Share your idiotic mistakes

[gotsol]

Originally Posted by 2002WRXSTi

Just buy those Metwrenches next time...they do everything

hey I've got those tools and they work!

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[Davenow]

posted an electrical/body/suspension question in factory 2.0??

[sebastian323]

I have a dual range transmission in my 06 WRX. The dual range has high and low for off-roading. The previous owner isntalled this unit, probably because it was cheaper at the JDM warehouse. The transmission got caught in neutral via the dual range feature. I disassembled the transmission to see what was wrong with it, and then I discovered the switch. It took me 8 days to re-assemble the transmission and install it on the car.

[D-Rodman]

I had Covid in Mid March, when I started feeling better I decided to install a set of center caps I had custom made for my PF01 wheels. I loosened all the lugnuts and lifted the front end of the car. Actually installed the 2 front center caps and lifted the wheels back into place. Tightened the lugnuts by hand and dropped the car. All of a sudden got very fatigued and debilitated so decided to abandon the task and tighten the lugnuts later. Took me another 2 weeks to really start feeling better, decided to take my car for a spin but didn’t remember my front lugnuts were only hand tightened. The steering started to feel strange right away so I decided to turn back home not even a mile from my house l. I was 10’ away from my driveway when the driver front side wheel fell off. My pristine original pains driver side fender got destroyed. Had to walk to my house and get the floor Jack, lifted my car and walked the road back to find all 5 of my lugnuts. Installed my wheel and kicked the fender back in so it tucked into the body a little better. Had to get a new fender installed, painted the inside of the rim also where the rim gat all scraped. The entire episode really sucked.

[sebastian323]

Originally Posted by D-Rodman

I had Covid in Mid March, when I started feeling better I decided to install a set of center caps I had custom made for my PF01 wheels. I loosened all the lugnuts and lifted the front end of the car. Actually installed the 2 front center caps and lifted the wheels back into place. Tightened the lugnuts by hand and dropped the car. All of a sudden got very fatigued and debilitated so decided to abandon the task and tighten the lugnuts later. Took me another 2 weeks to really start feeling better, decided to take my car for a spin but didn’t remember my front lugnuts were only hand tightened. The steering started to feel strange right away so I decided to turn back home not even a mile from my house l. I was 10’ away from my driveway when the driver front side wheel fell off. My pristine original pains driver side fender got destroyed. Had to walk to my house and get the floor Jack, lifted my car and walked the road back to find all 5 of my lugnuts. Installed my wheel and kicked the fender back in so it tucked into the body a little better. Had to get a new fender installed, painted the inside of the rim also where the rim gat all scraped. The entire episode really sucked.

jesus bro, that sounds like a terrible incident ... I am paranoid as **** about leaving wheels loose after my dumb friend left a wheel loose on a customers car. We made it like 2 blocks away when i started hearing a weird banging noise. I was bleeding my powersteering unit the other day and I considered leaving the cap loose so more air could get out while I went and did something else , but then I thought to myself, I might forget and try and drive my car somewhere with the cap loose!

[rtv900]

Originally Posted by sebastian323

jesus bro, that sounds like a terrible incident ... I am paranoid as **** about leaving wheels loose after my dumb friend left a wheel loose on a customers car. We made it like 2 blocks away when i started hearing a weird banging noise. I was bleeding my powersteering unit the other day and I considered leaving the cap loose so more air could get out while I went and did something else , but then I thought to myself, I might forget and try and drive my car somewhere with the cap loose!

yeah final tightening on anything can really never be left as a "I'll do it later" task.
If for some reason you have no choice you'd have to leave the wrench on your drivers seat or something

[Ernest]

Poly bushings in the lower front control arm and the white line anti lift kit. Railroad tracks can take fillings out.

[Gage7655]

Drained the coolant from the radiator and thought it was good enough. pulled the lower radiator hose only to discover about half a gallon of coolant was now being poured onto the floor.

[Pandem]

Originally Posted by 02-sixty

jus a little thread to have people share their little stories of fixing or repairing something and totally screwing it up?

