Home Mechanic Cock-up

Home Mechanic Cock-up

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Jefferson Steelflex

Original Poster:

1,428 posts

98 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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I feel like such a dick. I’ve had my SL up on ramps for 3 weeks replacing all of the suspension components front and rear, it’s been a real ballache but satisfying on a way that only DIY mechanics can be. I finished the job by replacing the front discs and pads for good measure, and ventured out on my shake-down drive this morning.

Car feels great, nice and solid but the brakes were making an awful grinding noise From the front when I pressed the pedal. I tried to bed the pads in hoping that would make it go but it only got worse. I then drove to a garage to get alignment alignment done today as I need to get that done anyway and by the time I got there it was just embarrassing.

I got a call 30 mins later, “one of the pads is fitted back to front, sir”. How is that even possible? What sort of fkwittery is that? I’ve been doing my own car work for 20 years and I’ve done countless brakes, how on earth could I do that? I walked back to the garage and they showed me and fk me I have indeed fitted a brake pad the wrong way round, with the backing material facing the disc.

End result, I’ve scored the n/s disc and it needs to be replaced. The plan was to try and salvage the pads but I found the backing plate on my driveway when I got home so they’re buggered as well. I feel like such a dhead.

Anyone else done something completely fking stupid like that recently?

N111BJG

1,083 posts

62 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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I bought a very nice low mileage Ducati ST3 last year & have been smartening it up. The pannier lids were a bit battered. Replacement lids are like rocking horse teeth, but with perseverance I got some NOS ones from Italy. I’ve had them some time but decided to swap them over last week.
Each one is secured with 8 screws, I didn’t initially spot there were six long ones & two short ones. I used long ones where there should be short ones & screwed right through the plastic. Not once, but twice !!

ChocolateFrog

24,850 posts

172 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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Did you not look to see where the noise was coming from, should have been able to spot the issue through the wheel.

I'd have died of embarrassment having that pointed out to me.

sunbeam alpine

6,936 posts

187 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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Mate, I've done exactly the same thing - and I've been working on my own cars since the early '80's.

smile

brman

1,233 posts

108 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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ChocolateFrog said:
Did you not look to see where the noise was coming from, should have been able to spot the issue through the wheel.

I'd have died of embarrassment having that pointed out to me.
I think he already feels like dying of embarrassment without you rubbing it in wink

Not quite as bad as that but I did get a MOT guy telling me that he had found a bit of wire (coat hanger) wrapped round a front spring and it had almost worn through the inside of a front tyre. Of course I denied any knowledge of it but it was perhaps relevent that that is how I normally hold calipers up out of the way when changing discs.... whistle

Butter Face

30,191 posts

159 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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I may or may not have recently not bolted my clutch save cylinder back on properly...


Getragdogleg

8,736 posts

182 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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Oil change, oil filter off and sump plug out, oil drained nicely into the pan.

Bung plug back in, filled the new filter with new oil, put the correct amount of oil in the engine.

Fired it up, oil light didn't go out, turned it off quick.

Got out of the car to find a huge slick of oil on the garage floor.

New filter still on bench...


Zoobeef

6,004 posts

157 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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I found one of our armoured vehicles came from the manufacturer like that. It was inspected and tested before it left the factory, inspected when it got to the uk and inspected at our unit and been used.

I was fitting some armour to the underneath and noticed something didn't look right

loquacious

1,148 posts

156 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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I have not only put a pad in backwards, I have even, on one memorable occasion left a pair of pads out completely! Both times because at the vital moment, someone turned up and started chatting. I have the attention span of a rusty clockwork slow-worm.

Oh yeah, I also once repaired a petrol pipe I had damaged while welding the sills and then thought the brakes felt a little spongy which got worse and worse until the brakes took a holiday completely. Yes, it wasn't a petrol pipe but a brake pipe and clear plastic petrol pipe does NOT withstand the pressure of a brake system.

I sometimes consider myself to be a total liabilty.

Tony1963

4,699 posts

161 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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Not on a car, but...

I was once asked to ‘rob’ a part from one aircraft and to fit it to another. I robbed it from the wrong aircraft...

Skyedriver

17,657 posts

281 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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A few years ago I had the tracking adjusted by a very competent mechanic/tyre fitter (owner of the place). Always does agood job, takes care when fitting tyres and other work.

