pushed the car back home roughly four blocks away from my crib.
>>28713271Ignore the weird XJ hater, anon. I had an 88 and loved it, to the point that my next car will be another XJ.
>>28712304Shattered a camshaft while torquing it.
>doing oil change on old z31>doing the filter is a completely blind job because of how it's positioned>think I have it screwed on >Fire up the car >No oil pressure even after 5 seconds >Well that's abnormal >Turn off car and get out to make sure I actually put oil in>There's a MASSIVE puddle on the ground >Not ideal>Turns out I cross threaded the filter so the engine pumped pretty much the entire oil pan overboard >Thread the filter on correctly and add oil again >Fire it up >Build oil pressure in like a second with no expensive noises or loss of power>Disaster_averted.webp>Luckily this happened on asphalt too so all I had to do to clean it was wipe up the puddle and then wait a couple weeks and it all just soaked in and disappeared
