johnhara1
Member
Registered: 19th Oct 06
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
User status: Offline
|
Read a thread on migweb last night and come across a thread of everyone's biggest mistakes while working on their cars.
Some of them were hilarious, and some resulted in broken bones etc so i thought id ask here.
|
Gary
Premium Member
Registered: 22nd Nov 06
Location: West Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Nothing too bad.
Worst ive had frm a car is pulling the return/small hose from the header tank on a astra gte, it suddenly giving and slicing my hand down the inner wing. Only got a small scar though.
|
Scotty C
Member
Registered: 6th Nov 05
Location: Kidderminster Drives: 1.6 16v Sport
User status: Offline
|
Had numerous cars fall off jacks. Luckly I wasent under them nothing too dramatic.
|
Gary
Premium Member
Registered: 22nd Nov 06
Location: West Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Oh, sat in my mates car once while he was under it while it was only jacked up with a 'widow maker' jack.
Needless to say he had a bruised chest and was not best pleased
|
SportBoy
Member
Registered: 5th Oct 01
Location: Retford, Nottinghamshire
User status: Offline
|
probably when i did my first xe conversion years ago .. turning the engine over for ages with no spark and wondering why ... oh yeah, works better with the ecu connected.
|
Ben G
Member
Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
|
my fiesta fell off an axle stand. scariest moment so far i think
|
Scotty C
Member
Registered: 6th Nov 05
Location: Kidderminster Drives: 1.6 16v Sport
User status: Offline
|
quote: Originally posted by Ben G
my fiesta fell off an axle stand. scariest moment so far i think
How does it 'fall off' an axle stand?
|
Ben G
Member
Registered: 12th Jan 07
Location: Essex
User status: Offline
|
tried to jack the other side up whilst it was resting on an axle stand on the other side car was only 2 months old aswell.
|
mwg
Member
Registered: 19th Feb 04
Location: South Lakes
User status: Offline
|
Over tightened the rear wheel bearing. Next day driving along to work I heard this noise like a shotgun going off in my ear and the rear wheel locked up. Bearing welded itself to the stub axle
|
JonnyJ
Member
Registered: 23rd Sep 05
Location: Scotchland
User status: Offline
|
Finger tightening my wheel bolts, getting distracted, forgot to tighten properly, drove off luckily noticed before the wheel fell off
|
AndyCorsaSport
Member
Registered: 12th Feb 06
Location: Horsforth, West Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
Many many cut knucles fingers.
Had a car slip off a jack and caught my hand as i moved it out the way.
Had a Corsa fall off the jig slightly and hit a Range Rover that was my own fault though, Monday mornings for ya!
|
.Matt
Member
Registered: 28th Jan 09
Location: Kent
User status: Offline
|
Sneezed whilst under a car once, headbutted the underside. Wasn't best impressed.
|
Scotty C
Member
Registered: 6th Nov 05
Location: Kidderminster Drives: 1.6 16v Sport
User status: Offline
|
quote: Originally posted by .Matt
Sneezed whilst under a car once, headbutted the underside. Wasn't best impressed.
|
ada_corsa
Member
Registered: 15th Feb 07
Location: birmingham
User status: Offline
|
I put a gearbox on my old 14xe and was eager to test on the axle stands. So i fired her up and tried gears, they worked fine. Untill i put it in reverse then clunk hahaha. I realised i didnt put the drive shafts in and my diff was bleeding all over the garden. The goose wasnt impressed.
|
shaunmods
Premium Member
Registered: 12th Mar 07
Location: Glascote, Staffordshire
User status: Offline
|
Bought a new aux belt for my car because I had a high pitch noise. Some how I managed to take the old one off and put the same one back on again without realising I ended up replacing the alternator, tensioner and power steering pump before I realised what I'd done put the new belt on when I found and and it fixed it completely
[Edited on 27-10-2011 by shaunmods]
|
SportBoy
Member
Registered: 5th Oct 01
Location: Retford, Nottinghamshire
User status: Offline
|
gave myself a blackeye undoing a sump plug on a peugoet too.
