Stupid mechanic tricks....

Topic: Stupid mechanic tricks.... (Read 1392 times) previous topic - next topic

Stupid mechanic tricks....

January 06, 2008, 10:15:10 PM

Had a party to go to last night after work, but the boss kept me later than I wanted and was in a rush. Eliminator was down due to a shot battery and I wanted to drive it to the party. So I stopped on the way home and got a new battery for it thinking, I can pop this in in 5 minutes, no problem. Then grab a quick shower and be on my way.

But I'm in a hurry. Let this be a lesson to all of you, never work on your car when you are in a hurry and have other options.

Yanked the old battery, dropped the new one in and had to fight with the negative terminal to get it on, but some gentle coaxing with a ball peen hammer seated the terminal just right. I jump in and turn the key....

NOTHING.

Checked the cables to be sure everthing was on right and tight. Turn the key....

NOTHING.

I'm pissed. I don't have time for this. So, I showered, dressed, jumped in Catnap and headed across town to the party. Amile from the party (about 15 miles from home) a thought crosses my mind.

You know that little plastic cover they put on new battery terminals to protect them and keep them from contacting something they shouldn't? I couldn't remember taking it off. Could that be why it went on so hard?

DOH!!!

I went out this morning and gently pried the terminal off, removed the protective cap from it and put it back on the battery post. And you know what? The edest thing happened...

The car actually started with no problems what-so-ever. Imagine that.

Stupid mechanic tricks....

Reply #1 – January 06, 2008, 10:28:43 PM

lol yeh workin in a rush isnt the greatest thing to do. every time i've ever worked "in a hurry" i've always hurt myself, the car, or done something like that.

Stupid mechanic tricks....

Reply #2 – January 06, 2008, 10:41:45 PM

cant beat what my brother did to his old 95 escort!
We figured he could handle a oil change on it so we gave him eveyrthing he needed. So he finishes up starts the car and takes off down the road and it is POURING thick white smopke everywhere! He comes back and shuts it off.
Turns out all he did was remove the oil filter and let the little oil drain, and added five new quarts to it! thing PUMPED oil into the engine! needless to say he doesnt do oil changes anymore

Stupid mechanic tricks....

Reply #3 – January 06, 2008, 10:54:52 PM

lol, you sure you wanna drive to get those rims?

lmao

Stupid mechanic tricks....

Reply #4 – January 06, 2008, 11:24:48 PM

Back in the Autozone days I had people come back with there newly purchased battery telling me that it was pure junk. I would simply reach over to the battery.. pull the terminal protector off and tell them "now try it". They usually stormed out ashamed at themselves.

Stupid mechanic tricks....

Reply #5 – January 07, 2008, 12:03:22 AM

Back in the day, I changed oil in my 69 Torino with a Moroso deep pan (very deep, lots of oil) and fender mount filter (near the fan). While replacing the filter, I didn't notice the old rubber o-ring stayed in the mount. I put the new filter in (now doubled up), added the oil (lots of oil) and fired it up. I watched the pressure guage and it never moved, so I shut it down. I looked under the hood and, of course, it was covered in about nine quarts of oil. What a mess. First (and last) time that happened to me....

Stupid mechanic tricks....

Reply #6 – January 07, 2008, 07:05:11 AM

And you’re admitting this LOL

Stupid mechanic tricks....

Reply #7 – January 07, 2008, 07:22:21 AM

Quote

If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence of trying in the first place...

:hick:

Stupid mechanic tricks....

Reply #8 – January 07, 2008, 07:45:11 AM

Oops! :hick:

Stupid mechanic tricks....

Reply #9 – January 07, 2008, 12:20:35 PM

holy ! I do believe that but I shouldn't.

Well, I don't know what to say. Good luck?

Stupid mechanic tricks....

Reply #10 – January 07, 2008, 12:41:18 PM

Quote from: FLSTCI71;196197

Back in the day, I changed oil in my 69 Torino with a Moroso deep pan (very deep, lots of oil) and fender mount filter (near the fan). While replacing the filter, I didn't notice the old rubber o-ring stayed in the mount. I put the new filter in (now doubled up), added the oil (lots of oil) and fired it up. I watched the pressure guage and it never moved, so I shut it down. I looked under the hood and, of course, it was covered in about nine quarts of oil. What a mess. First (and last) time that happened to me....

Did something similar...

When I built my new engine I had a remote filter mount and oil cooler up front.

I'd been having problems with the fittings at the filter mount leaking, so the day before classes started, I had been working on it, put the (steel) fittings I was using back into the (aluminum) filter mount and really cranked them down with a long-handle 1/2" drive ratchet and though, that'll keep em from leaking.

Every other time I'd worked on the filter mount, I'd started the car afterward just to make sure everything was OK. This time, however, I did not, for some reason.

Next morning, got in the car, drove to school for the first day of classes. Halfway there I noticed the oil pressure was lower than normal. By the time I actually got the school, my oil pressure was down to about 5 psi and I was starting to panic. Oh, and of course, since it was the first day of classes, the place was absolutely packed despite my being there at 8 AM and there was NOWHERE to park. I drove around for close to 10 minutes with the oil pressure down to almost nothing, then finally said screw it, and parked in the grass way out at the edge of campus. The car was just starting to tick when I pulled over and shut it off.

As I found out, I had tightened those fittings down so much that I cracked the filter mount (go me), and it was spewing oil everywhere. I got to take everything off the car and just put the filter directly on the engine during what was supposed to be my lunch hour.

Haven't made that mistake again, I pitched the whole remote filter/cooler setup. Engine has since gone 30K+ with no problems at all.

Stupid mechanic tricks....

Reply #11 – January 07, 2008, 05:58:17 PM

Many years ago I was working on my 6 cylinder 70 Pontiac. I had the valve cover off. My daughter, 12 at the time, came over and wanted to know what all that stuff under valve cover did.

I decided to start the car with the cover off so she could see it work. I had forgotten that I had taken the fuel line off that wrapped around the front of the valve cover.
Gas squirting out of the fuel pump burst into flames. Luckily I was able to get the garden hose on it before the whole car went up.
It burned all the insulation off the wireing harness. I was left with a lot of bare wires.

Stupid mechanic tricks....

Reply #12 – January 07, 2008, 08:19:16 PM

here's a recent one, as recent as tonight. i finally got everything in on my AOD to AOD swap. i went from the stock 31x stamped one to the 54 stamped one. i got everything finally finished off, except the driveshaft. so i wriggle me way down to the end of the car, slide the yoke in, look down at the dif yoke and what do you know... it doesn't fit! i look at the driveshaft yoke and make sure its not getting snagged on anything, and what it comes down to is the tail shaft in the new transmission isn't machined down as far as my other transmission so i'm ganna have to get the driveshaft cut down about 3/4 or so of an inch, im ganna measure it tomorrow and try and find a driveshaft place that stays open till like 7 or 8 possibly or wait till the WEEKEND... DOH!!!!!

EDIT: BTW, i would change out the tail shaft but i already just spent 2/4 of a week getting the aod in while on stands by my self (well i do give my dad some credit but he wasnt around during install.)

btw, since my dad swaped the tailshaft for me (the housing and everything when i had to work late) is there something he might have messed up? this really me off too it'd be goin down the road RIGHT NOW.

Stupid mechanic tricks....

Reply #13 – January 07, 2008, 11:51:41 PM

For a second I thought you were going to say you hooked the battery up backwards...

I did exactly that on my first motorcycle and fried the stator/alternator. It was a bitch to fix it - had to take the engine out to repair it. Shortly after that, the water pump seal went out and had to remove the engine AGAIN...