Job well done?

[deerwd]

How many times do you ever just work on something and are rewarded with a job well done? It seems like everytime I fix something, I break at least one item in the process. I do end up getting it done and I do get satisfaction from it, but the other just frustrates me to no end.

I fixed my dryer today. Cost me $3.50 for the problem, but $22.00 for the ignitor I broke twice ($11.00/each). Anybody have this problem on their Porsche?

[Doug Zielke]

As you get better at D-I-Y'ing, you'll break fewer parts.

[rstoll]

If you will remove the gas valve assy to replace the ignitor you won't break it. 10 more minutes, but easier on the forearm too.

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Robert Stoll
83 SC
83 944

[pwd72s]

deerwd? You & I are bretheren...real Tim Taylor types. I've screwed up more (supposedly) minor jobs than I can count! Hey, there are those with hand skills, and there are the rest of us...who try, and try, and...

[deerwd]

But, I did follow rule #1. If your going to do a new DIY job, always use it as an excuse to buy a new tool. I bought a new digital multitester.

[dtw]

There are a few simple rules of DIY:
1. Cost of cool new tools required to finish a DIY project will equal or exceed the cost of the project parts.

2. When reassembling, and a part won't fit, force it. If it breaks, it probably needed to be replaced anyway.



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Dave
'72 911T to '73 RSR Replica Project

[SeaDweller]

I can afford to laugh at that, because I did something similar.

The first weekend I had my car, I took the tail light lenses off to clean them. Realizing how expensive they were, I took them over to the side of my house to hose them off in the grass. I didn't notice that I had opened the spigot all the way, and blasted one of the lenses out of my hand and into the wall of my house, breaking it into three pieces. If you've never seen a grown man cry..........

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Michael
'78 911SC Euro

[joehahn]

FINALLY A POST IN WHICH I AM THE EXPERT!!!

Some of you have seen my posts wherein I try to at least instill SOME humor in my misfortunes (screw in carb jet so far that it breaks off, lose sockets in nether regions of cylinder banks, etc). My latest is shift rod seal # 4!! Each one I do I get the leak to diminish a little more so I guess that is kind of a moral victory.

The best though was shift rod seal #3. I had made the perfect tool with a dremel...old screwdriver, tip ground down to an "L" shape, working dilligently, hook the seal and giving it a good yank..hunched down face right near the tunnel between the rear seats to get good leverage..and the tip broke! I hit myself perfectly (with seemingly 1,000s of pounds of pressure) in the little fold between the lower lip and chin with the screwdriver handle! Bled incessantly but I refused to get the stitch or 2 that I should have outta dumb pride.

My wife still laughs at that one.

[Robert Coats]

I can top that.

1981, and I've got my 1972 Corvette's ***front wheels up on ramps***, doing an oil change. I'm curious about all the stuff under the car, so I think, "Let me get my Haynes book out and see what else I can do." Find the section on the manual transmission, and how to check the oil level.

"Remove the plug. The oil level should be up to the threads. Add 90w oil as needed to bring the oil level up to the threads."

Okay, let's see...remove plug. Holy cow! The oil is pouring out! Put plug back in. Re-read instructions. Okay. I understand now. Looks like there's too much oil in here! Remove plug. allow oil to drain out until it is up the threads. Replace plug. A job well done!

Fast-forward two months. Car suddenly won't shift into first or third. Barely shifts into second or forth. Not good. Take to shop. Diagnosis? Lack of oil has caused trany to lunch internally. $1195 will get me a rebuilt one.

Drain savings account to repair car. Realize you don't have enough funds to live on your own. Move back in with parents in city 400 miles away. Change colleges, meet future wife, sell Corvette, get married, have five kids and get life-sapping job writing books about lawnmowers.

Thanks for my life, Haynes. Next time, why don't you tell me the car should be level when I check the oil level in the transmission!?!?!


ON THE PLUS SIDE, my family is healthy, I've got a secure job, and there's a Porsche in the garage. Hey, thanks Haynes!

[pwd72s]

Yeah..I ordered an oil pressure gauge sending unit (from Pelican )this morn. Scared to death I'll screw it up when the install time comes. Gotta remember to buy a tool...that will increase my luck, right?

[Jim Sims]

Some have an advantage with mechanical tasks due to better innate spatial reasoning, hand- eye coordination, fine motor skills/brute strength and ability to understand cause and effect. However, in my opinion, there are no born mechanics or DIY's. The skills and attitudes are taught and learned and almost anyone can master mechanical tasks at some level of competence. Many "amateurs" can put professionals to shame for often they have no time or economic constraints on the job. The keys are the right information (shop manuals pay for themselves a 100 times over), the right tools, courage and humility (one learns better if you are humble). Everyone makes mistakes but the more one does the fewer mistakes one will make. You'll collect tools and network with others of similar interests. You'll save immense amounts of time and money (you can buy the tools, and work three time slower than the professionals and still be ahead). Think of the trips back and forth you've made to get a problem truly fixed! You pay no taxes on your own labor! There are other advantages; a couple of my DIY friends recently had a woman scream in joy and hug them when they fixed her Porsche by reconnecting a loose wire. The professionals in one of our local "Porsche specialty repair" shops had recommended junking the car! I think the were preparing "to screw her" with bogus repairs. DIY's can "screw proof" themselves and their families with their knowledge and experience. There are good and honest professional mechanics and craftspeople out there but they are becoming harder to find. Pull those wrenches!

[joehahn]

....Amen! I actually had a very popular local Porsche mechanic say to me that he thought that DIYers for the most part do a better job than most mechanics. He said that he can look almost instantly and tell by the anal adherence to a manual and thoroughness that a nervous home mechanic did the prior work. Interesting.

[Sportsman]

beer + brake bleeding + rusty bleeder valve + more beer = doh!

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Daryl Planter 91C2
Targa

[beepbeep]

Hehe....it's almost as Alfa Romeo....you know the saying:

Alfa Romeo always has two faults. Fixing one fault will make one or two new ones appear. So just fix things until you have two "good" faults...

To add to this pool of stupid DIY-mistakes...i drained my SAAB-engine from oil, then from cooling water, then started engine to get all that old coolant pumped out ... I was wandering "why does my engine sound so weird?"

Fortunately, i understood what i did after 30 seconds...no damage done

Happy DIY-ing...

Ohh...and when i pulled out fuel-sensor from a full tank...that was fun! Guess if i was nervous?

[pwd72s]

Thanks guys. But don't we all get this vision of beginning a project...then the total humiliation of having to call a pro, admitting you messed up completely? Tim Taylor...that's me! A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

[rscupper]

I don't fix anything, anymore. It's not that I'm mechanically inept, I simply suffer from analysis paralysis. I've never broken anything while doing something else (that I can remember) but I'm dreadfully slow. I CAN guarantee absolutely perfect results (intended mission accomplished)...eventually.
BTW - I'm looking for a partner to help me start a 10 Hour Lube 'n' Tune. Anyone interested?

[Argo]

I'm feeling better reading this thread. Winterized my new (to me) Targa; Read every web page I could find, followed every step. Pulled plugs to lubricate cylinders, used a plastic hose to insert fluid so no crud got washed into cylinders. I was so focused on keeping the hose properly inserted, I didn't notice I had grabbed the wrong can until after I had squirted in silicone spray. I'm told my O2 sensor is likely toasted and the cat converter would have been trashed as well if it hadn't already been replaced with a test pipe. *sigh*
Truth be told, I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon, I learned a lot about the car and I'll enjoy replacing the O2 sensor just as much.
There is no substitute ...

Argo
88 Targa