|
Jed D
Member
Registered: 15th Mar 11
Location: Durham
User status: Offline
|
failed big time rattle canning my bonnet on the old b black.
i had it all looking good, primed and the 1st coat of paint on then started doing the 2nd from side to side working my way from the front lip to the back then realised the nozzle was dodgey and it'd been dripping all over the front... running down the bumper etc...
cant really see it well from this angle but i got a cloth and rubbed it all off whilst wet, fucked up big time
when it had dried, in the top bit (perfect finish) i carved "I CANT PAINT" 

ended up smoothing it all back down and priming it again. it stayed in prime (lumpy as fcuk) untill it got sold then crashed by some fat kid 
|
DansCorsaSXi
Organiser: Yorkshire Premium Member
Registered: 13th Jan 10
Location: Worksop
User status: Offline
|
quote: Originally posted by JonnyJ
Finger tightening my wheel bolts, getting distracted, forgot to tighten properly, drove off luckily noticed before the wheel fell off
I've done this,good job I had my cracker bar in car. 
Star silver C20XE SXi Project thread
Smoke Grey Corsa GSi Project thread
|
Jed D
Member
Registered: 15th Mar 11
Location: Durham
User status: Offline
|
quote: Originally posted by DansCorsaSXi
quote: Originally posted by JonnyJ
Finger tightening my wheel bolts, getting distracted, forgot to tighten properly, drove off luckily noticed before the wheel fell off
I've done this,good job I had my cracker bar in car.
+1
|
Adam C
Premium Member
Registered: 10th Jan 07
Location: Cornwall UK Drives:Arden Blue Gsi T
User status: Offline
|
The worst one I've had was when I was lowering my old Corsa Sport, was working on one of the front struts without the use of an axle stand and my mate decided to play with the jack and ended up lowering the car rather quickly onto my legs.
Had a mate once connect both ends of a jump start pack together, I would have told him not to but I wanted to see the look on his face 
My Arden Blue Astra GSi MK4 on BBS LM's Project Thread
|
Ian
Site Administrator
Registered: 28th Aug 99
Location: Liverpool
User status: Online
|
Done loads, set fire to my pants grinding, emptied an engine with 5.5 litre oil capacity in to a 5 litre can, hit Ste W in the face the other day with a breaker bar while we were doing the suspension on the truck.
Probably most painful was the first time Mike B had ever heard me say bad words putting a hole saw in the drill, spun it up to tighten the chuck except I had hold of the hole saw not the chuck 
Blood up the door, skin on the bit, wasn't nice.
|
SteveoBC
Premium Member
Registered: 22nd Feb 07
Location: Bucks
User status: Offline
|
spending ages at the bearing press trying to get old bearings out..........then realising the sur-clip that holds it was still in....bollocks
and another trying to figure out why the filler i had just put on a car was'nt going off....ahh yes.......helps if i added the hardner to it...DOH!
|
Mike
Organiser: North West and North Wales Premium Member
Registered: 20th May 06
Location: nr. Skipton, North Yorkshire
User status: Offline
|
quote: Originally posted by JonnyJ
Finger tightening my wheel bolts, getting distracted, forgot to tighten properly, drove off luckily noticed before the wheel fell off
I've done that followed by 3 track sessions 
Other bad one I remember was changing the clutch on my brother's old E36. I unbolted the clutch and the friction plate fell out fitted the new clutch in what I believed to be the correct way, built it all back up, started it, dipped the clutch, massive grinding noise had to strip it all down again to turn the clutch plate around which was about a further 3-4 hours work, on my drive with tiny axle stands
|
t_benn_1
Member
Registered: 28th Sep 04
Location: Shropshire
User status: Offline
|
Changing a grinder disk, holding the disk to turn it to lock and pressing on. Nice slice in the hand. One of those you look at it, wait a few seconds then the blood starts pouring out.
|
Tomnova16
Premium Member
Registered: 21st Jan 06
Location: Gerrards Cross Drives: Porsche 911
User status: Offline
|
Where's twiggy 
http://www.lemass.co.uk/ for all your automotive/bodyshop needs
Located in Chalfont st Peter
|