How "green" were you?

[beebster]

I just wanted to start a thread to share stories on how "green" (naive) we all were at one time.

In 1992 a freind gave me a q jet and i thought i'd rebuild it. I'd heard a mechanic talk about "boiling" (dipping em in solution to remove the grime).
Well, to show you how "green" i was, i went home, got a big pot of water and heated it up to boiling. Dropped my dissasembled carb in and "boiled" that thing for about 45 minutes. LOL!
I told a friend and he just laughed, but actually after it dried i rebuilt it after about 20 (no lie!) tries, i got it working like a champ. (it actually came out super clean, but i wouldn't recommend it )
I look back now and laugh at some of the stuff i did, but without those failures i never would have learned.
man was i "green" though.

share your stories.
Advice for you young guys, dont be afraid to get in there, take stuff apart and make some mistakes.

[LONGHAIR]

i would have to say that the "greenest" thing I ever did was a similar misunderstanding of "poor directions". Mine came during the reassembly of the engine in my first car. I replaced the cam, did an intake/carb swap and valve job.......all from books, directions, and tech sheets, with the exception of the machine work. I paid someone to do that. The screw-up came from came early in the reassembly, but wasn't obvious until the very end. Everything I had available to me gave torque specs for "lightly oiled" bolts.....but failed to mention that quite a few of the head bolt holes hit water.
So...after all of the work, which was performed with the engine "in the car", I had massive leaks....my brand new antifreeze was running down the driveway.
I was told that I should have used sealer on the threads, after it was too late of course.

[MR .T]

when i was 19 i had a thunderbird. I and a lower balljoint let go. I was trying to replace it in a snowstorm, but could not get it seated so i got it on enough to drive it to a friends shop where i welded it to the lower control arm and spindle.

[Slofarmtruck]

My story is from many years ago and I most definately learned my lesson!!

An Ex-girlfriends alternator went bad on her Saturn and me being the great fella and knowledgable auto person I was I decided to change it out for her. So back at the apartment I open the hood with tools by my side scratch my chin and go ahh yes there it is. Begin removing the part and was a little surprised when one of the lines going to this alternator was pressurized. Yes I should have stopped there but oh no I continued. Proudly I removed this part and drove to the local auto parts store. Placed the part on the counter and stated that I needed an alternator for a 92 saturn. Counter person looked at me perplexed and asked if I needed an A/C compressor as well? I tucked my tail, returned home and re-installed the compressor that used to give her ice cold A/C, called her more knowledgable brother whom came to my rescue. Ironically I would later end up working at that same auto parts store as a manager helping make it the #1 store in the district. It is great to look back and laugh at these moments as mine taught me to ask as many questions as I can and research everything!!

[foamypirate]

Once upon a time, I was rebuilding the top end on my brother's 400 SBC. I was fairly mechanically inclined, and could rebuild a Honda engine in my sleep, but this SBC thing was new to me. I got it all put back together, adjusted the valves, and fired her up and she ran great! Until I drove about a mile, and got a horrible rattling and clanking, and the engine started stumbling. It turned out, I didn't know about the little locking screws on the rocker arms, so they were loose as a goose! When I pulled the valve covers, I had 13 rockers off the push rods.

Definitely learned my lesson!

[Alex1]

At 16 I filled the bathtub with water and soap and let the Carter carb (assembled) soak for a couple of hours (off my '73 Roadrunner) - bolted it back on AND IT RAN!

[83burban]

I wish my mistake was cheap and easy to reverse haha.

I found a very nice rebuilt long-block with some goodies that would have worked perfectly fine in my suburban. After I dragged it home, I put it on the stand and began putting everything together. Oil pump, covers, the whole works. I drop the engine into the suburban after a long day of work and am just too eager to wait till the next day to finish all the odds and ends before firing it up so I rush the job a little.

I get everything hooked up, double check fluid levels and go to fire it up. It fires right up, and runs like a champ for 20 mins. A smarter man would have shut the car down immediately after noticing that the oil pressure gauge was pegged at 0, but not this young gun!

Engine seized and refused to start afterwards. After tearing it all down for a complete rebuild again, found out that I forgot the oil pump shaft.

In my defense, I thought that the sender wasn't grounding because I put teflon tape on the threads to prevent leaks. Another no no, but once again I was just an eager gunner who didn't do a good job.

Expensive lesson learned, now I research every job before attempting it double check all my work.

