Worst DIY or mechanic stories

[sdubfid]

dumbest thing I did was remove my alternator in a parking lot then forget to put it back on, then drive on i5 for 5 mins until my radiator end tank cracked because the waterpump is driven by the alternator belt

I also opened a rad cap under pressure to make sure I had coolant in my civic in the lougheed mall parking thinking nobody was around at 2am. Turns out a cop was parked in a ghost car by ihop and was watching me. Thought for sure I would get breathalyzer.

*everyone should have a fire extinguisher in their garage and car*

[StanleyR]

Originally Posted by FRESHvibe

Almost similar to my first brake experience! My first time changing my own brake pads, I put the anti-squeal on both the back of the pads and the pads themselves...

Luckily I realized my error after sliding the first caliper

I would NOT want you as my private modder

[Mr.Money]

the stereo kept going out on my aunts POS Mazda mx 3...i replaced the fuse 2 times...
Third Time I ended up Wrapping a Tin foil Juicy Fruit Wrapper around the blown out Fuse & she worked great the whole time she had the car

[dee242]

destroyed the pump i a freshly rebuilt powerglide because converter wasnt on right

[underscore]

I had one a couple weeks ago with my new to me RX7, I went to change the brake pads so I parked it, popped the ebrake and chocked the front wheels. I unbolted the rear caliper and tried to pivot it up off the pads but it wouldn't budge, so I started hitting it with a mallet, prybar, everything I could throw at it but that sucker seemed seized on solid. Then I realized the OEM ebrake ties into the regular rear brake caliper, once I release the ebrake it popped off no problem.

Derpiest car moment I've had in a long time.

[dared3vil0]

Originally Posted by StanleyR

I would NOT want you as my private modder

You just fucking killed it. RIP Private modder joke 6/19/2013- 9/5/2014.

[Lomac]

Worst shop story? A mechanic leaving an oil soaked rag on my exhaust manifold before the shop gave me back my car.



Worst DIY story? Same car, two separate incidents. A few years back we were working outside on my buddy's car in the middle of winter, trying to get a fully custom turbo build installed into the car. We had pulled the engine to rebuild it and had just finished putting the heads back together. It wasn't until we had bolted everything down and went to put the timing belt on when we realized one of the camshafts was spinning freely. Some how in between coffee breaks designed to keep our hands warm after working in the snow, we had forgotten to put the lifters back into one of the heads and failed to notice.



The other (and more dangerous) one involved us finally getting the engine running and ready for on-the-fly Megasquirt tuning. Some how when we had finally lowered the car back onto the ground at 2am, we had forgotten to torque the wheels down... I'm sure you can picture where this story goes. It's not like the car wasn't a total heat score at the time with only half an exhaust bolted in and no hood installed...

[dn53]

things ive seen in the shop so far,

-coworker forgot to put on an oil filter, fills up the car then starts it. wonders why the oil lights not coming out and revs it harder. stops when he finally notices the puddle trailing by his door LOL
-coworker forgets his calipers not on one side, steps on the brake and the piston pops out.
-too many misplaced oil caps
-loose oil drain bolts..
-shop I volunteered at the guy forgot to put oil back in after an oil change and drove it a block. thing cooked.
-loose lug nuts
-tools left under the hood
-brake pedal not pumped after pad replacement, lot guy gets into the car and kicks it in reverse, pedal sinks, and it goes into a wall
-wants to check reverse lights while cars running, doesnt pull the handbrake and gets out.. door almost pins him and rolls into a wall..
-garage door operated by switch, tech doesn't see a cars sitting right under the door and closes the door, crushes the hood
-kicking and pounding wheels thinking its seized onto the hub, just to find a lugnut still tight on the studs LOL
-used to play with the giant tire bead blasters and hide behind corners and give each other heart attacks at 90psi

[CorneringArtist]

Attempting to clean the interior of a car that a grad from last year pissed in in my high school shop class way back when. Gutted interior, soap and a ton of hose work later, the smell remained so I brought half a can of Febreze from home and bombed every place I could think of that smelled. Got out about two-thirds of the piss smell .

[underscore]

Years back a buddy had just finished doing an NA -> turbo swap into his MKIII Supra, he goes to fire it up for the first time and it won't start. He's freaking out and checking all kinds of shit, finally I think he gave up and went to pull the motor so he pulls off the intake piping to find the rag he had stuffed into the TB to keep things clean

[seekerbeta]

Rebuilt a 383 into a 408. Put it in my vega, had the starter back out because the knurl on the stud wore out and i was too lazy to replace it

Pulling the fender on my firebird, realize that the door has to come off to pull one, then forget to pull 2 bolts on the lower fender.

Used my lawnmower to pull our Valiant up to the house, unfortunately the tires start spinning, i jam the mower in 6th and drop the clutch. i caught air when the front wheels left the ground.

Did Brakes on my Spec-V, then desperately needed a large c-clamp vice grips to compress the piston, had to leave car in the air for 4 hours to get into town, find someone who had one and bring it back

[Super Dipper]

Guy bought a eg civic hatch shell from me. Two weeks later he bought a motor swap from me. i told him i would install it for him and give him a running no issue car. He opts to put the motor in himself.

A few weeks go by and i get a call. He asks if I will get his car running for him. He can't get it to start. I agreed to it and this is what I found:

t - stat ground wasn't hooked up
fuel feed line going to the fuel rail wasn't tight spraying fuel all over the motor when you primed it
NO engine grounds attached whatsoever
shift pin apparently wasn't available so they decided a roundabout bolt and nut that fit would do that he trick and not the actual shift pin
loose engine mounts
front fork bolts in backwards

there is probably more but I can't remember.


I have other good ones as it seems I end up fixing other ppls mistakes on the regular. lol