DIY Mechanics Fail Stories
Discussion
Pulled the decking driveshaft out of the gearbox on the 306 getting the wishbone off. Gearbox oil everywhere. Cack. Had nothing to hand to catch it to hand so had to shove it back in quick as I could without knackering the seal but it still went bloody everywhere and seems to have the same adhesive qualities as tar on a bedsheet.
Exhausts are my problem becuase they never line up properly and they always blow somewhere. Got so pissed off with the last car I paid someone else to re-hang it.
Exhausts are my problem becuase they never line up properly and they always blow somewhere. Got so pissed off with the last car I paid someone else to re-hang it.
Most embarrassing fail? Working underneath a car in a very confined space to remove a calliper. Broke 2 spanners and burnt a couple of hours trying to get the rusty, siezed bolt off.
Before I finally realised that I'd been trying to turn it clockwise. This after years of spannering, so f
k knows what I was thinking. Turned it the right way, it came off almost straightaway. Climbed out, grunted "bloody hell, that one was tight, thought it was never going to come out", and never spoke the truth to anyone....
Before I finally realised that I'd been trying to turn it clockwise. This after years of spannering, so f
k knows what I was thinking. Turned it the right way, it came off almost straightaway. Climbed out, grunted "bloody hell, that one was tight, thought it was never going to come out", and never spoke the truth to anyone....MajorProblem said:
On my Kawasaki ZXR400 track bike,
I moved the bike after a winter lay up in the garage and it was a nightmare to move, I thought the front brakes were seized/sticky, I ordered new seals and got to work stripping and cleaning the calipers and congratulating myself on a job well done I put them back on the bike to find it was still a nightmare to move.......
The problem?
The rear tyre was flat.
Having been trolled by a flat tyre before, this gave me a genuine lol.I moved the bike after a winter lay up in the garage and it was a nightmare to move, I thought the front brakes were seized/sticky, I ordered new seals and got to work stripping and cleaning the calipers and congratulating myself on a job well done I put them back on the bike to find it was still a nightmare to move.......
The problem?
The rear tyre was flat.
My own biggest fails pretty much always involve over tightening bolts, usually oil sump bolts, resulting in stripped threads, or worse, needing to tap out threads.
2 weeks ago driving my old BMW M535 for the first time in 3 months it cut out on me and refused to start again, 11pm at night country lane and I was in a filthy mood, I was just about to get the wheel brace out the boot and smash the car to bits in a rage when a car dealer friend of mine came down the road and asked me what was wrong and telling me how nice the old M5 was, I asked him how much he wanted to give me for it, he wouldn't give me a price, so I asked him for the scrap value (100 quid)
he agreed and we towed it to his.
Yesterday he told me that he went to fix it and found it had no fuel in it, hence the breakdown, and there was me thinking the head had gone!
he agreed and we towed it to his.
Yesterday he told me that he went to fix it and found it had no fuel in it, hence the breakdown, and there was me thinking the head had gone!
Edited by Howmuch on Wednesday 10th October 16:37
Gave myself a black eye changing the gear knob in my last car. I was squatting over it with a foot on either seat pulling for all I was worth then SMACK.
Had the jacking point completely collapse around the jack on my first E46. Serious job trying to get the jack out.
Broke THREE ratchets trying to change the bumper on the same car (breaker bar came out in the end).
Went to change the sidelight last weekend on my mum's C5. I was to head back up to my own gaff in 20 minutes and had plans made. Was there for an hour and a half trying to work out how to drop the front bumper and remove the headlight before I had to call it a day and put it all back together. Still haven't tried it a second time.
Had the jacking point completely collapse around the jack on my first E46. Serious job trying to get the jack out.
Broke THREE ratchets trying to change the bumper on the same car (breaker bar came out in the end).
Went to change the sidelight last weekend on my mum's C5. I was to head back up to my own gaff in 20 minutes and had plans made. Was there for an hour and a half trying to work out how to drop the front bumper and remove the headlight before I had to call it a day and put it all back together. Still haven't tried it a second time.
A lot of stories here are putting me off ever working on my cars again 
The stupidest mistake I ever made was - the day before a track day I had my GT4 jacked up and wheels off (new brake pads probably?) and had to give some family members a lift that day before setting off for the track. I noticed odd noises / feeling from the wheels, so once pulling up to my destination, I realised that all 4 wheels only had their nuts on hand tight after jacking the car up..
The stupidest mistake I ever made was - the day before a track day I had my GT4 jacked up and wheels off (new brake pads probably?) and had to give some family members a lift that day before setting off for the track. I noticed odd noises / feeling from the wheels, so once pulling up to my destination, I realised that all 4 wheels only had their nuts on hand tight after jacking the car up..
CDP said:
My dad had to replace the steering box on his '64 VW camper.
The suppliers had given him a LHD unit by mistake.
It fitted but turning the wheel left made the van go right....
LOL I missed this The suppliers had given him a LHD unit by mistake.
It fitted but turning the wheel left made the van go right....
