Stupid is as stupid does..................

So i'm doing my front brakes on Saturday. All is going well. It is, after all, disc brakes. Not like the old days when all four corners were drums. This should be easy, right? Wrong!!

All went well. Or so I thought.

I did the front brakes without a hitch. Ex was off the jack stands and ready for the road test. I decided to clean up before the road test.

While I was cleaning up I found one of the new pads by the driver side wheel. My first thought was that the idiots at the factory put an extra pad in the box, right? There is no way that I reassembled the driver side without installing one of the pads. I mean come on, no way.

Well, I'm an idiot. Not only did I forget to install one of the pads, I didn't tighten the caliper bolts!!

Good thing I decided to clean up before the road test and not after.

I got the "extra" pad installed and all was well!

Just goes to show you that you should always check your work.

Hey, nowhere on my resume does it mention intelligence.

 

[BigRondo]

no where near as bad of the stories on here BUT this happened this morning ,

i was kinda late for school and i grabbed the keys on the ledge and i put my keys in my ignition and they wouldn't turn , in like a rush i kept trying for about 5 min i figured the key may just have worn to crap.. after about 10 min of frustration and anger and a few curses i figured out i grabbed my dads expedition keys...... *sigh*

Welcome aboard!!

:

 

[JamesRolls5.0]

if only i had used the key fob to open the door id realize they weren't mine but Ive made a bad habit of using the buttons on the door haha

 

[koda2000]

i was installing a new intake manifiold on a '69 SBC and couldn't understand why the bolt holes werent lining up... i had if on backwards. whoops.

 

[MustangP51]

Every summer for the last 22 years during my boats the de-winterization I have either replaced or watch my father replace the engines thermostat, last year we both decided to put it in upside down... made for a quick first run on the lake.

 

[BigRondo]

Welcome aboard gentlemen. You are in some fine company.

 

[Jstcruz]

I didnt do this but a friend of mine told me about it;

After being in the garage all day my friends uncle was ticked off and tired out. He had a rag soaked with antifreeze in his hand for some reason. As he walked out the door he turned the lights off and threw the rag across the garage in frustration. The next morning, he found the rag... laying right in the middle of the hood of his 25th anniversary Corvette - yes, with the silver paint that is very hard to match.

 

[koda2000]

I didnt do this but a friend of mine told me about it;

After being in the garage all day my friends uncle was ticked off and tired out. He had a rag soaked with antifreeze in his hand for some reason. As he walked out the door he turned the lights off and threw the rag across the garage in frustration. The next morning, he found the rag... laying right in the middle of the hood of his 25th anniversary Corvette - yes, with the silver paint that is very hard to match.

at a young age i learned not to throw things when i get aggravated (broken windshield) now when i strart getting frustrated with something, i just stop, walk away and try again later. works every time.

 

[MustangP51]

at a young age i learned not to throw things when i get aggravated (broken windshield) now when i strart getting frustrated with something, i just stop, walk away and try again later. works every time.

Still trying to bring that under control. Hit a good sized adjustable wrench with the lawn mower that I couldn't find after getting chucked.

 

[littlezell]

soo I am new here but I will tell my story...... I was 20 I think and was working at a chebby dealership changing oil and cleaning shop or whatever needed to be done. well one day I had to drain the oil tank in one of the bays. your suppsoe to lift the tray all the way up and lock it into place and then hook the lines to it and the the air. welll it didnt lock and the tray fell down and oil went all over a brand new zo6.... it took me several days to clean the mess up... and the car well it was extra clean lol!!

 

[theluke19]

soo I am new here but I will tell my story...... I was 20 I think and was working at a chebby dealership changing oil and cleaning shop or whatever needed to be done. well one day I had to drain the oil tank in one of the bays. your suppsoe to lift the tray all the way up and lock it into place and then hook the lines to it and the the air. welll it didnt lock and the tray fell down and oil went all over a brand new zo6.... it took me several days to clean the mess up... and the car well it was extra clean lol!!

