Repair Mistakes & Blunders

[RockAuto]

We are looking for some good repair mistake and blunder stories to feature in the RockAuto newsletter (we know you have some)! Tell us about your most infamous auto repair blunder or unconventional fix. Use your woe to help others avoid similar mistakes or share off-the-wall solutions that worked (at least for a while!).

Please e-mail your story to Flamur@RockAuto.com. Include your mailing address and let us know if you would like a RockAuto T-Shirt (please let us know your shirt size) or Hat if we publish your story. See the T-Shirts and Hats under Tools & Universal Parts in the catalog.

The story will be credited using only your first name and your vague geographic location (state, province, country, continent, etc.) so you can remain semi-anonymous!

Here is a link to the current newsletter if you’d like to take a look: http://www.rockauto.com/Newsletter/index.html

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[SenorNoob]

Come on guys. 2 days and no-one has posted? I know there are some awesome stories here.

Only thing that comes to my mind right now is the time I got the neutral switch and backup light switch mixed up. I'm not sure how to make a good story out of that.

 

[adsm08]

I have a few, I just don't want to admit to any of it.

 

[ab_slack]

Come on guys. 2 days and no-one has posted? I know there are some awesome stories here.

Well the request was to email stories so I wouldn't necessarily expect to see them here.

I'll toss one, nothing magnificent...but stupid enough too.

I fixed my liftgate latch which was broken and handle falling out. I detailed it starting in post #6 here http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=141823

Nothing spectacular but pretty cool for me and it worked great.

Worked great for about 6 months.

Then one day leaving the store my friend proceeded ahead of me while I gathered some other things and my friend loaded a couple of heavy items in the back thru the window rather than the liftgate. Okay no big deal, latch worked fine. I would have opened the liftgate for something heavy rather than lift up thru the window but that's besides the point. The other items I just brought inside with me and set on the back seat. When I got home I didn't bother unloading the back.

A couple days later I go to unload and the latch won't turn. Well unknown to me when my friend loaded the stuff in the back he had leaned in and inadvertently locked the liftgate. I never lock it so the possibility of it being locked didn't occur to me. I think something else in the mechanism jammed so I me being stupid turned it really hard one way, then the other trying to get either the window or the gate to open and then snap, it broke. Then I noticed it was locked.

Turns out my part of the fix had held, but the key at the end of the latch handle shaft broken. All because it got locked and I didn't even think to check for it being locked. After all the problems with it before and my never locking it I was predisposed to expect trouble I guess.

 

[harbt95]

i was changing ball joints in my first 95 ranger and i didnt have a press. so i attacked it with the "old socket big hammer" method. Ended up in a trip to the hospital after i finished the ball joints, because i managed to hit my self in the side of my right knee at full force with a 2lb sledge. of course i couldnt stand to see my baby tore apart overnight "or stand at all for that matter lol" so i worked through the pain with a few advil and drove the ole girl to the hospital 3 and a half hours later using my left leg for the clutch and brake and my right one as little as possible for throttle only. Dr. kinda chuckled when i told him why i waited to come to the hospital and how i hurt myself. took a a pain killer and went and hung out at a local car guy meet a few hours later after bribing my brother to was my truck because i wouldnt put it in a carwash. luckly just gave myself a minor contusion and chipped my knee cap a little.

 

[pocket-rocket]

Once I was chasing threads for a lower intake using a tap and die set. The owner of the vehicle came over to see what kind of progress I was making and we started to chat while I kept working away.

I was about mid sentence when the handle for the tap slid out of the tap holder and fell down into the lifter valley and proceeded to land with a THUNK in the oil pan. I stopped, took a couple steps back and let out a big sigh and dropped my head. He asked "so what does that mean?" I calmed myself, thought for a second and responded "care if I fix your leaky oil pan gasket now?"

I've since learned electrical tape goes a long way for preventing this from happening again.

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