Imagine living with it for a while, then trying to sell it.
"So there's something you should bear in mind when driving it..."
Changing glowplugs on a Citroen ZX, dropped a volt into flywheel housing. That was fun to get out.
Later that day I took it out for a run. Barely any power with the foot to the floor. st. Limped home. Throttle cable wasn't mounted properly and was just dangling about in the engine bay.
Doing roll bar bushes on an e46, drove off forgetting the front plastic tray had been half dettached. Torn to hell, still not replaced it
Not to mention the countless times I've tried to drive off with the wheels still chocked.
Later that day I took it out for a run. Barely any power with the foot to the floor. s
t. Limped home. Throttle cable wasn't mounted properly and was just dangling about in the engine bay. Doing roll bar bushes on an e46, drove off forgetting the front plastic tray had been half dettached. Torn to hell, still not replaced it
Not to mention the countless times I've tried to drive off with the wheels still chocked.
A couple of minor ones spring to mind. Drained a radiator (series landy) put the plug in with too much force, ripped out the bush, so had to take the whole lot out and get it re-brazed.
Built a kit car years ago, with a recon engine. Assembled it all and it wouldn't start - cue some hours worrying and checking everything. Turning the distributer 180 degrees solved that.
What I found funny recently was a friend of mine (honest!) working on his boat, took off a cooling pipe on the engine that vented outside, and then realised that it was below water level. Wish I'd been there to see it.
Built a kit car years ago, with a recon engine. Assembled it all and it wouldn't start - cue some hours worrying and checking everything. Turning the distributer 180 degrees solved that.
What I found funny recently was a friend of mine (honest!) working on his boat, took off a cooling pipe on the engine that vented outside, and then realised that it was below water level. Wish I'd been there to see it.
I changed the oil on the bike, done it a couple times before everything was ok, new torque wrench in hand thought I would do it properly and tighten it to the correct setting.
Set away tightening to feel a click, thought I would do it again just to be sure for it not to click, then realised I had cracked the sump, gutted.
Managed to get a second hand sump off ebay for considerably cheaper than I first thought it would cost, ended up missing my scotland trip though.
Set away tightening to feel a click, thought I would do it again just to be sure for it not to click, then realised I had cracked the sump, gutted.
Managed to get a second hand sump off ebay for considerably cheaper than I first thought it would cost, ended up missing my scotland trip though.
Ah, my thread has arrived at last!
1. Tried to do an oil change on the girlfriend's clio, but ordered the wrong size filter. I drove it out the garage and onto the road before realising there was a trail of oil from the garage, down the drive and onto the road. Having just moved to our new house i then had to spread sand etc all over the oil and sweep it up in front of the new neighbours, who were all stood at their windows wondering what the hell i was doing!
2. Changed the brake discs and pads on my vx220 but left the locking wheel nut on, which of course wasn't there when i needed it next. Had to get a new one from Germany.
3. Attempted to change the exhaust on my 182 clio, gave up late on sunday night after trying all weekend and then took the monday off work so i could take it to the garage - I had to drive it the 4-5 miles with no exhaust on, it was rather noisy and not in a good way!
4. Changed the alternator belt tensioner on my vx but didn't fit it quite right. The next day, the dash lit up like a christmas tree a mile from work, but fortunately managed to make it. Rung the RAC who came and re-fitted it properly.
5. Changed the discs and pads on my 182 but obviously didn't put one of the locking pins in properly, as a couple of weeks later the brake pedal went to the floor and when i stopped to investigate i found there was no brake pad there.
6. Took the pathetic heater out of the vx, sealed it up and insulated it. Put it back only to find it even worse and it smelt of glue/sealant for several weeks.
Think that's about it, but i have only been doing car diy for a couple of years - maybe i should stop trying now....
1. Tried to do an oil change on the girlfriend's clio, but ordered the wrong size filter. I drove it out the garage and onto the road before realising there was a trail of oil from the garage, down the drive and onto the road. Having just moved to our new house i then had to spread sand etc all over the oil and sweep it up in front of the new neighbours, who were all stood at their windows wondering what the hell i was doing!
2. Changed the brake discs and pads on my vx220 but left the locking wheel nut on, which of course wasn't there when i needed it next. Had to get a new one from Germany.
3. Attempted to change the exhaust on my 182 clio, gave up late on sunday night after trying all weekend and then took the monday off work so i could take it to the garage - I had to drive it the 4-5 miles with no exhaust on, it was rather noisy and not in a good way!
4. Changed the alternator belt tensioner on my vx but didn't fit it quite right. The next day, the dash lit up like a christmas tree a mile from work, but fortunately managed to make it. Rung the RAC who came and re-fitted it properly.
5. Changed the discs and pads on my 182 but obviously didn't put one of the locking pins in properly, as a couple of weeks later the brake pedal went to the floor and when i stopped to investigate i found there was no brake pad there.
6. Took the pathetic heater out of the vx, sealed it up and insulated it. Put it back only to find it even worse and it smelt of glue/sealant for several weeks.