Hah - I'm sure that made many of the fellas in the shop laugh out loud

Rookie mistake I suppose! (At least you weren't the shop manager and have that happen heh )

 

[slickemhoundd]

I had a customer come in with a Vulcan Taurus and wanted a tranny service. Well long story short I put new filter in bolt her up and fired her up checking fluid level as it starts to spurt out of the dipstick tube! Shut her down try again same thing. Coming out like a gueser. Took it all apart put old filter in worked fine.......


A guy I worked with was infamous for taking off un aquireable trans filters on subarus thinking they were oil filters.

Also had a guy drop a driveshaft out of a 3500 Chevy, on the lift, in the air, NOT CHOCKED!

Ill think of many more....

A buddy of mine lost a u joint on the way to my house, he was around the corner so I greeted him with a bungee to support the driveshaft so he could put it in 4wheel and get to my house. Well I told him to hold it till I secured it on the drivers side frame rail. Well he hooked on the pass side frame and it let loose blew my glasses apart and left me with 4 scars across my eye brow

Me and a buddy were swapping axles out of his 78 camaro when the leave spring dropped from the shackle right on his chin, I felt it in the concrete as I lay on the opposing side

 

[mr cribb]

I thought of another one.... thanks to the one above about a u-joint.

Back in 2007 I was driving an S10 blazer 4x4 while mine was down for repairs. Driving up the highway I felt a small vibration followed by a thunk and clank (some of you already know what's happened) as I look in the mirror I see the driveshaft dancing down the road going end over end. I get the truck stopped walking back about qtr mile or so maybe less I see 3 separate morons run over/ hit the driveshaft at 55+ mph. I pick up the drive shaft and see it's undamaged, get back to the truck, install new u-joints (already in the back) crawl underneath and the epic failure hits.... the violent removal of the driveshaft destroyed the yoke/ cone on the t-case. I had it towed back and the owner (ex-wife) later sold it as it was to a neighbor for house repairs.

 

[BigRondo]

I have struck again!!

I replaced the front sway bar bushings & end links today. Squeak free at last! :

Of course, like an idiot, I put the end link bolts in upside down. I thought when I was putting them in that the bolt was hanging pretty low on the bottom, but I brushed it off. When I got home and was looking at the picture, it hit me like a ton of bricks!! I guess I will be fixing them when I get home tomorrow night.

Stupidity should be painful. :

 

[BigRondo]

Fixed my idiocy today after work!

 

[mr cribb]

I strike again.... I acquired an economy car from my best friend, a 95 neon. He gave it to me because it leaked so much oil it was crazy, so far the issue was 5 of 8 valve cover bolts were barely finger tight, (he isn't a mechanic by any means.) Anyway I still check the oil before going anywhere, added some before I drove 100 miles (one way) to go get my son.

Along the way I noticed it smoking from under the hood, and thought hmm that's strange and kept going, got to destination, and checked oil for return trip home and my dumbxxx forgot to put the oil fill cap back in the valve cover.

The last two days I have been fighting some crazy allergy issues, and you know a mechanic doesn't feel well when something as simple as an oil fill cap is forgotten to be put back into place.... oh well, at least I didn't lose the cap in my trip there along the way .

 

[BigRondo]

Nicely done. :

 

[blueka]

I was 19, got my first car (1984 Ford Fiesta XR2) it was a 5 speed, I worked away, so my Dad picked it up for me and I came home at the weekend to give him his Ford Sierra station wagon back and pick up my ride..
To stop it being stolen, he took off the coil pack wire to the distributor and left it in gear...
As he was replacing the wire, I , eager to get out on the road, put the key in, waited for his signal... fired her up.. in gear... and promptly drove over my Dad... thankfully, he wasn't hurt...

Si

 

[BigRondo]

Ah yes, before the "foot on clutch" to start feature.

Welcome aboard.

 

[blueka]

We still don't have that in the UK... lol


Si

 

[BigRondo]

That's because they figure that you guys are smart enough not to run over anyone when starting the car! :