Your biggest DIY screwups

Dark Sarcasm · 10-19-2011, 06:11 PM

forgot to bolt down the battery on a Suzuki Samurai, hit a bump and the battery welded itself to the hood for a short period before burning 2 holes through the hood

CEL said I needed a new o2 sensor, bought an o2 sensor wrench, ordered a new o2 sensor, picked up o2 sensor, crawled under Jeep to replace o2 sensor, found original o2 censor unplugged, returned new o2 sensor.

6MT · 10-19-2011, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjlazer

OK i'll bite:

Demon Bolt fun!

Had a heck of a time getting one of the bolts off during my HFC install. Had to resort to extreme measures. Cut the cat in half to get access to the bolt. Fun times

Never seen one that bad, but not to worry.... you're not the first.

vividracing · 10-19-2011, 06:13 PM

Wow, and I thought I'd had some stupid mistakes.

I can't really think of anything major besides a 16 hour coilover install. That was horrible. Pro Tip: Don't have 5 guys drinking and working on a car together when you can get the job done with only 2 people.

It seemed like since there were so many people messing with the car, it just kept causing us more problems. To top it off, the coilovers were prototypes for a brand new Honda Insight, so we had some troubles with that too. No damage to the car besides 1 broken wheel speed spensor... But we had to redo a few steps more than once, and somebody didn't support the knuckle properly, which pulled the drivers side axle out of the transmission. By far the worst axle I've ever seen in terms of getting it back into the tranny.

b1adesofcha0s · 10-19-2011, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red__Zed

I wonder if the story of my flaming wheel hub belongs here...

Might as well throw it in.

DarkZide · 10-19-2011, 06:24 PM

Had to replace a bad upstream O2 sensor on my old grand am. Broke the bolt heads holding on the heat shield so i had to drill them out. Apparently the exhaust manifold was really weak/thin or I had the worlds greatest drill bit because i went straight through the manifold and through a coolant line.

Jeffblue · 10-19-2011, 08:39 PM

I have two semi recent ones with my 300zx.

First one wasn't so bad. Did my oil change just after getting back from my road trip (brought the car home from florida) and we had the hurricane hit NY. It was a blackout but i really wanted to get that conventional oil out since i was still breaking in the motor. I did the oil change just fine in the blackout but i kept misplacing tools left and right. The only real screwup here was that i loosened the drain plug and because it was dark, i failed to see that literally NONE of the oil went into the catch pan. I drained out the entire contents of the oil pan onto my garage floor.

The 2nd involved installing these z1 gauge rings into the gauge cluster. It takes about 30 seconds to actually put the gauge rings in, but to get the cluster out is kind of a pain in the *** and theres no DIY anwhere so its really just a matter of removing every screw from the drivers side dash area and pulling on stuff.

I had gotten the cluster out installed the rings and was almost done buttoning things up (after 3 hours) then i dropped a screw into the abyss of the dashboard, so i had to take EVERYTHING out again to find the screw. 2 of the screws on top of the shroud above the gauge cluster are very close to the windshield and i was lazy. I decided to just use a screw gun to take them out again and the screw gun bucked up and hit my windshield and cracked it. i was so furious. Imagine taking 4x as long to do something as it should, and then at the end, instead of that satisfaction of 'oh well at least its done' is replaced by 'fvck, i just broke my windshield'

Zero deductible glass coverage FTW. I called insurance and told them something must have hit my windshield. I neglected to inform them that that something was me being an idiot.

Before:

After:

Aftermath:

m4a1mustang · 10-19-2011, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeffblue

^ Steve has nothing to contribute to this thread. He has never made a mistake installing anything ever

You said it.

b1adesofcha0s · 10-19-2011, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by m4a1mustang

You said it.

Steve can contribute the following to this thread:

Ron · 10-19-2011, 09:03 PM

Well.. he did buy a Mustang. That counts as a screw up

SPOHN · 10-19-2011, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron

Well.. he did buy a Mustang. That counts as a screw up

Not major but I left my wheel lock on and drove to town and it was still there.

m4a1mustang · 10-19-2011, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron

Well.. he did buy a Mustang. That counts as a screw up

repped

Red__Zed · 10-19-2011, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron

Well.. he did buy a Mustang. That counts as a screw up

:|

:bowr ofl:

Ron · 10-19-2011, 09:30 PM

PapoZalsa · 10-19-2011, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ron

Well.. he did buy a Mustang. That counts as a screw up

dthem370 · 10-20-2011, 03:08 AM

I have had two occasions where i screwed up.

