I can't believe I'm sharing this...

jmonica

Original poster
Member
Apr 2, 2013
384
Hamburg, NJ
So over the course of my older life, I've have a couple of times tried to Express to some of the younger guys(most of who are at least twice as smart as me and 2/3 younger), that when you've been wrenching on a car for 38+ hours straight, they will get so much more done if they rest up, step away and take their mind off the car problems.
Then come back fresh and begin where they left off. It's a fact, once you have hit the proverbial wall, you must stop. Having gotten my message across, they all ask the same last question... how do I know when I've hit The Wall?

Since I'm obviously an old master mechanic (cough) I give them examples like being forgetful, unable to work out problems logically. But if you want a sure fire sign that you should stop, you will see something like what I just did ater thrashinhg on it for 2 days, no sleep at all.

Enjoy the pic at my expense. This isn't staged I swear I actually did install a brake pad backwards. And had it ready for a test drive. 20200228_052539.jpg
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
lol whoops!!! :duh: :dunce:

I've had similar brain locks, usually in the interior though, I'll forget to do something that seems simple, put panels back on, bolts and screws back in, and then stuff doesn't work. In a state of confusion, I'll see a component sitting on the seat next to me, or a disconnected wire dangling from under a panel. Can't tell you how many times I've had to pull the dash again because something wasn't hooked up on my radio after taking it out to troubleshoot something else. :redface:
 

Ilikemy3s

Member
Dec 3, 2011
367
I think we have all been there and done that. While I work on my family cars and SUVs to same money, I enjoy it but what pays the bills I am in IT. So i have done it on both aspects .. lol But as long as we catch the mistakes and correct them, it is all good.
 

gmcman

Member
Dec 12, 2011
4,656
Hey, at least you caught it.

True story, I was changing tires back in the day and was asked to bring a contractor van in to "check brake grind".

I pulled the LF tire and stared for a few seconds at the rotor not registering what I was seeing. I've never seen a rotor with a helical pattern on the surface. I soon realized the outer surface was gone and those were the vents from the center of the rotor. The outer pad was installed backwards just like your pic.
 

Maverick6587

Member
Dec 16, 2018
730
Sterling Heights, Michigan
So over the course of my older life, I've have a couple of times tried to Express to some of the younger guys(most of who are at least twice as smart as me and 2/3 younger), that when you've been wrenching on a car for 38+ hours straight, they will get so much more done if they rest up, step away and take their mind off the car problems.
Then come back fresh and begin where they left off. It's a fact, once you have hit the proverbial wall, you must stop. Having gotten my message across, they all ask the same last question... how do I know when I've hit The Wall?

Since I'm obviously an old master mechanic (cough) I give them examples like being forgetful, unable to work out problems logically. But if you want a sure fire sign that you should stop, you will see something like what I just did ater thrashinhg on it for 2 days, no sleep at all.

Enjoy the pic at my expense. This isn't staged I swear I actually did install a brake pad backwards. And had it ready for a test drive.

I just had that happen to me a few weeks/month ago I think. Changing the rear bearings. I couldn't get them out after hours, I decided to just go relax and go to bed. Next day went out there and remembered I had a bigger slide hammer and it came off in two easy pulls. Sometimes you have to step away to think outside the path your brain/thoughts put you in, "I know this should work, I'll make it happen!"
 

gmcman

Member
Dec 12, 2011
4,656
I've had to pull the dash again because something wasn't hooked up on my radio after taking it out to troubleshoot something else

That reminded me of a similiar event relating to this very same thread.

I've installed countless radios and stereo systems in my vehicles and friends' vehicles. When installing the Avic D3 in my Envoy, back in about 2008, I was at it for a good part of the evening into the later hours. I finished late after my daughter was in bed, but for the life of me I couldn't get any sound from the speakers....no hiss, nothing.

I triple checked the Bose adapter, wiring, etc. Went inside and combed the web..nothing. I removed the radio again and went over every wire, mind you this is about 2 hrs after I began troubleshooting. Had to brew more coffee, snack, etc.

Pulled the head unit, checked every wire.....found a bundle of 8 wires with.....LF+, LF-, RF+...etc.....etc....etc.

