v8bertha Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 So there I was this weekend quite merrily putting the 300tdi back together in the garage. Things were going great, the gearbox and transfer box had been refitted, all the parts I needed for the engine were carefully laid out and everything was clean and lovely and shiney and waiting for the re-assembly At this point you can tell that something went diasteraously wrong can't you! A mate of mine came round and while slurping cups of tea and munching our way through a packet of hob-nobs (essential garage food!) we reminised about past adventures and blown up engines and the fun we'd had rebuilding stuff. During the conversation we'd managed to fit the head, torque it down with the correct angles, fit the turbo and the inlet manifold. so things were going sweetly Later in the day I wandered past the engine and thought something didn't look right. I looked and noticed that bits of the head gasket protruded where they shouldn't have done and that there were gaps between the head anf block that should have been filled with gasket And the dead givaway... the 3 holes that indicate the thickness of said head gasket were towards the front of the engine... not the back... ARRGGHHHHHH!!!! I've fitted the head gasket upside down!! So I'll be off to Brookies to get another head gasket tonight... what a muppet! SO, come on, post up, what stupid mistakes have you made in the past... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 I rebuilt the front hubs on a series motor last week - fitted the Railko bush and lower swivel bearing track and fitted one ball to the axle - only to realise that the ball was upside down and the railko/ bearing track were also in the wrong holes. Chatting to mates while you should be concentrating is a bad idea Les Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hybrid_From_Hell Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Years ago had a gearbox go bang in the hybrid. Mate did the gearbox rebuild, I did a few jobs on the engine at the same time Removed engine, and ECU, and harness... and also gearbox, eventually some weeks later saw it all back together, ......and I turned the key It cranked and cranked and cranked ...................... .........but didn't run. HOURS Later after I had checked loads of bits I decided to check the ECU was connected with the big plug properly. I then saw no ECU................ and remembered it was in the house .............all safe like Nige Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Was working on fitting new engine mounts for the Chevy LS1 onto the project truck- took the old RV8 out, ground down the old mounts, asked unnamed helper for measurements, from front of block to engine mounts. Was pleasantly surprised to find that the mounts would be in almost the same place. Made up some new mounts using the old ones as templates. Tacked (well the helper tacked) in the fabbed mounts and we lowered the new engine in. Not a chance of it fitting. Somehow we had taken measurements off the old engine and used those- i had cut off old mounts and re-fabbed the exact same mounts and welded them back in, almost, but not quite in the same place. 6 hours wasted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8bertha Posted March 3, 2008 Author Share Posted March 3, 2008 Well, please let me be the first to takethe mick out of you all for doing such daft things!! Did I mention the time when I did the head gasket on and old V8... I'd drained the oil out as it was mayonaise-ified. Did the head gasket etc etc, went to refill the engine with oil, couldn't find the sump plug anywhere, so went and bought a new one, filled with oil and fired it up. There was an amazing bang as the sump plug I'd left in one of the piston chambers beat the piston and head to a pulp Sometimes I thing I shouldn't work on engines!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disco_al Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 you could possibly reuse the head gasket, as it has only been torqued down, and not run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfredenewman Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 i think we have all done something similar like fitting new clutch just finishing off and noticed old and neww release bearing on the bench the air was blue i swore i will never drop another ricket like that but probably will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Club newsletter printed & posted with no contents page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Went on one of JST's DRD's a while ago in my rougthy toughty Lardcruiser promising no to get stuck- watched 4-5 90s drive through a hole, went in, got stuck. spent 10 mins trying to get out, couldn't get any traction, couldn't get any of the lockers to work (inc the centre), figured i 'd bust the car. Got winched out. TJ101 asked why i was still in high ratio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gromit Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Was rebuilding a swivel a while back; new railko and bottom bearing, new seals and wheel bearings. After attaching the stub axle, I was having problems getting the swivel to move from lock to lock. Stub axle off to have a look see, pulled the CV out, looked fine, put it back in, still the same. I did this about 5 times and then finally it was fine. Now engrossed in a job that I'd soon be finished, I put the hub, track rod and brake caliper back on. Then went to fit the drive member, hmmmm, where's the splined pokey outey bit? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . turned around to find the CV sitting on the ground behind me. Pulled it all apart again, put the CV in and discovered that I'd just had the CV pushed in too far which was limiting the lock. Was working on my own, so can't even blame someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