A month or so later the car was in for an MoT elsewhere. MoT man,whom I knew,laughed and handed me a pair of Mole Grips from one track rod.
Dropped them off at tyre place to a very embarrassed chap.


1972, I needed to fit a new core plug to my MG Midget Aseries engine. THey're concave and go in with the dished side in over. You then hammer them into place flattening them so they grip. My Dad,a time served Engineer told me how to do it but me,a clever ste 19 year old knew different and put it in with concave bit out over thinking they would dig in like a barb. Guess who got towed home a week later with no core plug.

the tribester

2,340 posts

85 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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My old dad couldn't wait for me to service mums Peugeot 205, and had done the oil change before I got there, only it was now showing very high on the dip stick.
A quick look underneath revealed a grime covered sump plug, but a very clean gearbox drain bolt!

PositronicRay

26,957 posts

182 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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Not me but a mate.

Fitted wheel nuts chamfer out, wheel fell off a couple of miles later.

Shirley1980

3 posts

76 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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Hi not sure if im sending message to right place but i have a audi tt mk1 and stage 1 remmaped felt the differance stright away but for some reeson the car doesant seem as fast its like its lost the remmap or somthing also the esp.light is because garage forgot to re track my car back up

Shirley1980

3 posts

76 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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Hi i have a audi tt mk1 225 stage 1 remmaped and i felt the dufferent when i have it mapped but now the car doesant seem as fast 0 to 60 is like 7 secs which is not normal for a stage 1 audi tt also the garage forgot to track my car back up and the esp.started flashing and now wont go off just wondering if the esp light being on can cause like a ecu sort of power drop.car seems fast still.but feels.like its gone back to standerd also my oil.breather pipe has snapped off so not sure if im loose boost or something like i said car drives fine it should have aroumd 260bhp.but feels more lile 200 bhp

85Carrera

3,503 posts

236 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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Shirley1980 said:
Hi not sure if im sending message to right place but i have a audi tt mk1 and stage 1 remmaped felt the differance stright away but for some reeson the car doesant seem as fast its like its lost the remmap or somthing also the esp.light is because garage forgot to re track my car back up
Could you rewrite that in English. It really does make any sense at all.

xjay1337

15,966 posts

117 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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OP - I guess easy to make a mistake at the end of a long project - like they say you're most likely to crash when you're closest to home.

I haven't made a cock up like that myself, usually I just put bits back together in the wrong order so I do steps 1, 4 , 5 , 6 and 7 only to realise at step 8 that I need to do 2 & 3, and the only way to do 2 & 3 is to remove 5, 6 and 7 laugh

Edit : Or, I put a spanner down, for 2 minutes then spend 25 minutes trying to find it, even though I put it literally in front of me but somehow it ended up in Pontefract.

No harm done, funny story to tell your mates biggrin

Edited by xjay1337 on Saturday 27th June 23:45

Jefferson Steelflex

Original Poster:

1,428 posts

98 months

Saturday 27th June 2020
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Hey ho, it’s not the first mistake I’ve made and I’m sure it won’t be the last. It’s just the first I’ve ever had that I’ve needed a garage to find before I could.

Some classic stories here as well, so good to know we all do it sometimes.

I do have a habit of getting lost in thought, radio on, etc. while working on the car. That’s all I can put it down to. Because I’ve done brakes so many times I probably wasn’t paying as much attention as I was to the other jobs that needed a bit of planning and pre-reading.

dhutch

14,198 posts

196 months

Sunday 28th June 2020
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I once checked the oil level in the live axle on the kitcar before a holiday, level plug out, oil topped up.... Lunchtime! ...Holiday.

First fuel stop, whole of the back of the car is covered in ep90bm. Feck.

Most of the way to Dover at this point, lateish, ferry first thing. Heyho, sort it on the other side.

Arrive in France, early Sunday morning, five words of school boy french and one 1/2bsp level plug short of a picnic. Drove to Paris.

In Paris, mid day, any garages open? No. Overheat the coolant in traffic, take a chunk out of the bellhousing on a carpark sliding gate track.

Drove to the middle of France. Went to bed.

It did get a bit warm, and the whine it picked up on Garrards has got a lot worse. But did find a plug and some oil for the return drive!

PositronicRay

26,957 posts

182 months

Sunday 28th June 2020
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Working on a steep drive, brake pad change. Forgot to pump the pedal before the road test, car shot off the drive with no brakes!