admit to your stupidity

[aread]

Originally Posted by bigel

So I'm in the process of removing my fuel lines after a failure on the first startup after disassembly...no, not rebuilding the fuel lines when the engine was out of the car isn't the stupidity of this story (debatable).

So in the process of fishing out the fuel lines I utilized lots of tools, muscle and my trusty mini-mag flashlight. This is where the stupidity comes in...so I lay that sucker on top of the alternator fan/shroud and...clink...dink...I knock it down into the engine compartment. But now I can't find the darn thing...wait a minute, you don't think...oh no!



If it's not clear what you're looking at in the photo above, I'll tell you...you're looking down the opening of the fresh air distributor tube; the nice shiny stainless steel tube that connects to the heat exchangers and runs up through the engine tin into the engine compartment. Yes, a perfect shot down the 8" length of the tube...and my exhaust is just installed and torqued to spec.

Well there is no way I am disassembling the muffler/cat and pulling the air distributor tube to get my flashlight back. Maybe I'll just leave it in there...what's the worst that could happen...no! I need to fish that thing out of there!

So I try a wad of duct tape fastened to the end of a long screwdriver...no dice, not sticky enough!

So then I try to fish it out with two long screwdrivers, a la chopstick style...no dice, not dexterous enough!

Now I am loosing it...I give up for the night and figure I'll sleep on it.

Next morning it hits me...shop vac!

But it's not going to be that easy. The flashlight is weighty for its footprint and, oh by the way, I managed to knock the little bugger laterally towards the passenger side and out of sight.

I hit it with the shop vac...try to fish the vacuum hose towards the flashlight's new hiding place...no dice, not enough suction! I'll need to get it back to where I can see the sucker!

So I jack the passenger side way up to the extent of the factory jack and start 'encouraging' the entrapped foreign object using a rubber mallet on the underside of the tube.

Finally, something is going my way...I can once again see the flashlight at the bottom of the tube. I now stick the cone-shaped nozzle of the shop vac down and can feel resistance in the vacuum.



However, as I gently pull it up with my prize, it falls back down...narrow cylindrical objects that are fairly heavy for their size don't cooperate with this short of game.

I won't be defeated, next I use a piece of 14 gauge wire fashioned with a loop on one end and am finally able to stand the flashlight up so that the face of the light is facing upwards...I then go at it with the shop vac cone attachment once more and FINALLY, the flashlight holds firm and I'm able to remove it from its metallic tomb!

What a waste of 2 hours of my life...from now on, rags in all exposed openings...not just those sensitive ones on the engine!

Bad flashlight!

Ouch! Steve, you may have already thought of this, but have you tried a Magnetic rod? Not sure if the light is magnetic, but worth a shot

[gtc]

I wanted to peek inside the fuel tank to make sure my strainer was clear... went to pull the sender out, and the gasket created enough resistance that the top came off without the tube, breaking the wires inside that the float slides on.
There goes $130.
At least the fuel tank was clean inside.

[Omegaman]

I installed new headlights and wiring, first drive at night the low beam seemed very dim.....I had mixed up the ground and high beam wires causing the lights to run at half voltage :-/

[bigel]

Originally Posted by aread

Ouch! Steve, you may have already thought of this, but have you tried a Magnetic rod? Not sure if the light is magnetic, but worth a shot

Oh yes, I forgot about that part...the magnetic stick tool did attract the flashlight a bit, the body is aluminum but the batteries must have been attracted a bit...not enough to overcome the weight of the FL!

Oh sweet Jesus!

[Taxi!]

I like all these posts where the Pelicans reference some stupidity that took place, like 10-15 years ago. For me it's more like every project.

Last year I was looking for a set of aero mirrors and, as my GF and I were departing from Ft. Lauderdale on a weekend cruise, I saw a pair on Ebay. The ad said they came from a LHD car so I quickly consulted the PET but didn't study it close enough to see that there was a LHD part number and a slightly different RHD part number. I ordered them as we were pulling away from the dock (and reliable cell service.)

When the mirrors arrived I was in the middle of something else. So when I finally got around to unboxing and installing them, guess what? They were for a RHD car and the deadline had passed for any returns!

In case you're curious as to the difference between LHD and RHD, the angle of the bases is different so you can't see the same. Luckily (I guess) I discovered that I could replace the bases to make my RHD mirrors work on a LHD car, so I ordered the LHD bases. They weren't easy to replace due to the spring pressure, but I finally got them on.

After I finally got them installed and they had the right angles to be useful, I realized the driver's side has the convex glass and the passenger's side has the flat glass, which is the opposite of most modern cars. So I've spent probably close to $800 on freakin' aero mirrors and still don't have the right glass.

[mikedsilva]

Originally Posted by Alan Cottrill

replaced clutch. forgot to install disk. after I bolted up the motor back up I thought to myself "boy...that went together easy"

I only just saw this thread, and the second post has me cracking up already!
fantastic stuff

[jlex]

Originally Posted by bigel

Oh yes, I forgot about that part...the magnetic stick tool did attract the flashlight a bit, the body is aluminum but the batteries must have been attracted a bit...not enough to overcome the weight of the FL!

Oh sweet Jesus!

If you're looking for something REALLY sticky that will hold a lot of weight, go to the store & buy one of those glue traps they use for mice. Put some of that stuff on the end of a stick & you've got it made. Amazing stuff.

[bigel]

Well, leave it to me to pull this thread from the depths...

Yesterday I spent the better part of the morning troubleshooting (for the upteenth time) my damn license plate lights. My issue is all markers, brake and tail lights working, but no juice to the plate lights.

I dissected a taillight assembly, only to find the power is not fed from the assembly on my '87.

While checking the fuse (yet again), I notice a disconnected wire hanging below the frunk fuse panel. Could it be??? The wire had broken off, seemingly from a tight set screw and years of corrosion. But had it been attached to fuse #20?

Upon loosening the lower set screw on fuse #20 I hear a small piece of wire fall the the floor of frunk. At this point I'm feeling encouraged that I've finally found the problem.

After re-stripping the broken wire and reattaching it to the fuse panel, I check the fixture leads and find 12 V!!

On to the next simple problem that will take me days/weeks to troubleshoot.

[Quickstep192]

I have one of those drainpans that can also be used to carry the oil; the kind with a single hole in the center and a spout on the side.

After a nice long drive on a fall day, I decided to change the oil before putting the car up for the winter. I figured the oil was nice and hot and that all the crud was well suspended. What better time to get all of this stuff out of the engine and let the car hibernate with fresh, clean oil.

I got the pan under the oil tank and just as I was removing the plug noticed a leaf that had landed in the drainpan. Without a whole lot more thought, I continued to remove the plug. Naturally, the leaf migrated to the hole and covered it. I made one fleeting attempt to get the leaf out of there, burning the three fingers that volunteered to try. After that, i just watched helplessly as the oil lava flow made the mess of the century. Man these cars hold a lot of oil!

[drcoastline]

Taking it a part. That was really stupid.

[bigel]

Originally Posted by drcoastline

Taking it a part. That was really stupid.

Hey, thanks for the commentary, "DR"...maybe we could get together sometime and discuss how stupid it really was...

[gazzerr]

Quickstep I feel your pain. I forgot to undo the breather on my oil drain pan last time. It took hours to clean up that damn mess.

[Liam O]

I removed all four callipers and sent them away for refurbishment.
When I got them back I set the angle on the piston recess and installed them back on the car.
I then filled the master cylinder and even went as far as bleeding the system, you would think at this stage Id have noticed the bleed nipples should not be at the bottom, but it wasn't until I realised I was getting no pressure at the pedal that it finally dawned on me.

This probably happened because I thought I had a spare couple of hours to work on the car and tried to rush the job.

[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by gazzerr

Quickstep I feel your pain. I forgot to undo the breather on my oil drain pan last time. It took hours to clean up that damn mess.

Been there AND done that, although fortunately never with the SC, unfortunately mainly because I haven't been able to drive it long enough too have to change the oil on it...

There really isn't a way to explain the feeling one has as you watch scalding hot oil creeping towards the top edge of the collector pan, other than......................



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[speeds5]

while not on the 911, i was changing the oil on the family hauler (2010 X5). This is a job i've done 5 times on this car alone. If you're familiar with that car, the front differential oil drain plug is about 6 inches away from the engine oil drain plug. In a haste, trying to rush, 11pm on a Friday night, i drained the diff oil instead. first of all it's a completely wrong socket which should have been the first warning but it was meant to be.

Sucked that i had no spare gear oil in the middle of the night. Finished the oil job. went on Amazon at 1am and ordered the gear oil. Got delivered on Sunday and i was back on the road. gotta love Amazon.

[1968SWTs]

I put gas in my 72 and broke off the stop that is 4" down the tube - I am an idiot - had to retrieve the small piece of metal from the tank

[gazzerr]

Originally Posted by bugstrider

Been there AND done that, although fortunately never with the SC, unfortunately mainly because I haven't been able to drive it long enough too have to change the oil on it...

There really isn't a way to explain the feeling one has as you watch scalding hot oil creeping towards the top edge of the collector pan, other than......................

Ha Ha yes. I was running around looking for something to catch that hot oil and then resigned just gave up and watched it run all over the floor .

[85eurocarrera]

Installed the wrong return line! Expensive and time suck stupidity. FUCH!

[RSBob]

Originally Posted by drcoastline

Taking it a part. That was really stupid.

As a public service, that non-constructive ridiculing the poster is really below the belt. We are here to help people out not tear them down. If you need to feel good about yourself by putting others down, there are plenty of other boards.

[AndreasK]

Going for a quick and easy road safety inspection in november, just before winter in northern Norway sets in. Dry roads when I left the house.