Silliest thing done whilst maintaining a car.

Monster3969 · 2nd July 2010, 17:05

I once had a Volvo V70 that i was doing an oil change on and minor service.
I had taken the oil cap off the top of the engine and then rested on top of the engine block facing upside down. I then did a few other things, finished the job and slammed the bonnet shut. It would close, so i applied a little more pressure, then had the 'eureka' moment when i realised i hadn't replaced the oil cap. What i did have was an outward dent in the middle of the bonnet as a constant reminder of my rubbish DIY skills.....

Lesson learn't.

Poseidon_Tourer · 2nd July 2010, 19:23

N Reg Honda Civic, which we bought at 3 years old, was tinkering about with it doing nothing in particular shut the boot...and doh the second i heard the lock click shut i relised the keys were in the boot, couldnt find the spare keys so had to put a hammer through one of the rear quarter windows then reach in and pop the button on the door, never did find the spare keys but i did find the red master key in the fusebox under the bonnet.

I really hated that car and was glad to see the back of it after 18 months, it was for certain built on a friday afternoon.

rizel23 · 2nd July 2010, 19:28

I drained gearbox oil once on a 306 HDi thinking it was engine oil, then put another 6 liters of engine oil in and went for a drive............can guess the rest, village full of black smoke!

Although claimed on insurance for accidental damage as car was a write off and claim got approved! paid out 4k at the time!

allegroman · 2nd July 2010, 21:48

Was topping up oil and water on my Vanden Plas 1500, in moment of foolishness topped up the oil with water...

just-john · 2nd July 2010, 22:24

Ha Ha Ha, there are so many to choose from.

The last one was probably a couple of years ago changing the oil; drain OK, filter change OK, did lots of other jobs whilst old oil drained.

Upon refilling I suddenly realised that I was stood in an ever growing pool of top grade engine oil, yep; I'd forgotten to replace the drain plug.

It took ages and a couple of bags of sand to clean the mess up - lesson learned.

capese21 · 2nd July 2010, 23:43

I fitted cruise control to my previous Rover 800 vitesse.

Part of the job was to change the stop light switch on the brake pedal. All went well and on testing the cruise worked perfectly. Great!!

About a week later the brakes started every so often to bind on.

I tried everything to cure it including a new master cylinder and servo none of which made any difference.

The penny dropped when I had run out of ideas of things to change.

I did finally realise that the cause was the brake light switch, which I had not adjusted properly and was not allowing the pedal to return fully home.
One quick turn of the locking nut and the brakes returned to normal!!

Ed

jcwatrichmond · 3rd July 2010, 07:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by just-john

It took ages and a couple of bags of sand to clean the mess up - lesson learned.

You should have used cement, it's much more absorbent and does a better job with much less. That's what they use at car race tracks.

JCW

PS: A friend of mine, who knew nothing about cars, decided to change the oil on his AlfaSud. He drained the gearbox, thinking it was the sump drain, then put another couple of pints in the engine and drove off. You can guess the rest.

radi8or · 3rd July 2010, 08:32

After rebuilding and refitting the engine on my Mk2 Escort a long time ago, came time to refill the engine oil, poured three or four litres of Duckams finest green stuff in and pulled out the dipstick....nothing, waited a few minutes and checked again still nothing, checked under the car expecting a pool of oil out of a plugless sump, but no there it was all clean and tight, then noticed something sticking out of a rubber tube.................

I had forgotten to refit the dipstick tube back on the engine

Dipstick !!!

Montgomery · 3rd July 2010, 08:37

I was attempting to fit lowering springs to the front of a 206 when I was young and naive and I had the car on axle stands, I was tapping away at the lower ball joint to free it up when with a clunk the drive shaft came out of the gearbox, it took me hours to clean up all of the gearbox oil that poured out over the drive.

hailoffame · 11th November 2010, 20:44

Hi many years ago now when working for hometune we used remote starters attached to the solenoid, for checking various measurements.
anyway I went to a Saab, remember the key only came out in reverse gear? put the ignition on and wow, the car shot backwards into the back of the customers garage( worse still he was my cousin and it tore all my crypto leads out of the back of the tuner!!! expensive mistake
Mike

2nd July 2010, 17:05	#1
Monster3969 Regular poster MG ZT V6 190 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Chester Posts: 56 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Silliest thing done whilst maintaining a car. I once had a Volvo V70 that i was doing an oil change on and minor service. I had taken the oil cap off the top of the engine and then rested on top of the engine block facing upside down. I then did a few other things, finished the job and slammed the bonnet shut. It would close, so i applied a little more pressure, then had the 'eureka' moment when i realised i hadn't replaced the oil cap. What i did have was an outward dent in the middle of the bonnet as a constant reminder of my rubbish DIY skills..... Lesson learn't.

