Gear Dog

Well all was looking good after I installed the last belt. Then I looked under the car and saw the back plastic cover that is supposed to go behind them. Well I guess I'll tackle that problem tomorrow because it is cold in my garage.

Man I'm pissed right now.

F18Rep

We all have our "moments"... it'll be funny in a couple of weeks.

jonnybgood

My dad tells the story about when he was a kid and a bunch of his friends rebuilt the engine on a Model T (this was in the 1930s). They had the car back together and were getting ready to start it somebody picked up a rag and the oil pump was sitting there! The guy who owned the car got so pissed he started hitting the hood with a ball peen hammer. They finally made him realize that wasn't making things better. They ended up getting some practice at replacing the engine.

I have done some boneheaded things too. Look at it as practice.

xsboost90

....like the time i drained the oil from my mustang, replaced the filter, then started it....oil on the bench, oil plug laying under the car...i turned it off pretty fast.

Granite 944

Don't ya love it!

I don't EVEN want to try to remember all the things I've done in the past like this! (and unfortunately, can STILL do).

Ya know, I've heard it said, and I truly believe it... is.... that the mark of a very good mechanic really is............how well he handles, and can fix his own screwups! Not to worry........it happens to everyone. Just look at the extra experience your gaining here.

Mighty Shilling

Here's a fun one... Put on a water pump. put it ALL BACK TOGETHER. fill it up, start it up, still leaks. remove said water pump, reinstall said water pump, still leaks. remove said water pump again, go buy new unit from Porsche, return said water pump to original vendor, put new unit on, start it up, nothing. a week later, a small spot of coolant is under your car...

welcome to my hell... I dunno why I'm leaking from there, but sometime soon, I'm gonna fix it again...and fix it right god d*mnit...

OH yeah, can't forget about the oil pan gasket fiasco...
put on new oil pan gasket. fill up car with oil, let it sit for a while. return from skiing, notice oil dripping from front of seal. curse a little. try a bomb-proof method, start car, notice LARGE puddle underneath (my bad) curse more. take car to Porsche dealer because the oil pan gasket is a hell of a repair to do. get done with dealership, drive back, notice oil drips under car. return car to dealership under warranty. they redo the oil pan gasket. get back, notice more drips...curse, pray, swear to god, whatever, return for warranty service again, Have tech notice "Hey, it's not the pan gasket, it's the oil pump!" and it's not the crank seal! it's the sealant!

Granite 944

Geoff, ain't life fun sometimes? But it is STILL FUN and WORTH IT..........right?

Have ya got yourself a coolant pressure tester yet? Like the Stant kit? It makes some of these things a little easier to diagnose...........under presure ya know.............like some of us.

Damn sure is! .........................Gotta love it!

Mighty Shilling

Of course it's worth it! next time, I'm gonna use a pressure tester to see for 100% sure that it is the water pump...

It always helps when the tech calls after a repair to say that it's the oil pump, and "Oh yeah, you should check your water pump..." my face went blank...I was like..."Yeah...waterpump...grumble..."
he's like "what?" I calmly reminded him of how I borrowed the 9201 like 4 times over the summer for that repair... he started laughing..

Serge944

Omg... I put the tensioners on in the wrong order (AC and PS) both times i did belts. Annoying stuff happens. It's important to ignore BS like that; otherwise, working on cars can get quite irritating.

Granite 944

Sorry.......glad I can laugh on this end too..........I wouldn't WANT to be on the other end of it.....YEP............life's good...........sometimes...........my turn is about due..........Damn..........I can feel it now...........its all your fault!

njwilser

Family lore has it that two of my uncles replaced a clutch on a *****'s jeep as young teenagers close to sixty years ago. Worked fine when they were finished, except they had two more speeds in reverse and two less in forward.
Trans was in upside down giving three reverse speeds and only one foward.

I think this was the same vehicle that my grandfather "converted" to fuel oil during WWII as gas was rationed. A small tank of precious gas and some valving to swith over to oil on the fly. The tell me it worked but smoked like hell.

Yea were a scrappy bunch.

MW

nineeagles

My dad told me a story years ago that once he bought a used car (back in the 40's) and he left the lights on overnight....took out the battery and hand carried it 3 1/2 miles to town to get it charged...(just imagine what a battery would weigh in the 40's).....he waited for about 4 hours for charging then carried it back (another 3 1/2 miles)...put it back in the car and found out he hooked it up backwards and shorted it out.....He told me he took a hammer and smashed all of the windows in the car due to his frustration and short temper....

Gear Dog

Thanks for the inspiration. Guess I'll be able to swap out the belts faster than a NASCAR Pit Crew this time.
In reality it was the car telling me to stop taking short cuts and do the oil seals. There were no signs of leaks but the car has been sitting for over 2 years.