Grassroots Motorsports

Subscribe get a full year for only $23.95 Sample Free Test Drive—no strings attached

Login to post Forums » Grassroots Motorsports » Self-induced heart attacks in the garage. 1 2 3

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 3:47 p.m. Scott Lear Club Editor

  I spent the past couple of weekends giving the Type R some maintenance love. Replaced a squeaky throw-out bearing with a Honda part, disassembled and reassembled the transmission to look for anything wonky (last time it went together the right way it was after several wrong attempts, so I wanted to look at it in a calm state of mind), swapped out the timing belt and water pump, replaced all the other belts, did a valve adjustment and so on. My forearms are sore.

  Anyway, after putting all the under-hood stuff together, I figured I'd fire it up to make sure that all was working before I put it on the ground. I stuck the key in, twisted, heard the usual Honda "chur-chur-chur" and then a huge, heart-stopping, sickening CLANG/WHOMP. Since I was kinda paranoid about errors I was off the starter instantly, but I was sure I'd killed the whole thing somehow. There was every indication that I had done the timing belt correctly, but my only thought was that I'd just killed my B18C5.

  Thankfully, I was only mostly stupid. I'd left a 1/2 inch ratchet on the crank pulley bolt from where I was rotating the engine to adjust the valves, and the handle hit the base of the TEIN damper. I saw no damage--if anything, the damper seems to have absorbed the blow in a damperific way--and after double-checking that the torque on the crank pulley bolt was still correct, it all went back together and got me to work this morning in typical VTEC glory.

  Anybody else do anything this stupid recently?

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 4:02 p.m. Strizzo SuperDork

  i've heard of people doing that before, but with much worse results, like broken crank bad.
  

  you're pretty lucky i'd say.
  

  i've also heard of people hitting a puddle with a cai, and after they didn't hydrolock their motor, hit VTEC to see if everything is OK, and suck up the water thats hanging out in a low spot and THEN they hydrolock the motor, but this time at 7500 rpm, instead of the 2-3k they were doing when they hit the puddle.

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 4:12 p.m. Cotton Reader

  I converted a my 72 Firebird to a manual transmission. After getting everything installed and buttoned up I went inside and left testing for the next day. While lying in bed that night it hit me that I didn't install a pilot bushing in the crank......great....the next day I had to pull the engine and transmission back out...

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 4:14 p.m. John Brown MegaDork

  I broke the foot I just had operated on by walking up a set of steps on the same day that I reinjured the repaired abdominal muscle that I tore while sitting on a stool at the parts counter...

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 4:17 p.m. oldtin New Reader

  Set my pants on fire with sparks from a grinder. My bronco backfired through the carb and set a foam air filter on fire - that was some time ago - day's not over yet - still time to have an adventure.

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 4:18 p.m. walterj Dork

  I installed 3/4s of a 10pt cage with the windshield in... and then leaned my hand on a piece of hot tubing after welding on it - and jerked my elbow right thru the glass. Not a heart attack... but a serious case of chest tightening followed.

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 4:18 p.m. sachilles Reader

  I've hooked up a battery backward before. That cost me an alternator rebuild. Forgot to set the hood pin, causing the hood to fly up. I've done plenty of stupid stuff.

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 4:24 p.m. Cotton Reader

  sachilles wrote:

  I've hooked up a battery backward before. That cost me an alternator rebuild. Forgot to set the hood pin, causing the hood to fly up. I've done plenty of stupid stuff.

  oh that reminds me of another one. Replaced carb on same 72 Firebird. Must not have shut the hood securely because it flew up right in front of a neighbors house....while they were outside having a picnic. Damaged Formula hood, windshield, and lots of embarrassment.

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 4:27 p.m. Raze Reader

  sachilles wrote:

  I've hooked up a battery backward before. That cost me an alternator rebuild. Forgot to set the hood pin, causing the hood to fly up. I've done plenty of stupid stuff.

  I hooked up a battery backwards in the dark in a apartment garage on a project car, after some smoke and fire under the hood my buddy and I decided the 20+ year old garbage wiring was due for a redo, well that and the fire, this was on the XR4Ti

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 4:34 p.m. Strizzo SuperDork

  In reply to Cotton:

  i saw a guy have this happen at about the 60' mark at the dragstrip, that was fun to watch.

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 5:02 p.m. skruffy Dork

  While dropping the engine/trans/front subframe on the wife's rx300 I had a sling break. All 1k or so lbs of that combo fell about a foot while I was leaning over to disconnect the steering shaft. Needless to say the steering shaft came apart, but not at the location I had intended. At least I had 2x4s under the subframe so nothing expensive hit the ground. Thank god I wasn't underneath it and that I had disconnected all of the wiring harness. My friend that was helping me came within about an inch of getting whipped in the face by that sling when it broke too.

  We both needed lots of beer and a long break after that.

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 5:14 p.m. RexSeven HalfDork

  After replacing the brake master cylinder on my RX-7, I forgot to plug a spark plug wire back into the trailing coil. I fired up the engine and noticed it backfiring quite a bit. While I leaned into the engine bay to see if I could find a cause, ZAP! Hurt like a motherberkeleyer. I turned the engine off post-haste and plugged the wire back in before I did any real damage to myself or my engine.

  I also once put a PB&J sandwich on my intake manifold while I was under my 7's hood and left it there by accident. I drove the car to the store that day and started panicking when I noticed a weird smell wafting from the A/C. Turns out I grilled the sandwich on it; it even had "13B INJECTION" written on it backwards. Mmmm... grilled peanut butter & jelly sandwich... [drools loudly]

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 5:15 p.m. wayslow New Reader

  To set the scene I was stitting on the driveway with my legs under the car while changing the front brake pads on my old first generation RX7. I was having a hard time getting the caliper off and managed to shake the car enough to make the axle stand slip. The car only dropped a couple of inches before it was caught by the trolley jack that I had left under the front of the car. I learned two valuable lessons that day 1) Never trust a jack stand on a sloped driveway and 2) I can run pretty fast using only my butt cheeks.