Think that's about it, but i have only been doing car diy for a couple of years - maybe i should stop trying now....
The Black Flash said:
Most embarrassing fail? Working underneath a car in a very confined space to remove a calliper. Broke 2 spanners and burnt a couple of hours trying to get the rusty, siezed bolt off.
Before I finally realised that I'd been trying to turn it clockwise. This after years of spannering, so fk knows what I was thinking. Turned it the right way, it came off almost straightaway. Climbed out, grunted "bloody hell, that one was tight, thought it was never going to come out", and never spoke the truth to anyone....
10 bonus man points are hereby awarded for covering up your mistake.Before I finally realised that I'd been trying to turn it clockwise. This after years of spannering, so f
k knows what I was thinking. Turned it the right way, it came off almost straightaway. Climbed out, grunted "bloody hell, that one was tight, thought it was never going to come out", and never spoke the truth to anyone....'When working on a car - no matter how big or small the job - at least once you MUST get confused about righty tighty/lefty losey...' I reckon this text may be the fabled missing page from all Haynes manuals.
I’ve told this story before on PH, but what the hell;
While back I was doing a basic service on my Amazon. As I was putting a new set of plugs in, a couple of foxy lasses from the student house at the end of the road walked by and said “we like your car”. “Hmmmm” thinks I, “not gonna pass this opportunity up”.
So, I was having a bit of a chat with them as I continued working – obviously I was being my usual charming and debonair self, stating that I was restoring the car, it’s a lot of work but it’s worth it blah blah blah.
Unfortunately as I was tightening the sparkplug in number 4 cylinder (near the battery) I was distracted somewhat by their skimpy attire and the metal handle of my socket driver made contact with the positive terminal of the battery with the predictable FZZZZZZZ! and large spark.
I jumped backwards about 3 feet banging my head on the bonnet and almost landed on my arse, whilst swearing profusely the whole time.
Sadly, the nice young ladies have never stopped by for a chat again.
What made it worse was that my neighbour (ex mechanic) witnessed the whole sorry incident and mentions it on a regular basis. b
d.Changed the discs and pads on a mates Corsa, we drove down my street to check everything was ok, noticed the steering wheel wobbled a bit, didn't tighten up the wheel bolts lol
Weekend just gone, servicing the mrs 2004 Focus 1.6, dreaded drop links which everytime I try and change always end up rounding off the allen key. Done this so many times on my GTI-6 and the Focus suspension is near identical, so thought I'd get a decent socket attachement allen key. All was going well, until the bloody nut rounded off. Half hour of angle grinding the fook out the nut sorted it, not really a blunder, but bloody annoying! Why do they make drop links so damn hard to remove??
Weekend just gone, servicing the mrs 2004 Focus 1.6, dreaded drop links which everytime I try and change always end up rounding off the allen key. Done this so many times on my GTI-6 and the Focus suspension is near identical, so thought I'd get a decent socket attachement allen key. All was going well, until the bloody nut rounded off. Half hour of angle grinding the fook out the nut sorted it, not really a blunder, but bloody annoying! Why do they make drop links so damn hard to remove??
Shoukie said:
2. Changed the brake discs and pads on my vx220 but left the locking wheel nut on, which of course wasn't there when i needed it next. Had to get a new one from Germany.
Unlucky. A guy at work just drove around like that for 2 days, and found the locking socket still on the nut!It's a bit like an AA meeting this, isn't it?
Smashed a locking wheel nut at the weekend. Entirely my own idiocy.
Got a weird rumble when the car's moving, suspected it was warped discs at the front. Took both wheels off in turn, spun the disc, no problems. All OK. Refitted wheel. Great.
Took car out for a run. Rumble's still there. Wondered if the handbrake had possibly stuck when the car was parked up, so decided to take the rears off. Think to myself "I want to be able to turn the rear wheel", so park it in gear with the fronts chocked. Put the locking nut key on the breaker bar & turn. Car moves, key slips, strips pattern on the lock nut & breaks the ring at the edge of the pattern. Great.
£52.50 for a new set of nuts & key, plus I now have the joy of trying to remove not only a broken lock nut, but having to use a damaged key to remove the other 3!!
Next time I'll put the handbrake on till the nuts are loosened...
Got a weird rumble when the car's moving, suspected it was warped discs at the front. Took both wheels off in turn, spun the disc, no problems. All OK. Refitted wheel. Great.
Took car out for a run. Rumble's still there. Wondered if the handbrake had possibly stuck when the car was parked up, so decided to take the rears off. Think to myself "I want to be able to turn the rear wheel", so park it in gear with the fronts chocked. Put the locking nut key on the breaker bar & turn. Car moves, key slips, strips pattern on the lock nut & breaks the ring at the edge of the pattern. Great.
£52.50 for a new set of nuts & key, plus I now have the joy of trying to remove not only a broken lock nut, but having to use a damaged key to remove the other 3!!
Next time I'll put the handbrake on till the nuts are loosened...
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