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Thread: Repair Mistakes & Blunders!

  1. #1
    Member RockAuto's Avatar
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    Cool Repair Mistakes & Blunders!

    We are looking for some good "Repair Mistake & Blunder" true stories to feature in the RockAuto newsletter (we know you have some)! Tell us about your most infamous auto repair blunder or unconventional fix. Use your woe to help others avoid similar mistakes or share off-the-wall solutions that worked ... at least for a while!

    Please e-mail your story to Flamur@RockAuto.com. Include your mailing address and let us know if you would like a RockAuto T-shirt (please let us know your shirt size) or Hat if we publish your story. See the T-shirts and Hats by looking under the "Tools & Universal Parts" tab in the RockAuto.com online catalog.

    The story will be credited using only your first name and your vague geographic location (state, province, country, continent, etc.) so you can remain semi-anonymous!

    Read the latest "Repair Mistake & Blunder" story in our current newsletter : http://www.rockauto.com/Newsletter/?a=2017forum#blunder

    Enjoy (and learn how to avoid) even more "Repair Mistakes & Blunders" in the newsletter archives: http://www.rockauto.com/Newsletter/A...ml?a=2017forum





  2. #2
    Senior Member Chef Groleau's Avatar
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    My first time I ever rebuilt an engine. It was my 89 honda civic.... took me a day and a half to do the whole job, removing the engine, clean, replace parts and drop back into my car. Ended up with a bunch of extra bolts... made the car lighter. Lol

    Obviously they were not needed as I drove the car 100 000km after, I then sold it to my cousin who owned it for two years before he sold it to someone else.

  3. #3
    Senior Member AlphaMicra's Avatar
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    I was in my first year of college, and my father gave me his '85 Mazda 626 LX. This was a beautiful blue car with a great 5 speed manual transmission, awesome stereo system, and full digital dash and options I've never seen before or since on any car. Unfortunately, my father overheated the engine when he replaced the lower rad hose and forgot to tighten the clamp, which warped the head and cracked the block. We found an engine from an '86 Mazda 626, but it was fuel injected whereas the '85 was carburated. My older cousin Dave was an aspiring automobile mechanic who's claim to fame was changing the transmission in his Pontiac Firebird at the side of the road where it broke down, and so we were confident he could do this swap.

    I started off by making up labels and sticking them on each wire and the place on the engine where it came from, and then disconnecting the wires. I was making pretty good progress until Dave showed up and ridiculed me for wasting my time. His solution was to just cut the main wiring harness that connected EVERYTHING in the car, pull the old engine out, drop the new engine in, and use the old engine with half of the wiring harness still connected as a template. Well, he seemed to know more about cars than I did, so we paid him and left to go to British Columbia for a month.

    When we returned, Dave was nowhere to be found, and the old, broken engine was still in the car. He gave up and ran. I called around and found Ajax Auto Wreckers who were wiling to do the engine swap for a reasonable price. The day after I had it towed there, the mechanic called me at work and asked me why in heck was the wiring harness cut. I explained to him my cousin's logic, then he advised me that my cousin was an idiot, because it would cost more to fix the wiring harness and replace the engine than the car was worth!

    I really didn't want to give up on the car just yet, so I asked him to give me a week while I looked into my options. I finally decided it might be worth it for me to take some time and see what I could do to at least repair the wiring harness, but when I showed up to the yard to take the car back, I discovered that all of the stuff that made the car so wonderful were picked off, as though vultures had showed up and left behind a worthless carcass. I ended up just selling the car to the scrap yard, and put that money towards a car that had no problems; the car I bought after that fiasco was my 1990 Nissan Micra, and I vowed never to let my cousin anywhere near my cars ever again.

    Lesson learned, never do business with family, and always go for a licensed tradesperson for any work. They might cost a little more up front, but they'll save you plenty in the long run by doing the job right the first time.



    In our culture obsessed with absurd excess, the Nissan Micra is my counterculture car of choice.
    Be sure to visit my blog at mymicra.com!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Micra SV manual: 6.4 L/100 km ... 44.3 mpg (Imp) ... 15.7 km/L ... 36.9 mpg (US) ...


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    RockAuto (04-03-2017)

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