What is the worst mistake you made doing your own wrenching?

Done most of that. Worst maybe was spraying carb cleaner into a Honda CB750 carb assembly to get the accelerator pump tube unclogged.

I was sitting crosslegged and the carb cleaner soaked through my overalls, shorts and briefs onto my junk. It was so godawful painful.

 

That shit will make you a hairless wonder !!!!

 

Lol that’s a reference to the 3rd gen forums after midnight. When it gets weird.

 

When I was a younger man I took a tire iron to the oil drain bolt on my nighthawk 450. The type of tire iron in the shape of a cross so you can get some real torque...

I cracked the case.

 

I gauge the level of messing up by how long you had to sit and stare in silence at your problem

 

Got out of High School in '81 so have messed around with cars since...what? '78.

Of course I have all the spilled oil, forgotten parts reinstalled, broken things surrounding what i was trying to fix stories as everyone else.

We weren't as safe then BUT I was lucky my Dad (who was no mechanic) DRILLED it into me to use ramps (and not to trust them) jacks, stands and tires that are pulled off and thrown under as a THIRD back up sometimes any time I was getting under a car.

He told me of so many guys in refineries or at home who were squashed that he really made me scared of being crushed (as i guess he was) My Brother was quite a bit older and already gone so I never talked to him about 'til recently.
He said when he was 16 (1960 or so) he had a '48 Ford fall on him as he pulled out the rear end and no one was home so he laid there all day with a shock pinching his bicep. Ouch. No wonder.

 

I’m rarely silent when I mess up bad. Or maybe I haven’t messed up that bad. I’m pretty eloquent with curse words tho

 

Don't feel bad, i did this to a '67 Mustang GT in the late '80s.
You know, just like the one Steve McQueen drove.
That I pretty much had to just ...give away....and is now worth 10x of thousands even in parts.

 

I was under the influence and forgot to put the rest of my exhaust on my Subaru, so everything was coming out from my catless downpipe.

Went to start it at 2 a.m, and swear to God I woke up every neighbor.

Oh I’ve also blown up an engine by running lean (my fault) but yeah

 

Well, we didn't sit and stare, we just got nowhere. Oh shit, I made a rhyme.

 

LOL, reading these just reminded me of another one I did..
At one point I had purchased a Jacobs ignition module for my '85 Toyota but never got around to installing it.
A year later we bought a Suzuki Samurai for my (now EX) wife and I decided to try the Jacobs on it, and it "seemed" to help a little (probably not in hindsight). After a few months, I noticed an arcing had burned through the ground wire, so in my early 20's stupidity I thought "I know, I'll encase the ground wire in epoxy, that will fix it!"

And it did for a while..

About a year later, I start the Samurai and let it warm up before my wife was going to leave for work (Colorado in winter) and about 5 minutes later I hear the horn blowing. When I ran outside there were flames and smoke coming out of the hood and the horn was raging, so I jumped in and turned the ignition off and popped the hood, but the engine kept running (and the fire kept burning). Popped the hood and pulled the negative battery terminal to kill the engine and put the fire out with the extinguisher.

The epoxy "insulation" had caught fire due to the arcing, and since the main wiring harness ran directly above where I had mounted it, the fire had burned through the entire main harness shorting many many things.
So, the (now EX) wife took my Toyota, and I spent the day with a soldering iron and spool of wire "rebuilding" the harness.

 

Lean is mean. Had to replace both cats on my 04 a couple years ago because it was having lean issues. Worries me not knowing how hard the previous owner drove it like that but she's still kicking. Resolved 75% of the issue with the URD 7th but it needs some fine tuning.

 

Oh wait a minute, I just thought of another one. When I changed my oil one time, I forgot to check the windshield wiper fluid. When I went to use it, then it ran out the last bit and was dry. Ok, that makes two for me.

 

I hate to admit I’ve done it more than once, but I’ve started taking multiple dirt bikes apart, including pulling the carb because they wouldn’t start. Only to realize I forgot to turn the petcock on

 

16 years old. Forgot to put battery hold down strap back on after a new battery in my 79 Mercury capri.

Few days later....Acting the fool with buddies in the car skipping class. Hit a bump and the battery bounced into the fan radiator, and everything else in the front of the engine bay. That one was ugly.

 

.
...^^^... The 1967 Mustang was nice car too .... my buddy has a green one, but with a 6 cylinder.

I basically destroyed a beat up 1956 Chevy ... and I sold it for parts ... about $100.00 IIRC.

 

Just remembered another one. Went to autozone to get my battery tested cause I was having charging system issues. It failed, and it was 4 days out of warranty. After some negotiation they gave me a new one for free. I figured I’d just change it in the parking lot using their loaner tool kit. Huge mistake. All the wrenches were beat to shit and I didn’t have any penetrating oil. Broke off one of the battery tie down bolts immediately and cut my hands up pretty bad when the wrench slipped. So there I was carrying my old battery back into autozone with my hand dripping blood. Then I used a ratchet strap to somewhat secure the new battery for my drive home.

Spent the next 2 hours trying to get the broken bolt out. Welded a nut on, didn’t work. Extractor set, didn’t work. Ended up just drilling it out and way over sized (nut was welded to the body, and I didn’t drill straight lol). Threw a nut and bolt on and went on with my life.

Goes to show how every 10 minute job is one broken bolt away from becoming a multi hour job.

 

Tried to remove the wheel on a 68 GTX Plymouth. Broke 3 lug nut studs before I called the dealer and he ask" which side of the car are you trying to remove the wheel on "? Guess what. One side has right hand threads and the other is LEFT HAND THREADS. I felt so stupid. I didn't know that .

 

Ok, So I'm a Very OG.
When it was about 72 I was, newby tire changer at HotRocks (firestone) and one quiet Saturday afternoon I asked my manager if I could do tune up on my Father's 68 Ford station wagon. No problem.
Well after the oil and filter, I changed the plugs, points and condenser.
I set the dwell and then went to check the timing.
Back then we used a cheater cord to run the starter from under the hood to turn the engine over for dwell and start it for timing, so I turned it over to start it but to my surprise it was in drive and drove forward with me on the front bumper and drove me and two tire racks to the wall.
My Boss was looking over the scene as he was talking to one of his girlfriends, (not his wife) and ran over and shut off the car.
The tires saved my legs and I walked away just really shook. Never told my Dad about that one.

 

I remember priming the carburetor on a 71 Torino I used to have and having the engine explode because the fuel pump was leaking gas into the motor oil. The explosion blew off both valve covers and blew out the head gaskets. The car would start and run but then would overheat after a few minutes. I still remember nearly being beaned by one of the air breathers flying by my head and the flash fire.

Also got to watch my brother in laws buddy put his face in the carburetor trying to see if it was getting gas on his Maverick and had it explode in his face. Being half drunk and smoking a cigarette at the time got his face burned and eyebrows singed. We still laugh at him over that.