Changed the pads on my brother's mustang for him and then took it on a test drive to realize that the car would barely stop. Came back and had no idea what went wrong. Took the car to the dealer and found out I had placed a brake pad backwards and messed up the new rotor and had to get new pads. My brother didn't care because he was borrowing my mustang at the time which was way faster than his...haha

Second was when i changed the brake pads on my mustang. I finished everything up and lowered the car and told my dad to finish tightening the lugs on one wheel while i clean up. Drove 200 miles to go back to college and kept hearing a squeak. Next day was about to jack up the car to check the pads and realized all my lugs were loose. Guess my dad was trying to kill me!!! haha

10-19-2011, 06:11 PM	#46 (permalink)
Dark Sarcasm Track Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Katy Texas Posts: 552 Drives: 11 CTS-V Coupe Rep Power: 15	forgot to bolt down the battery on a Suzuki Samurai, hit a bump and the battery welded itself to the hood for a short period before burning 2 holes through the hood CEL said I needed a new o2 sensor, bought an o2 sensor wrench, ordered a new o2 sensor, picked up o2 sensor, crawled under Jeep to replace o2 sensor, found original o2 censor unplugged, returned new o2 sensor. __________________ wax

10-19-2011, 06:13 PM	#48 (permalink)
vividracing The370Z.com Sponsor Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Gilbert, AZ Age: 38 Posts: 7,306 Drives: 350Z,370Z,GTR Rep Power: 39	Wow, and I thought I'd had some stupid mistakes. I can't really think of anything major besides a 16 hour coilover install. That was horrible. Pro Tip: Don't have 5 guys drinking and working on a car together when you can get the job done with only 2 people. It seemed like since there were so many people messing with the car, it just kept causing us more problems. To top it off, the coilovers were prototypes for a brand new Honda Insight, so we had some troubles with that too. No damage to the car besides 1 broken wheel speed spensor... But we had to redo a few steps more than once, and somebody didn't support the knuckle properly, which pulled the drivers side axle out of the transmission. By far the worst axle I've ever seen in terms of getting it back into the tranny. __________________ Rocky @ Vivid ♦ 480.966.3040 x236 ♦ Rocky@vividracing.com Email, PM, or call me directly for aggressive The370Z.com member pricing!!! Last edited by vividracing; 10-19-2011 at 06:16 PM.

10-19-2011, 08:39 PM	#51 (permalink)
Jeffblue A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: NY Age: 36 Posts: 9,192 Drives: Z32TT & 335xi Coupe Rep Power: 37	I have two semi recent ones with my 300zx. First one wasn't so bad. Did my oil change just after getting back from my road trip (brought the car home from florida) and we had the hurricane hit NY. It was a blackout but i really wanted to get that conventional oil out since i was still breaking in the motor. I did the oil change just fine in the blackout but i kept misplacing tools left and right. The only real screwup here was that i loosened the drain plug and because it was dark, i failed to see that literally NONE of the oil went into the catch pan. I drained out the entire contents of the oil pan onto my garage floor. The 2nd involved installing these z1 gauge rings into the gauge cluster. It takes about 30 seconds to actually put the gauge rings in, but to get the cluster out is kind of a pain in the *** and theres no DIY anwhere so its really just a matter of removing every screw from the drivers side dash area and pulling on stuff. I had gotten the cluster out installed the rings and was almost done buttoning things up (after 3 hours) then i dropped a screw into the abyss of the dashboard, so i had to take EVERYTHING out again to find the screw. 2 of the screws on top of the shroud above the gauge cluster are very close to the windshield and i was lazy. I decided to just use a screw gun to take them out again and the screw gun bucked up and hit my windshield and cracked it. i was so furious. Imagine taking 4x as long to do something as it should, and then at the end, instead of that satisfaction of 'oh well at least its done' is replaced by 'fvck, i just broke my windshield' Zero deductible glass coverage FTW. I called insurance and told them something must have hit my windshield. I neglected to inform them that that something was me being an idiot. Before: After: Aftermath: Last edited by Jeffblue; 10-19-2011 at 08:41 PM.

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10-19-2011, 06:24 PM	#50 (permalink)
DarkZide Enthusiast Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: TN Posts: 291 Drives: 2010 370z BC M6 Rep Power: 15	Had to replace a bad upstream O2 sensor on my old grand am. Broke the bolt heads holding on the heat shield so i had to drill them out. Apparently the exhaust manifold was really weak/thin or I had the worlds greatest drill bit because i went straight through the manifold and through a coolant line.

10-19-2011, 09:03 PM	#54 (permalink)
Ron A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 3,009 Drives: TT '11 PW Nismo #113 Rep Power: 22	Well.. he did buy a Mustang. That counts as a screw up

10-19-2011, 09:30 PM	#58 (permalink)
Ron A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 3,009 Drives: TT '11 PW Nismo #113 Rep Power: 22

10-20-2011, 03:08 AM	#60 (permalink)
dthem370 Base Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: San Diego Posts: 163 Drives: Nissan 370Z Rep Power: 16	I have had two occasions where i screwed up. Changed the pads on my brother's mustang for him and then took it on a test drive to realize that the car would barely stop. Came back and had no idea what went wrong. Took the car to the dealer and found out I had placed a brake pad backwards and messed up the new rotor and had to get new pads. My brother didn't care because he was borrowing my mustang at the time which was way faster than his...haha Second was when i changed the brake pads on my mustang. I finished everything up and lowered the car and told my dad to finish tightening the lugs on one wheel while i clean up. Drove 200 miles to go back to college and kept hearing a squeak. Next day was about to jack up the car to check the pads and realized all my lugs were loose. Guess my dad was trying to kill me!!! haha