Home Mechanic Mishaps

[chester Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close chester]

Well a mechanic i ant my worst mishap was today Since the GTG i have had this bloody rattle at idle and i finally found it the clamp that holds down the Aux batt had come away so a 10 dollar replacement item and i am redy to install

First issue to place the threaded rods the battery has to come out so out it comes
Replace the holder and put the battery back in and do it all up and pack up and i am mising a spanner

Spanner has gone between panel and under air box so of course it cannot be reached had to remove the whole bloody air box to get at it

In summary 10 minute job was blown out to 4 hours

As said a mechanic i aint ops:

[Prado BB Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Prado BB]

Re: Home Mechanic Mishaps

that is so funny. Obviously you can now laugh at your mishap.

[GDS Member Find all posts View Profile Close GDS]

Re: Home Mechanic Mishaps

Don't feel too bad about dropped tools in tight spots.

After 25 years of car ownership I have found a wide variety of tools in cars when I have pulled a few things apart.

Once found a pair of vice grips still attached to a Beetle clutch cable .... 12 months after the cable was replaced.

The old magnet on a string is good for tool recovery.

Just recently I wall installing a bonnet protector on my new D4D and I dropped the socket. Had to drop the sump protector to get that one back.

In my prior life as an electrician I often found tools in ceilings.

Well I digress sorry.

Grant

[ABD Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ABD]

What other people leave in cars!

Many years ago I bought a V6 camry at auction in Sydney.
It was an ex police vehicle from Griffith.
When I folded down the back seats that gives you access to the boot I found a teaspoon with a white crusty substance on it. :?: :?:
The car is still going strong. My son has now clocked up 230000kms.
Chris

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

Re: Home Mechanic Mishaps

Building a strong 289 Windsor V8 in my workshop. Had the moor on one of those 3 wheeled engine stands and decided to move it a short distance inside the shed.

One of the side-wheels got stuck in the groove in the concrete floor and the whole lot went over. No time to think. Rocker covers were off and the shiney new roller-rockers were exposed. Options: let it fall over onto the floor or put my body between the motor and the floor.

How much does a got bit of V8 iron weigh...................lots!

Crushed my chest a little and it was painful to breathe for a couple of days. Only bruised ribs but nothing broken on the motor.

[jeff s Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close jeff s]

Re: Home Mechanic Mishaps

Well on the tool finding/ losing front.

Found: 1 insulated screwdriver, where: in the door skin of an XB ute, found when I was repairing the window mechanism. it must have been rattling around in there for sometime as I had the car for over 1 year at the time, and it wasnt mine.

Lost: well not quite lost but I was working on a hydraulic accumulator on a water tight door in the bowls of a cement cargo ship in devonport Tassie. left my hammer there. Then about 6 months later I was working on the same ship, took a trip down to the engine room and visited the offending water tight door, and woo hoo, the hammer was still there after taking quite a few trips to the mainland.

[Golly Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Golly]

Re: Home Mechanic Mishaps

Having had this mishap twice now, is just not acceptable, same crime same outcome same coverup.... :mrgreen:

Changing Oil in rental property, Mitsi LWB van, did the filter up tight...... at least think I did... started her up... beautiful..
What is that black shit pooling out under the car all over the pavers...... ARGHHHHHH!!HH!H!H! freshly changed diesel OIL....
Needless to say, the sandpit next to the van, got emptied real quick in a instant absorb.

5 years later.... new Prado... change the oil... pretty easy job.
Got the pan underneath to catch the oil, undo sump plug... all good. starts emptying at a rate of knots and splashes were coming up out of the pan. WIND WIND under the bloody Prado, starts throwing said splashes all over the pavers again!!!!!!!!!! :mrgreen:

Ok, last trick, just managed to turn the pavers over and jobs done.... now new house has bevelled one side pavers !!!!!!!! thats gonna stick out like dogs whatsies to the Mrs hahaha... so lucky we had some spare inside the garage... OUT COMES COLD CHISEL and HAMMER !!! hahahahahaha.

I never learn ...

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

Re: Home Mechanic Mishaps

Ok, so you're using an angle grinder to grind off some weld dags on a metal frame that you have just knocked up. The job is pretty big but you think that you can spin it over one handed whilst still holding onto the grinder which is spinning at 10,000rpm.

You've made an error of judgement. The job is just a little bit too heavy for one hand manouvering. You start to loose your balance and both your arms are being drawn in towards your body. The grinder is still spinning at full pelt. You start to fall and, instinctively, you drop both the frame and the angle grinder so you can use both hands to break your fall.

You feel the angle grinder hit the top of your shoe and bounce onto the floor. You pick yourself up and grab the grinder and switch it off. That wasn't too bad you think as you glance down and see a slight tear in the top of your jogger. Then a funny feeling starts to wriggle around in your guts. You have to sit down.

You slowly peel off your shoe, and then your sock. You glance down at the neat little cut running lengthways along the top of your foot from just behind the big toe to just in front of your ankle. It's deep. You can see the white tendons. Still no pain.

And then the blood comes. Lots of it. Bright red and gushing out. You call over the fence to your neighbour who just happens to be a nurse.

"Another industrial accident?" she inquires. It's ok, I got to rescue her and provide first aid when her back gave out a few weeks later.