I rebuilt my na Subaru and when I went to start it up it just spewed oil everywhere… pushed the crank seal in to far.


Sent from my iPhone using NASIOC

[vale2489]

Ran an ebay intake on a bone stock 02' wrx way back in the day...couldn't figure out why it was idling rough, the maf didn't even sit flush...several other claims to fame but that was probably the worst one with a subaru, learned that lesson quickly.

[monkeyposeur]

Originally Posted by D-Rodman

decided to take my car for a spin but didn’t remember my front lugnuts were only hand tightened.

I'm embarrassed to admit it but when I built a new engine for my OBXT I did the same thing. Luckily I was able to turn around and get home before any damage occurred.

[rtv900]

working on a carbureted V8 throttle linkage and it was easier to work on with the throttle tied wide open with a wire.
A few hours and beers later I totally forgot I tied the throttle wide open and started the engine.
It launched up through the rpm's so fast I almost pissed myself and barely got the key turned before it blew past 5000 rpms and grenaded, which it would have being a 6.6 liter 2 bolt main cap heavy assembly that is not meant for high revs.

[benflynn]

I put crank oil feed seal in backwards on a complete new Yz450f build, every part was new, hooked the seal when installing side cover. Started 2nd kick, ran 20secs, locked up crank. I put a socket on stator to see why it was stuck and I broke the piston. 4-500$ later it took abuse for 7 years.

[monkeyposeur]

Once I was changing the ATF in the 4EAT on my 1993 Turbo Legacy. I drained the fluid and was dumping ATF in the dipstick before I realized there were two dipsticks for trans fluid. One for the front diff and one for the rest of the tranny. I drained it once I realized my mistake and it didn't cause a problem.

I've also mixed up a set of shimless buckets so bad that I took the heads back off the engine (it was on a stand) and back to the machine shop to figure out where they all went. Then when I was bolting them back on with new OEM head studs I broke one off inside the shortblock and by some miracle after three days of various attempts I was able to the broken bolt out. I have no idea how it broke since it was a new bolt and I am 99% sure I had my torque wrench set properly. I switched to ARP head studs after that (I was trying to save a little bit of cash initially).

Yeah, I've done a lot of dumb **** building these engines lol.

[monkeyposeur]

Once I was changing the ATF in the 4EAT on my 1993 Turbo Legacy. I drained the fluid and was dumping ATF in the dipstick before I realized there were two dipsticks for trans fluid. One for the front diff and one for the rest of the tranny. I drained it once I realized my mistake and it didn't cause a problem.

I've also mixed up a set of shimless buckets so bad that I took the heads back off the engine (it was on a stand) and back to the machine shop to figure out where they all went. Then when I was bolting them back on with new OEM head studs I broke one off inside the shortblock and by some miracle after three days of various attempts I was able to the broken bolt out. I have no idea how it broke since it was a new bolt and I am 99% sure I had my torque wrench set properly. I switched to ARP head studs after that (I was trying to save a little bit of cash initially).

Yeah, I've done a lot of dumb **** building these engines lol.

[wooshwoosh]

Spent the past 2-3 years on a lengthy engine rebuild and to my horror, my replacement cylinder heads are missing the AVCS sensor ports. Lost money aside, all that porting, polishing and grinding valve lifter buckets down the drain lol...

[Cheesyninja]

Did not block off the turbo outlet when removing hose on a twin scroll, dropped a bolt right into it. Was able to fish it out with a long magnetic tool thank god.

[enduroxt]

Originally Posted by sebastian323

I have a dual range transmission in my 06 WRX. The dual range has high and low for off-roading. The previous owner isntalled this unit, probably because it was cheaper at the JDM warehouse. The transmission got caught in neutral via the dual range feature. I disassembled the transmission to see what was wrong with it, and then I discovered the switch. It took me 8 days to re-assemble the transmission and install it on the car.

Threadjack: exactly which dual range transmission do you have? I have always understood that none of them can handle the torque of turbo subies. Still in one piece?