:wowfaint:

Some reason I thought there was a different connection with the Bose amp and not a line-level input.

Makes sense to hook up the speaker wires to your stereo. :squint:
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
Welcome to the club. Years ago when I was wrenching on my '78 Z28, I was putting in a large capacity oil pan on the small block. It was getting late and I was tired but wanted to finish and start it up right away. Start pouring in the oil (you can see where this is going...) and after the 5th or 6th litre, I started seeing this oil slick coming towards me. Yep, I forgot the drain plug. I didn't have enough oil left to finish so wound up finishing the next day anyway. For a while, my nickname was Slick.

When I'm wrenching and I start to just stare at stuff without any purpose, that's when I know to call it quits for the night.
 

gmcman

Member
Dec 12, 2011
4,656
When I'm wrenching and I start to just stare at stuff without any purpose, that's when I know to call it quits for the night

Yessir....but unfortunately most of us end up at that conclusion after a history, short or long, of these stories.

OP....looks like you just opened up a thread soon to be full of these stories....very appropriately titled also... :smile:
 
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m.mcmillen

Member
Apr 29, 2016
554
Wisconsin
I was changing the timing belt on a Honda van one night way too late in the night and for some reason took the key out of the crankshaft sprocket and turned the engine over by hand. After I turned the engine a bit I figured out why the camshafts were not turning. So, I put the key back like it was supposed to be and did the job.

I started the van up and it had a dead miss. I knew right away what happened. I bent a couple of valves. There nothing more fun than pulling the head replacing valves for free. I keep the valves on my desk as a reminder.
 

Daniel644

Member
Feb 27, 2015
573
I stop when I get frustrated, usually after a few bloody knuckles from wrenches slipping on bolts that are WAY to over torqued, like it took like 4 feet worth of breaker bar and all my might to get one of the bolts on the steering rack of the firebird to budge because it had been so over torqued.
 

jmonica

Original poster
Member
Apr 2, 2013
384
Hamburg, NJ
Yessir....but unfortunately most of us end up at that conclusion after a history, short or long, of these stories.

OP....looks like you just opened up a thread soon to be full of these stories....very appropriately titled also... :smile:
hehe Thanks. Good to know I'm not the only one. I hope this turns into a "Dumb things I've done while fixing my car" thread because, and I don't say this with a lot of pride, I could probably fill the thread with a ton of content when it comes to doing dumb things!

That's not to say anyone who does something like I did in this pic is dumb. I mean yes, I am but, I think everyone has their moments. I think a lot of people spend or spent most of High School on guard and just trying to avoid do anything dumb that you would be remembered for. I am convinced that even Einstein did dumb things either out of exhaustion or just the brain being somewhere else. BTW.. did you know his brain is being preserved on the off chance we ever have the capability to do brain transplants? Sorry I know.. who cares.

I wasn't going to post it out of fear of bruising my ego but then thought, who cares? I can laugh at myself and if someone gets a chuckle at one of my many blunders, god bless them, I'm sure I did too. After my bruised ego healed I mean.
 
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jmonica

Original poster
Member
Apr 2, 2013
384
Hamburg, NJ
I stop when I get frustrated, usually after a few bloody knuckles from wrenches slipping on bolts that are WAY to over torqued, like it took like 4 feet worth of breaker bar and all my might to get one of the bolts on the steering rack of the firebird to budge because it had been so over torqued.
Yes for sure! If you're getting super frustrated, that's when you should consider taking a break. At least I do because that's the time when I always start to get hurt. Get my leg caught or trip over the floor jack or something.

I was so embarrassed once on the same situation. Met a new girl, she wanted her bug lowered. Trying to impress her I was like "Yeah that's right baby, I"m a master mechanic. That job is childs play. NO worries I'll have your bug lowered and back to you the same day."

The first lug BOLT I attempted to take off. I'm not exaggerating when I say it took a 9 foot pipe on a breaker bar to crack it with me and two others standing and cranking on it. . It took I think 2 or 3 days to get them all off. Thats 5.333 lug nuts per day.

By then she was starting to ask for her car back. It took like a week to get it lowered.
 
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jmonica

Original poster
Member
Apr 2, 2013
384
Hamburg, NJ
And BTW... I wouldn't have picked silver as the color to paint my calipers. I blasted them and then rebuilt them. These are the originals with 300K miles on them and even after blasting they didn't look that great but I wanted to keep the OEM ones. It was 3:30am. Had been up for a couple of days without sleep but I wanted to coat them with something so I pulled out all of the spray cans I had and checked the drying and handling times for all of them. This one had the lowest dry tie (25 Min) and that's why the color was chosen. If I had a can of pink paint and it took that 24 minutes to dry, I would have Pink Calipers right now. The silver looks cheap and cheesy to me.
 
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jmonica

Original poster
Member
Apr 2, 2013
384
Hamburg, NJ
lol whoops!!! :duh: :dunce:

I've had similar brain locks, usually in the interior though, I'll forget to do something that seems simple, put panels back on, bolts and screws back in, and then stuff doesn't work. In a state of confusion, I'll see a component sitting on the seat next to me, or a disconnected wire dangling from under a panel. Can't tell you how many times I've had to pull the dash again because something wasn't hooked up on my radio after taking it out to troubleshoot something else. :redface:
heheh I laughed out loud when you said you have seen parts sitting on the seat next to you. hehe Me too! yea I might need to put that piston in the caliper before I drive this thing, any further. heh Well not that bad but I do recall thinking man, if any of the guys on GMTNation ever knew what I just did, I'd be the laughing stock of the site. I'd never be able to post on here again without changing my name. I have noticed that a I get older, the percentage of parts leftover after the job have gone down. I always had a few nuts and bolts left after a job. This last transmission swap I didn't have a single part left over! Well I did get it all together and realized I had forgotten the torque converter but, not really a big deal. Do you even need that thing?

OK confession, I do have one picture posted where I have a part clearly installed incorrectly. hehe I know one day someone will call me out on it. Actually, I don't know about that. Perhaps everyone on here has spotted it but everyone on here is too nice and polite to say anything. All forums should be like this. It's much more of a community feel when everyone gets along. Nobody is comparing the size of their umm drive shaft to everyone else'. Plus it's more productive to be nice because when you're nice to people, they are compelled to come back and they feel more inclined to help I think and that's what this place is all about. (A place where a guy like me can come and leach information for free and sap knowledge from everyone else and then leave without even a thank You before I go post it on other sites and take credit for it myself (i'm kidding).
 

jmonica

Original poster
Member
Apr 2, 2013
384
Hamburg, NJ
I think we have all been there and done that. While I work on my family cars and SUVs to same money, I enjoy it but what pays the bills I am in IT. So i have done it on both aspects .. lol But as long as we catch the mistakes and correct them, it is all good.
hehe Sorry for another boring story but had to reply when I saw that you are in IT. I am too. For about 24 years i have been. Once again, I was trying to impress a girl. She couldn't print from her PC.
OH man, here's my big chance to ride in on my horse and save the day! She won't even have a say in it after that, she will not be able to fight off her feelings for me, her hero.

Come to her house with my tie on. Crack open my black Brief case looking tool set. and jump into action. I:d say that I re-installed drives, cartridges, test pages launched from the hard buttons on the printer. I remember it was close to 90 minutes and I was feeling so dumb. Then she says Jim, she's holding up the end of a USB printer cable. "Jim I meant to ask you if I should hook this to something?". I was so concerned with trying to look good in front of her that I neglected to check the most basic of things. It was not plugged in to the computer. F;ing dumb arse Jim. Ugg it still to this day brings back feelings of shame and disgust in myself.
 
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jmonica

Original poster
Member
Apr 2, 2013
384
Hamburg, NJ
Hey, at least you caught it.

True story, I was changing tires back in the day and was asked to bring a contractor van in to "check brake grind".