[Dobbo Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dobbo]

Re: Home Mechanic Mishaps

Not really a home mechanic mishap but a mishap all the same.
Sunday afternoon, went down to fix the mooring lines on the boat after a big storm. Too lazy to walk 100 metres so I fired up my Yamaha IT490 trail bike and rode it down to the water. I also took a serrated kitchen knife to cut some rope with.
Did the job and prepared to ride back up the hill. I thought the best place to put the knife was in the tool pouch at the back of the seat, with the blade sticking out the zipper so it wouldn't fall out.
Well, at the top of the track some nong had parked across the track so I had to go around and in doing so the front wheel went into a hole and the bike stopped, so off I get to push it out of the hole.
As I swung my right leg over the seat it hit something so I swung it over again and struck something else . When I went to put my leg back down I noticed the knife was now sticking into my ankle, and what's more, the blade was also protruding out the other side and there was another cut further up my shin ops:
Hmmm, that's interesting I thought, I can't ride home with that sticking out of my leg so I pulled it out and that's when the wound opened up and the blood started running everywhere.
Luckily my wife (who's a nurse) had just got home from work and was preparing for a nice lie down after a hard shift, when I hobbled in leaving a trail of blood all over the floorboards.
5 hours and 21 stitches later I was home again and looking forward to a bit of time off work.

[fishfinder Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close fishfinder]

Re: Home Mechanic Mishaps

"Another industrial accident?" she inquires. It's ok, I got to rescue her and provide first aid when her back gave out a few weeks later.[/quote]
Lucky you could walk on it a few weeks later .. Sounds very simular to in injury I had about 6 years back but was unable to walk for 6 months and still causes me greif . No power tools involved something to do with colour bond sheeting and using my foot with me Japanese saftey boots to rest a few sheets on .

[fishfinder Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close fishfinder]

Re: Home Mechanic Mishaps

I remember many years ago I got a phone call late on a Friday night inviting me to go fishing out off Jurien Bay . At the time I was struging to stand up as for some reason the large amount of booze I consumed made my legs wobbly . But I came to my senses and thought it would be wise to give the car a service (as I was planning to service it Saturday morning ) hitch up the boat and drive to Jurien Bay so the morning was not waisted driving there , at the time it was about 10.00pm . Any way I managed to hitch the boat on the car dropped the oil out of the car removed all the spark plugs and attempted to fit the new spark plugs , but for the life of me and with the help of the beer goggles I could not manage to fit the new spark plugs , after about 2 hours many more drinks and clarret running from my knuckles I decided to finish the job in the morning . 10.30 AM the next morning I surfaced went out to the car to work out what the problem was and yes all 6 spark plugs where placed up side down I sorted that out and checked to see if the trailer was hitched and it was nice and secure no tow ball but I did an excelent job on attaching to the tounge with gaffa tape rope and cable ties . :shock: :shock:

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

Re: Home Mechanic Mishaps

Phone call from sister who is with her husband and they are moored somewhere out behind Rotto: "Hi Dave, Lindsay wants to know what's the firing order for his inboard V8 - it's a Windsor."

The motor wouldn't start on the Leeder 25 footer so he pulled all the leads and spark plugs.

"Old windsor, newer windsor, HO 5 litre or Boss 351 Windsor" I inquire?

"Dunnoh" comes the reply.

Anyway, after giving them the choices the boat finally fired up. Turned out to have a dodgy electric fuel pump. Like me, he know has labels on ignition leads, dizzy caps, plugs, etc.

[Dobbo Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dobbo]

Re: Home Mechanic Mishaps

Another thing has sprung to mind,something that happened when I was about 17, working at my first job at the local Ford dealer in town.
I used to do the pre delivery on the new cars and part of that was to ensure there were no potential dust leaks in the boot.
The way we did that was to lock yourself in the boot with a tin of mastic and a spray can of some black bitumen type stuff and look for any pin pricks of light between the rear quarter panels or other areas.
On most of the Fords there was a small tab on the inside boot latch that you could twist with a pair of pliers and release yourself but this particular day I was working on a new XB Falcon and after I finished checking the boot, I felt around to find the pliers to open the boot. After about 5 minutes of searching I realised I had forgotten to bring the pliers with me and I was now locked in.
Well by now panic had set in, as the car was out in the back of the garage parking lot, no one could hear me banging and yelling and it was getting quite warm in there as well.
Eventually, after what I reckon was about 45 minutes, someone realised I was missing and came searching for me and heard me yelling inside the boot.
One fond memory I have of the place was doing the 1500 service on the spare parts bloke's new Escort Ghia and wiring a dead cat around the diff. He wasn't too happy about the persistant stench and figured out who had done it and eventually I was sacked.

[fishfinder Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close fishfinder]

Re: Home Mechanic Mishaps

One fond memory I have of the place was doing the 1500 service on the spare parts bloke's new Escort Ghia and wiring a dead cat around the diff. He wasn't too happy about the persistant stench and figured out who had done it and eventually I was sacked.

That's gold Dobbo... friggin gold !!!!

was the cat dead before you wired it to the diff ????? or did you kill it first ?????

[Dobbo Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dobbo]

Re: Home Mechanic Mishaps

One fond memory I have of the place was doing the 1500 service on the spare parts bloke's new Escort Ghia and wiring a dead cat around the diff. He wasn't too happy about the persistant stench and figured out who had done it and eventually I was sacked.

That's gold Dobbo... friggin gold !!!!

was the cat dead before you wired it to the diff ????? or did you kill it first ?????

It was definately dead and well on it's way to being an ex cat. The bloke took to riding a pushbike to work shortly after that, but never suspected that someone would loosen the bolt holding the handlebars to the fork stem :twisted: That caused a few giggles while it lasted :lol: