Stupid Mistakes I've made working on stuff, thread..

[OneJoeZee]

When I was putting my new set of turbos back on my car, I forgot the gaskets between the y-pipe and hot side on the front turbo. I had already started tightening everything then realized what I had done(or hadn't done). that was pretty annoying. Took another hour to take the front turbo back off just to put some damn gaskets back on.


oh, then when I was done the car wouldn't start. Somehow I pulled one of the pins out of the crank sensor plug.

 

[Tun_x]

I have been a tech for about 10 years and its safe to say that this stuff dosnt just happen to back yard mechanics
after ten years my list is a good size

 

[OneJoeZee]

and whenever I'm working around my intercooler pipes, I almost always forget ONE clamp that I forgot to tighten. And sure enough, the first time I leave the house and make any boost... BANG.

 

[Turbo. Targa. Life.]

When I first got my motor put back in, I cranked it only to have 3qts of oil pour out in about 10 seconds...forgot to put the oil filter on.

Make a trip up to AutoZone, get some more oil, fill 'er up, crank it again...forgot the 2 bolts from the oil feed into the block. 2 qts later I forgot to put the damn oil filter back on again...I used 7qts of oil that day -_-

 

[Tanya]

^HAHA


damn that sucks!


I know when we first got my engine into my white Sup, we'd forgotten to clamp down the coolant hose that goes to the back of the head. Engine was running great but smoking like hell. Took us a minute to figure out wtf was going on

 

[JonoTurbo]

I had an engine back together after a BHG repair and I dropped a cam cover screw into the cylinder.

I've left the ratchet on the crank pulley when starting the car something like 4 times.

Just a couple of days ago I went to fill my r154 with fluid only to realize that the driveshaft wasn't on and it was running out the rear seal.

 

[Shytheed Dumas]

My best non-car stupid mistake was made with a potato cannon that I built with a friend. He fired it and when I opened up the back of it to reload with hairspray I noticed it smelled like it hadn't been fired. So l looked into it and said, "Hey it smells like unburnt hairspray," flicked the flint and had a big flameball wrap around my head. I stood there with a smoldering goatee and hair while he rolled around on the ground laughing. Flash burns ftl! I'm done now.

 

[SLO-MK3]

My best non-car stupid mistake was made with a potato cannon that I built with a friend. He fired it and when I opened up the back of it to reload with hairspray I noticed it smelled like it hadn't been fired. So l looked into it and said, "Hey it smells like unburnt hairspray," flicked the flint and had a big flameball wrap around my head. I stood there with a smoldering goatee and hair while he rolled around on the ground laughing. Flash burns ftl! I'm done now.

HAHA Thats good shit right there. Tater guns 'r' fuuuuunn

 

[ValgeKotkas]

:rofl: :rofl:

 

[pimptrizkit]

well shyt, i cant say i haven't made a couple of dumb moves...

i would like to say first by replacing the oem hg with an oem hg, then addin arp's, , still bhg, but for more serious ones, mhg with surfaced head and warped block whoops,. i guess my strait edge wasn't that strait.
so to fix the mhg i needed to surface the block deck, so i choose to rebuild the engine..

engine apart purchased arp mains and rod's, while doing the rod bolts i was mis-informed about needing to re-work the rods, toasted a good set of bearings. but best of yet, while we were doing the rod bolts

my partner dropped my piston and rod on the ground, i failed to think there was enough damged caused from this.

well after getting rod knock and spending 600 on my rotating assembly, i still have a aluminum hollow taping sound.. whitch if memory serves me right, is piston slap..

i think we all have left a ratchet on the crank before.. :biglaugh:

oh, i flahed the maft pro and computer frooze, left me with out a car for a week till i got a working laptop.. and missed one setting on the maft pro and car ran like crap i had the ve table set up for a grand national.

 

[swaq]

I started my Subaru after an oil change without putting in new oil first. I realized what I had done half a second after the engine turned over and immediately shut it off.

I put windshield washer fluid in my power steering reservoir of my last Supra shortly after I bought it. The power steering slowly went bad over the years...

 

[AF1JZ]

One time on one of my past cars, I was seeing if my injectors were cycling and I forgot to unplug the harness going to the distributor. When my friend cranked the engine, FLAMES :runaway: Needless to say, I had to get the fire extinguisher.