I pulled the LF tire and stared for a few seconds at the rotor not registering what I was seeing. I've never seen a rotor with a helical pattern on the surface. I soon realized the outer surface was gone and those were the vents from the center of the rotor. The outer pad was installed backwards just like your pic.
HAHAHA come on man? Are you kidding? I was a tire mounter for a few years as well. That is just crazy. That thing had to have been grinding like crazy from the word go. Whoever did the brakes should be punished not for making the mistake, but because they didn't notice a problem when they did a test to ensure the brakes worked. Thank God they didn't though or we wouldn't have it to laugh about now!

When you told the customer the bad news, I can picture them saying, "what do you mean the rotor is only about half the thickness it was when new? That's impossible because we just had the brakes done? hehe
 
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gpking

Member
Dec 27, 2013
534
Berkeley Springs, WV
As an amateur mechanic, I have many many instances of "learning from my mistakes" when working on vehicles...

And YES!!! The most infuriating "I need sleep" goof is when you're fuming mad, storming around looking for a missing tool or part, only to discover it was in your hand or right in front of you the whole time. :dielaugh:
The opposite of this; I left a magnetic bolt tray stuck to the frame of the TrailBlazer. I discovered it 400 miles later, still holding on for dear life when I went to change the oil lol.

But by far, my stupidest:
In Fall of 2015 I was replacing something related to HVAC in the TrailBlazer, so I pulled an HVAC fuse to do so. Winter comes and my heat doesn't work, so I begrudgingly replace the blend door actuators. My heat still doesn't work. The bitter cold sets in and I drive to work every day like an Eskimo because no heat.
Come to find out, when I originally pulled the HVAC fuse, I accidentally reinstalled it in a blank slot. I moved it to the correct slot and, BAM, my heat works! I felt so stupid.
BUT WAIT, that's not the end.
In Fall of 2019 I purchased a used Silverado where the mode door actuator was failing. I pulled the HVAC fuse to replace it. The bitter cold sets in and the heat doesn't work. I drove it for a day or two before I bothered to check the fuse (because the heat worked the day I bought it), and lo and behold, I AGAIN installed the HVAC fuse in a blank slot. I moved it to the correct slot and, BAM, my heat works! I felt so so stupid. AGAIN.
The same mistake TWO times on TWO vehicles.
 

2001ZR2

Member
Jul 16, 2019
93
Kansas
My latest was working on the front end of my Suburban. It fills the garage have not one but two bolts strip out. I can't get to my torch because the truck is on jack stands with the front torn apart and the rear bumper is about an inch from the drawer with the torch. Drop the steering knuckle and wheel hub. Then decide to beat the lower ball joint out with a 4 pound hammer..time to call it for the night due frustration. And yes the ball joint came out.
 

jmonica

Original poster
Member
Apr 2, 2013
384
Hamburg, NJ
I was changing the timing belt on a Honda van one night way too late in the night and for some reason took the key out of the crankshaft sprocket and turned the engine over by hand. After I turned the engine a bit I figured out why the camshafts were not turning. So, I put the key back like it was supposed to be and did the job.

I started the van up and it had a dead miss. I knew right away what happened. I bent a couple of valves. There nothing more fun than pulling the head replacing valves for free. I keep the valves on my desk as a reminder.
Ouch man. Thats a bummer having to do all of that extra stuff plus pull money out of your pocket to clean it all up. I'l wouldn't be surprised if you were only stuck there late because you were being nice by squeezing them in in the first place. No good deed huh? Sorry that happened to you man.
 

northcreek

Member
Jan 15, 2012
3,310
WNY
I can't believe I'm sharing this...Changed the oil in my wife's car today and realized that while doing my own changes all of my life and in spite of copious use of cardboard, I still haven't done a change without spilling and or dripping oil and making a mess of some sort....please tell me I'm not alone...
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
Yep, same here. Only time I didn't spill any was when I used a rented bay with a lift. So nice!
 
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Mektek

Member
May 2, 2017
656
FL
Walking through the PYP I see a rusty looking Trailblazer. Obviously not from around here :laugh:
At the time I was looking for a pair of rear rotors and I focused on the rear end. I had never seen anything like it - the pad was gone and the piston had pushed through the very thin rusty surface of the rotor into the vanes. The driver had applied the brakes "one last time" after which the wheel locked up solid and they crashed.:satan:
 

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