2nd July 2010, 21:48	#4
allegroman Gets stuck in Rover 75 Tourer CDT Club SE: BRG, Deep Sea Green and plenty of options Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Plymouth Posts: 984 Thanks: 126 Thanked 62 Times in 31 Posts	Was topping up oil and water on my Vanden Plas 1500, in moment of foolishness topped up the oil with water... __________________ I used to be with it. Then they changed what it was.

3rd July 2010, 08:32	#8
radi8or Gets stuck in Rover 75 Saloon Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Dagenham Posts: 760 Thanks: 11 Thanked 11 Times in 10 Posts	After rebuilding and refitting the engine on my Mk2 Escort a long time ago, came time to refill the engine oil, poured three or four litres of Duckams finest green stuff in and pulled out the dipstick....nothing, waited a few minutes and checked again still nothing, checked under the car expecting a pool of oil out of a plugless sump, but no there it was all clean and tight, then noticed something sticking out of a rubber tube................. I had forgotten to refit the dipstick tube back on the engine Dipstick !!! __________________ Regards. Bob Member # 45

11th November 2010, 20:44	#10
hailoffame Newbie Rover 75 Join Date: May 2009 Location: telford Posts: 21 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	silliest things done while maintaining a car Hi many years ago now when working for hometune we used remote starters attached to the solenoid, for checking various measurements. anyway I went to a Saab, remember the key only came out in reverse gear? put the ignition on and wow, the car shot backwards into the back of the customers garage( worse still he was my cousin and it tore all my crypto leads out of the back of the tuner!!! expensive mistake Mike

2nd July 2010, 19:23	#2
Poseidon_Tourer Avid contributor Chromactive 75 Ragley Hall Press Car Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Near Glasgow, Scotland Posts: 101 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	N Reg Honda Civic, which we bought at 3 years old, was tinkering about with it doing nothing in particular shut the boot...and doh the second i heard the lock click shut i relised the keys were in the boot, couldnt find the spare keys so had to put a hammer through one of the rear quarter windows then reach in and pop the button on the door, never did find the spare keys but i did find the red master key in the fusebox under the bonnet. I really hated that car and was glad to see the back of it after 18 months, it was for certain built on a friday afternoon.

2nd July 2010, 19:28	#3
rizel23 Posted a thing or two MG ZT 190 SE Dark Fantasy Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Warwick Posts: 1,227 Thanks: 11 Thanked 19 Times in 7 Posts	I drained gearbox oil once on a 306 HDi thinking it was engine oil, then put another 6 liters of engine oil in and went for a drive............can guess the rest, village full of black smoke! Although claimed on insurance for accidental damage as car was a write off and claim got approved! paid out 4k at the time!

2nd July 2010, 22:24	#5
just-john Regular poster Rover 75 Tourer 2.0 CDTi Connoisseur SE Auto Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bolton Posts: 98 Thanks: 15 Thanked 8 Times in 4 Posts	Ha Ha Ha, there are so many to choose from. The last one was probably a couple of years ago changing the oil; drain OK, filter change OK, did lots of other jobs whilst old oil drained. Upon refilling I suddenly realised that I was stood in an ever growing pool of top grade engine oil, yep; I'd forgotten to replace the drain plug. It took ages and a couple of bags of sand to clean the mess up - lesson learned.

2nd July 2010, 23:43	#6
capese21 This is my second home MG ZTT 180 Sports Auto. Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: London Posts: 3,930 Thanks: 18 Thanked 180 Times in 143 Posts	I fitted cruise control to my previous Rover 800 vitesse. Part of the job was to change the stop light switch on the brake pedal. All went well and on testing the cruise worked perfectly. Great!! About a week later the brakes started every so often to bind on. I tried everything to cure it including a new master cylinder and servo none of which made any difference. The penny dropped when I had run out of ideas of things to change. I did finally realise that the cause was the brake light switch, which I had not adjusted properly and was not allowing the pedal to return fully home. One quick turn of the locking nut and the brakes returned to normal!! Ed

3rd July 2010, 08:37	#9
Montgomery Avid contributor 2004 MGZT cdti 135 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Northampton Posts: 113 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I was attempting to fit lowering springs to the front of a 206 when I was young and naive and I had the car on axle stands, I was tapping away at the lower ball joint to free it up when with a clunk the drive shaft came out of the gearbox, it took me hours to clean up all of the gearbox oil that poured out over the drive.