Next, on another one of my past cars, a power steering line fell onto my downpipe and apparently power steering fluid is flammable. I get to the mall and smoke was just rolling out of my hood. Popped it and flames galore and was debating on putting it out because it wasn't running right at the time. Ended up putting it out with a full Dr. Pepper.

I don't like the fire thing :3d_frown:

 

[slidebabyslide]

Man, when i was done doing doing my first BGH (3 years ago) i forgot to connect the turbo oil lines, so i take out the efi fuse and i told my buddy to crank it i was standing on the right side fender, he cranked the car and all i see is oil coming out i was like no. i thout my block broke lol. next day i wake up and go to school, thinking about were to get another motor from. So my financial aid came in the same day, i took the money and got another engine over the phone, i come back to my house and my car is not there, my dad was driving it around ....lol. I was you got a new motor hes like no, i just connected the turbo oil lines. lol........I got so sad because i made a list about things i checked lol but i for got to write check turbo.

 

[AF1JZ]

i come back to my house and my car is not there, my dad was driving it around ....lol. I was you got a new motor hes like no, i just connected the turbo oil lines.

:yelrotflm

 

[Facime]

Wow, I read the whole thread and have to say, what a bunch of numbnut idiots you all are. I have never made a single one of those mistakes! :naughty:
























































but seriously, my worst one was probably when I forgot to put back in the 2 17mm bolts that hold the strut to the lower control arm on my Celica. I made it about a mile and a half before I rounded a corner and the whole strut colapsed, twisting 90* around leaving the side of my wheel facing forward and jammed up under the fender. It hit the fender so hard it ripped the bottom of the fender out of its mount. It also ripped the hard brake line out through the firewall, but left it attached still. I was left sitting in the middle of rush hour traffic on Unser Blvd in Albuquerque.

I managed to get to the side of the road. I walked a couple blocks to a Midas shop and paid a mechanic there $100 to let me use his tools for a couple hours, walked back and fixed it right there on the side of the road.

Dee dee dee!

 

[Clip]

read the potato gun incident and that reminded me:

i taped 3 pringles cans together and made a tennis ball mortar. to fire it, you put about a teaspoon of lighter fluid in and stick a grill lighter through a hole in the bottom.

so i put a few tablespoons in, thinking more is better. it didn't fire, i suppose i was running it too rich but i was too young to know at the time

didn't fire, i waved it around to air it out, looked down the empty cans and thought, "wonder if itll spark now?" clicked the lighter and it singed my eyebrow off, felt like i was just kicked in the face. my friend was crying on the ground he was laughing so hard.

 

[adampecush]

Fire stupidity stories never get old...

For me, the first time I had to pull my engine I was so sure I had everything unhooked and it was time to pull the motor. After 5 minutes of jacking, jimmying, and swearing, I realized that my shift knob was still very much one with the shift lever, essentially destroying my shift boot.

 

[Facime]

A couple of months ago when I replaced the clutch on Lady (my white N/A hardtop) I had Tim come over and help me get it back in. We managed to get it right in without much fuss. Tim left and I started to clean up....

...only to discover the throwout bearing still sitting in the box. :nono:

 

[spoolme]

but seriously, my worst one was probably when I forgot to put back in the 2 17mm bolts that hold the strut to the lower control arm on my Celica. I made it about a mile and a half before I rounded a corner and the whole strut colapsed, twisting 90* around leaving the side of my wheel facing forward and jammed up under the fender. It hit the fender so hard it ripped the bottom of the fender out of its mount. It also ripped the hard brake line out through the firewall, but left it attached still. I was left sitting in the middle of rush hour traffic on Unser Blvd in Albuquerque.

I managed to get to the side of the road. I walked a couple blocks to a Midas shop and paid a mechanic there $100 to let me use his tools for a couple hours, walked back and fixed it right there on the side of the road.

Dee dee dee!

your lucky someone didnt Jack you There while walking!!
Albuquerque is aweful.

Anyway, when doing a HG job first time my brother droped a screw down the spark plug hole...sat on top of the motor for about 1 hour with a graber thing trying to get it out.

 

[Selz202]

and whenever I'm working around my intercooler pipes, I almost always forget ONE clamp that I forgot to tighten. And sure enough, the first time I leave the house and make any boost... BANG.

I always forget the clamps when i put intercooler pipes on... or any hose for that matter.