Re:Re:diy repair blunders

JeffBirt wrote: To be fair I have seen some 'professional' mechanics do some really stupid things too......I put 'professional' in quotes as my Dad used to say that 'professional' only meant you got paid to do something not that you were any good at it.

I like to say, "Do they really have 25 years of experience or do they have 1 year of experience that they've held for 25 years?"

Anybody have the torque specs for the sheet rock screws that hold the convertible top to the windshield frame for an 01 Sunfire? Don't want this girl to leak...

Noah wrote:

Anybody have the torque specs for the sheet rock screws that hold the convertible top to the windshield frame for an 01 Sunfire? Don't want this girl to leak...

Spec says 96 in pounds but I like to go 120 just to be sure :rolleyes:

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this it's the second spark plug oil pan drain plug I've seen in recent history!
Points for anyone who recognises the car!

I must confess to using a 18mm Ford spark plug to plug the downstream O2 sensor boss when replacing the cat on a car with no downstream sensor.

Thought I might share one of my own DIY blunders. I bought a Geo Tracker (Suzuki Sidekick) new in 1993. I put about 240,000 miles on it before I sold in in about 2000 (still running/driving fine). With this many miles I changed the oil many times. So, one Sunday I was changing the oil and as I started to pour the oil in I noticed it running right back out! Check the drain plug, it is in place and dry. Check the oil filter, it is in place but not quite sealed (it has about 200K miles on it by this time).

The oil filter was pulled back off and I realized that the nipple the filter threads on to had backed out just enough that when the filter was seemingly tight (by hand) the filter seal was not against the filter housing (a very small gap was present.) So, this is Sunday and I live in a rural area and I do not have the proper size nuts (thin / jam nuts) to thread onto the nipple and lock together so I can tighten the nipple back into the housing. I drove into the nearest town (about 15 miles) which had no hardware stores open on Sunday but I did manage to find the jam nuts at the only auto parts place that was open. Luckily I was able to then tighten the nipple, buy a few quarts of oil to replace what went on the floor and the job finished. If the nipple had back out not quite as far it might have sealed well enough to not leak until I was driving to work on Monday (which would have been bad).

One other mishap I had on Sunday was realizing I had a flat tire on the truck (F350 crew cab) and it was sitting in the yard. No problem I though I'll just grab my tire plug kit and fix it up. This seemed better than having to jack the truck up in the yard. When inserting the plug in the tire it was quite tight and then slipped all the way into the tire, surprising me and breaking off the plug tool in the tire! I had to pull the tire, put it in the aforementioned Geo Tracker, drive to Walmart (only tire shop open) and sheepishly ask to fix the tire and retrieve my broken plug tool.

Noah wrote: Points for anyone who recognises the car!

That there is a Mini! Only car I know that has that goofy cooling fan. :lol:

Similar story from another Dodge dealer. This 2010 Dodge Avenger had just been to the dealer for a $1000.00 brake job. Immediately afterwards she was complaining of a burning smell, smoke from left front wheel and reduced braking ability. She went back to Dodge who said that there wasn't anything wrong with her car. So it came to me, friend of a friend ordeal.

Jacked it up in the parking lot. Barely had the wheel off before i noticed the twisted brake hose. Careless mistake & an easy fix. They opted to have the brake hose replaced, light cut on the front rotors & new front pads.

Took the pictures to Dodge & they denied any responsibility. To make matters worse, the "new" rotors didn't look new. It looked to me like they just threw pads on the car, charged her a grand & couldn't even get that right. I hate to point fingers, but pictures don't lie.

She's been my customer ever since.

Wow, if I knew I could be getting $1000 to do brakes, I never would have bought a scanner!

Good find. Mistakes happen, but that's a stupid one to let go (no test drive from the tech?), and then miss it on the come back, then deny responsiblity!
Talk about integrity...

This is one way to "fix" an air ride issue...

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Strut block lift, the truck is on a 4 post all the weight is on the wheels in the pic. note the upper c. Arm is angled so bad that it's hitting the coil spring.

3 funny captions for this one.
1. Why do body shops charge so much when really all u need is some aluminum foil and a can of spray paint
2. When duct tape is just to dang expensive.
3. This is a dual purpose repair. In a pinch u can take your repair off and roll it into a crack pipe.

Tupperware's new line of custom tail light covers. Keeps your bulbs fresher

Doodah14 wrote: Strut block lift, the truck is on a 4 post all the weight is on the wheels in the pic. note the upper c. Arm is angled so bad that it's hitting the coil spring.

Haha I have a customer with a suspension lift like this we have to replace all the balljoints and tie rods every 6 months (have tried moog , trw, and mcquay Norris, )

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As a matter of fact, it needs 3 ball joints, and they are dangerously bad. I told the customer that the lift would have to come out or longer c arms would have to be installed or I won't fix it.

It need a drop frame bracket kit to make it right

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Had a 02 F150 4.6 come in for lean code both banks did smoke test and found this. How long do you think this was run this way to wear through the timing cover?

Back in 2010 or so when I put together a refreshed motor for my mustang I did this.

Luckily, shut it down before the nut came off and destroyed the motor.

That was a long weekend :lol:



It survived though.

Miss the sound

Oh boy that nut looks bad :lol: Awesome sound!

Have another one too. When the air suspension failed on the Vic, i converted to coil springs. Removed the Air suspension control module, and sold on ebay. What I didn't know, was the Variable assist power steering module was also part of that :lol:

Now have to find another in the junkyard.