Maintenance No-No's
03-12-2004, 12:38 AM
#1
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Maintenance No-No's
Along the lines of embarassing stories ...
A few weeks ago someone posed the question on a post about how to remove locking lugs without the key.
One of the replies was to "drill them out". This brought back memories -not fond ones-. Ern will be posting two flicks of what a PO DID to Pattycakes
Don't get me wrong...I've drilled out locking lugs in the past, no problemo.
This is just to remind the forum that sometimes when we suggest a fix for a problem; we might just be blindly offering good info to a person who has no business with a tool in his/her hands. Other than some creative wiring, and the paint shop guy's who ripped the tail light assemblies out of the rear facia then used sheetrock screws to re-install them this wheel drilling is the worst example of PO mechanical madness I've come across.
Any other sad stories out there?
FWIW
IMPACT WRENCH is the way to go.
Thanks Ernest
A few weeks ago someone posed the question on a post about how to remove locking lugs without the key.
One of the replies was to "drill them out". This brought back memories -not fond ones-. Ern will be posting two flicks of what a PO DID to Pattycakes
Don't get me wrong...I've drilled out locking lugs in the past, no problemo.
This is just to remind the forum that sometimes when we suggest a fix for a problem; we might just be blindly offering good info to a person who has no business with a tool in his/her hands. Other than some creative wiring, and the paint shop guy's who ripped the tail light assemblies out of the rear facia then used sheetrock screws to re-install them this wheel drilling is the worst example of PO mechanical madness I've come across.
Any other sad stories out there?
FWIW
IMPACT WRENCH is the way to go.
Thanks Ernest
03-12-2004, 02:32 AM
#3
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The PO for my car put a teflon washer in between the negative battery cable and the car chassis... and the nut holding the cable down was loose, so it only made contact on a sporadic (at best) basis.
He also installed the steering wheel hub backwards... no self-cancelling turn signals. Told me during the test drive that they must have been an option.
Finally... he ripped out the ugly LED clock in the console and replaced it with an even uglier "knight rider-esque, disco era LED strobe" that went from left to right and back again like a pong game from hell. This was to warn would-be thiefs not to mess with this car...
After 2 dead batteries in 1 month and several no-starts, out it went. Along with about 300' of extra wire.
Gotta love those PO's !
Rob
Oh, and what about the 18" Chrome Twist wheels with the wrong offset. They stuck out like Tru-Spokes on a Hyundai ! If I even saw as much of a bump in the road the size of a flea... I had to slow down for fear of ripping my fenders off.
He also installed the steering wheel hub backwards... no self-cancelling turn signals. Told me during the test drive that they must have been an option.
Finally... he ripped out the ugly LED clock in the console and replaced it with an even uglier "knight rider-esque, disco era LED strobe" that went from left to right and back again like a pong game from hell. This was to warn would-be thiefs not to mess with this car...
After 2 dead batteries in 1 month and several no-starts, out it went. Along with about 300' of extra wire.
Gotta love those PO's !
Rob
Oh, and what about the 18" Chrome Twist wheels with the wrong offset. They stuck out like Tru-Spokes on a Hyundai ! If I even saw as much of a bump in the road the size of a flea... I had to slow down for fear of ripping my fenders off.
03-12-2004, 11:14 AM
#4
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Wooooo Hooooo Ernest, that MAY take the cake for raw stupidity.....Wheel is toast and so is the hat. Must make balancing a "weighty" challenge.
What did he use to drill out the lock, a 1" wood boring bit? Jeeze what a mess.........
What did he use to drill out the lock, a 1" wood boring bit? Jeeze what a mess.........
03-12-2004, 11:57 AM
#5
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My PO had an autohaus do the tbelt. They banged a screwdriver through the passenger's cam gear to hold it.
I almost bought a Riviera Blue S4 from a guy in Louisians or Georgia (I forget). He had done an amazing job on the repaint, and told me the only thing he had ever had to do to the car was, it had bottomed-out, and they had welded the broken ac bracket, and I could call his mechanic. I called. The mechanic said yes, we welded it on there, it's fine. I asked what kind of welding, aluminium welding is a rare skill these days. He said oh we JB Welded it. It's fine. I asked so, the bracket broke off, but it didn't sever the crankcase right? He replied oh no, it opened her up, the oil drained out but as I said, she's fine now. No leaks.
I almost bought a Riviera Blue S4 from a guy in Louisians or Georgia (I forget). He had done an amazing job on the repaint, and told me the only thing he had ever had to do to the car was, it had bottomed-out, and they had welded the broken ac bracket, and I could call his mechanic. I called. The mechanic said yes, we welded it on there, it's fine. I asked what kind of welding, aluminium welding is a rare skill these days. He said oh we JB Welded it. It's fine. I asked so, the bracket broke off, but it didn't sever the crankcase right? He replied oh no, it opened her up, the oil drained out but as I said, she's fine now. No leaks.
03-12-2004, 12:45 PM
#6
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Originally posted by Gretch
Wooooo Hooooo Ernest, that MAY take the cake for raw stupidity.....Wheel is toast and so is the hat. Must make balancing a "weighty" challenge.
What did he use to drill out the lock, a 1" wood boring bit? Jeeze what a mess.........
Wooooo Hooooo Ernest, that MAY take the cake for raw stupidity.....Wheel is toast and so is the hat. Must make balancing a "weighty" challenge.
What did he use to drill out the lock, a 1" wood boring bit? Jeeze what a mess.........
do........
03-12-2004, 02:15 PM
#7
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The recommended method is to use a hole saw without the pilot bit inside. Looks like they took a regular drill bit here, and tried to drill some holes in the lugnut (and into the wheel and hat here..) to weaken the nut to get it to come loose. The amount of work needed to do the holesaw trick is probably a lot less than what this brilliant crew did.
There have been a few threads over the years about using copper-based anti-sieze on the lugnut faces, where they contact the aluminum wheel. Supposed to eliminate galling, a byproduct of nuts too loose and/or wheel flex. Might save you from having to drill out a nut someday. (sounds kinda painful if you ask me...)
There have been a few threads over the years about using copper-based anti-sieze on the lugnut faces, where they contact the aluminum wheel. Supposed to eliminate galling, a byproduct of nuts too loose and/or wheel flex. Might save you from having to drill out a nut someday. (sounds kinda painful if you ask me...)