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 5:33 p.m. AngryCorvair SuperDork

  my buddy Homeboy Mark and i were looking down the throats of his freshly-rebuilt Holley 600 making sure the accelerator pump was squirting properly, but we hadn't set the ignition timing and it burped back through the carb, setting the hair on fire on both of our heads. his GF heard the cursing and ran out of the house to see us still smoldering...

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 5:41 p.m. benzbaron Reader

  Did the thermostat on my car and fired it up, a rag I had accidently left in the engine bay ate both the PS and alternator belt in short order. Wrapped around the crank pulley like a snake. It is a good idea to change the belts but that wasn't how I'd expected to do it.

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 6:22 p.m. Apexcarver UltraDork

  Strizzo wrote:

  In reply to Cotton:

  i saw a guy have this happen at about the 60' mark at the dragstrip, that was fun to watch.

  I had a spridget loose his hood at my station at Polish Mountain Hillclimb. He didnt have a windshield and was lucky that it didnt get him in the head. He kept on driving up the hill after loosing it. That was fun to carry down on the worker bus!

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 6:41 p.m. stuart in mn SuperDork

  I had just finished assembling the 389ci V8 for my '61 Bonneville convertible. It was mounted on a cheapo 3 wheeled engine stand, and when I pushed the thing over to the side of the garage the front wheel caught in a crack in the floor and the whole mess tipped over. Pontiac V8s weigh about 650 pounds, so there was no stopping it. The oil pan got crunched, but fortunately the rest of the engine was okay.

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 7:08 p.m. porksboy Dork

  Pulled too many drawers out on my Snap-on tool box. The bottom drawer will catch and hold the entire thing. As soon as I got enough slammed back it righted itself. Only damage was too my pride.

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 7:21 p.m. wbjones Reader

  wayslow wrote:

  2) I can run pretty fast using only my butt cheeks.

  I just ruined a perfectly good keyboard ... spewed Coke all over it...

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 7:26 p.m. rmarkc New Reader

  After using some MMO to free up some seals in a 1st Gen RX7, I started the car...

  The previous owner had taken the CAT off (to sell as scrap) and left the exhaust open right after the manifold.

  The MMO + unburnt fuel coated the grass under the car nicely and the 7 backfired.

  I was able to get a (new) hose from the shed, unwrap it, hook it up and put the fire out before it turned into a disaster...I don't think I've ever moved so fast.

  Did I mention that the hose was about 3 feet too short so I had to use the thumb sprayer to cover the extra distance?

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 7:51 p.m. andrave Reader

  I did the same thing with the pilot bushing (having to take trans back off again to reinstall... sigh) only it was the throwout bearing on my 240sx. replaced everything then found that little plastic wrapped bearing in the box. I was like.. whats this?
  

  ohhh... the same as that old worn one laying on the floor.

  yeah genius me put it back together with no TOB.
  

  Lets see, lets see, what else?

  OHHH here's a good one. installed a freshly rebuilt motor and was braggin to some friends about how easy it went... they asked so cranked it over: WITH NO OIL!!!!! ARRRGGGHHHhhh

  that was a bad one.
  

  I also had a turbo seal go bad, and while I was driving the car, oil was leaking into the charge pipe and squirting out the blow off valve, which coated the brake resevoir (plastic) with oil, which then caught fire off the heat from the turbo.

  thankfully I kept a kitchen size fire extinguisher in my break down kit in the truck and was able to put it out after it had burned off most of the brake fluid.
  

  Wasn't in the garage... but still gave me a heartattack.

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 8:06 p.m. steamcorners Reader

  AngryCorvair wrote:

  my buddy Homeboy Mark and i were looking down the throats of his freshly-rebuilt Holley 600 making sure the accelerator pump was squirting properly, but we hadn't set the ignition timing and it burped back through the carb, setting the hair on fire on both of our heads. his GF heard the cursing and ran out of the house to see us still smoldering...

  Did nearly the same thing, when I was 12. My dad and I did a engine swap (nothing special, just a junkyard B engine) in my dad's '70 MGB. Hooked up the dizzy wrong. Stared down the throats of the SU carbs to see if it was getting fuel--yup, 'twas. Boom. Eyebrows were quite singed. . .

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 8:17 p.m. redzcstandardhatch New Reader

  mr. Lear....

  i've done the same thing. 4 times.

  it was stupid the first. what was it the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th?
  

  never actually hurt anthing! LOL

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 8:40 p.m. RedS13Coupe Reader

  I have done that exact thing (start the engine with a ratchet on the pulley). Luckly, it was on in such a way that it just swung up against something and ratcheted. Took it off, whistled a bit and looked over my shoulder to make sure no one saw, .and everything was fine :D

• 

  Sept. 8, 2009 8:42 p.m. pete240z Dork

  AngryCorvair wrote:

  my buddy Homeboy Mark and i were looking down the throats of his freshly-rebuilt Holley 600 making sure the accelerator pump was squirting properly, but we hadn't set the ignition timing and it burped back through the carb, setting the hair on fire on both of our heads. his GF heard the cursing and ran out of the house to see us still smoldering...

  I think this one is the winner. This is the funniest thing ever.

You'll need to log in to post.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

• Jump to
• Top
• Grassroots Motorsports
• Off-Topic
• Sprockets
• $200X Classifieds
• Classic Motorsports