[old Rusty C10]

If i tell you that would mean id have to admit some of the stupid stuff i did so id rather keep my reputation.... I will say that one time when i was younger i did put a car on bumper jacks and crawl under to work on it

[3r!c84]

i was 17 and changed the battery out on my truck 84c10 and put it all in and turned he key and all my gauge needles went upside down? i tryed starting the truck and it wouldnt start.i sprayed a little starting fluid down the carb and tryed it again.nothing was working.so my truck sat about a hour until my dad got home.and asked him why it wont start? he looks at the gauges and runs to un hook the battery. haha hes like you dumbass you put it in backwords.he put it in the right way and it fired right up.(only blew a fuse to my radio) good lesson learned


if it was a new car that woulda fried a computer!!! $$$$$$$$

[Cherub]

Good topic for a thread!!


Well this little ditty happend not to long ago. The header cracked on a 2000 honda civic. so instead of buying a stock manifold that has a cat attached i got a header and mechanical o2 similulator. This little setup required me to relocate the secondary o2 sensor and extend the wiring. Well i used some un inlolated male/female connectors and in my impatience to get it back together I wrapped all the male/female connectors together and called it a day. Jumped into the driver seat and flipped the key on. and almost immediately saw white smoke coming from the harness. That in itself would qualify me for being green but no i kept on turning it off and on hoping that somehow it would go away LOL. I ended up frying a good 35% of the wiring on that circuit. On the up side i learned alot more about wiring and just a little more paitence.

[gchemist]

I recently changed out a start for a friend. She said her 4Runner didn't start. I figured she had received a bad starter. It was installed a week prior to me changing it. After the install, it would not turn over. I should have checked for voltage!! The battery wire was corroded. I replaced the $10 cable. She spent over $350 for a new starter and labor which were not necessary. I spent time changing it out because I didn't trouble shoot properly.

[Restrorob]

Well, My dad was a mechanic and at 14.5 I took a 3yr coarse at a trade school, Didn't get my first car till 17.5 so nothing "Green" comes to mind....

[Alias137]

I had just got an 81 3/4 ton 4x4. I traded another truck and dirt bike for it, and was super excited about my new ride. I went to get gas, and it didn't easily start. I got a starter, and when I removed the old one, about 34545 shims came out. Not knowing their intended purpose, they stayed out. That thing never started right ever again. I had brought it to a friend of mine for a smog job, and he asked me if I wanted him to fix the starting problem. I said "please, it is driving me crazy. I bet the old owner threw the shims out at some point." I lied about it- too embarassed to admit my stupidity I guess.

[bitchin85]

it was midnight and i had to get the intake and carb back on my truck to get her to school in the morning.. i was tired and rushed.. i threw everything together, test drove it,and went to bed. next day i drove it to school no problems.. on the way home i stepped on it and went sideways around a corner and wound the 355 up to about 5 grand and i heard the nastiest niose and it stalled.. i thought i blew it up.. i looked all over. turns out i onlt clipped 2 out of the 4 hold downs for the distributor cap and they connected.. luckily i ran home, grabbed a cap n rotor, and it started up and i drove her home lol. only break down i ever had haha.

[harnalien]

I had an '89 blazer my dad bought me in high school. We did all kinds of upgrades to it from knobby tires to paint. When I joined the Army, he shipped it to me. My payment was $94 a month and he paid insurance. I was hanging out with some Honda guys with manuals, and I had an automatic. I guess I really didn't understand how a transmission worked. I was doing about 70mph and thought I'd "be cool" and shift gears. I went from drive to 2nd; very bad idea. I immediately knew something was wrong. The motor felt very weak, but I thought I could limp it back to base. About 30 miles from home the motor gave out. I heard a loud knock and it died. I pulled it to the side of the road, got out and kneeled down to look under the truck. By the headlights of the cars passing, I saw a large amount of fluid pouring out. I could only guess by the smell and the smoke that it was oil. Well, I never drove that truck again and regret being so stupid. The worst part is I sold it for $700 bucks. A year later, I saw a Sgt Major driving it around post. Heartbreaking.

[beebster]

All great stories!

welding the ball joint and forgetting the oil pump shaft are my favorites but downshifting at 70 mph, not tightening down your roller rockers, and not securing the HEI aren't far behind.

oh yea, i do remember those "bumper jacks" and it makes me cringe to think of being under any vehicle with those jacks holding the car up.

filling up the tub with soap and water to "clean" the carb is understandable. ha ha.

[bikes&bowties]

The carb cleaning one and the downshifting one take the cake.... I have done dumb things but nothing to compete with these

[longbedrick]

first oil change completed by myself. i was 16 years old. I was in such a rush, I forgot to re-install the oil drain plug. I kept putting quart after quart into the valve cover until I realized the plug was still sitting in the drain pan.