will_warne Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Well, please let me be the first to takethe mick out of you all for doing such daft things!! Did I mention the time when I did the head gasket on and old V8... I'd drained the oil out as it was mayonaise-ified. Did the head gasket etc etc, went to refill the engine with oil, couldn't find the sump plug anywhere, so went and bought a new one, filled with oil and fired it up. There was an amazing bang as the sump plug I'd left in one of the piston chambers beat the piston and head to a pulp Sometimes I thing I shouldn't work on engines!! Dan, that really is a very special mistake!!! I've done all sorts including forgetting to refit the drain pulg to the engine before pouring in new oil. D'oh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gromit Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 I've done all sorts including forgetting to refit the drain pulg to the engine before pouring in new oil. D'oh! I've a knack for refitting wheel nuts hand tight, dropping it off the jack/stand and forgetting to fully tighten the nuts. 1/4 mile later and clunk clunk clunk, what the &%*$ is....oh yeah Maybe I shouldn't be allowed to work on vehicles of any kind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve King Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 My best one was lifting out a BMC A series transverse engine complete with box and then finding I was using the hoist upside down. The hoist would lift happily mounted upside down but would not lower!! Whatever I did the lump just kept getting higher & higher I ended up making a vast tower of wooden pallets & lowering the lump onto that! Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shackleton Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 On the last engine conversion: Fitted fuel pump but managed to reverse the polarity so it ran in reverse. Spent a week pulling my hair out trying to figure why the fuel pump was running but no fuel in the lines That same pump wasn't a happy bunny after that and gave up 60 miles later - 60 miles from anywhere. Had to drop the tank lying in muck at the roadside Refitted injectors but didn't notice a missing O-ring on the rail side. It was like the fountains at the Bellagio when it came on pressure In the last few weeks: Fitted a brand new turbo on the Td5 and only on a round of last minute checks remembered I'd bolted it back on with shop rag jammed in the intake port to keep carp out Currently: Have to take the new front springs back out and swop sides so she'll sit level again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandyManLuke Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Clutch change, built a scaffold to lower the boxes out, changed the clutch, got it all back together again. Having a faff getting the slave cylinder back in, the pushrod ended up in the bottom of the bellhousing....... after trying and failing to fish it out, i ended up dropping the boxes again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denviks Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 while visiting relatives in cambridge ( some 160 miles away from home ) the shogun i had at the time developed a nasty squealing sound from the engine. i called a mate in london who said as i was up for the weekend, if i poppped down to him on the saturday morning we could have a look and sus out what it was. so i left the misses and number one son at the mother in laws and headed for london on the saturday morning. safe in the knowledge that i would be home saturday night ready for the trip home to portsmouth on the sunday evening. gets to mates and has a cuppa and then straight under the bonnet to sort the problem out. we removed the intercooler from the top of the engine so we could see what we were looking at,.....a quick look and there it was. the EGR valve was leaking slightly on the flange. so it seemed an easy job to remove it, clean it and refit it......a nice simple job,.....as i unbolted it i went to put the nut i had taken off into the tub i had sat on the rocker cover....... tink.....tink....tink.... yes i dropped it in to the inlet manifold......tiny little hole and it went in. ah well a nice easy job to get it out then huh............. a fish round with a magnet and no joy.out with the hoover...that will lift it out. being a dyson we would see it come out. 40 mins later and nothing,....... damn. so it was now the time to take the inlet manifold off and retrieve the nut....40 mins later and lots of swearing with studs threaded everywhere we get the manifold off,......... no nut in sight,,, oh my god....could i of been that unlucky that it went in to that small hole in the first place...........bounced down the inlet manifold and found the one valve open....and dropped in to the cylinder.... anyway, to cut a long story short .... the cam bolt snapped inside the cam, while removing the head. when we eventually got the head off the zinc coated nut was sat in the 2nd cylinder waiting for us..... the reverse job putting it all back together took 4 days .........having to wait for parts to come in to stock, and to have the cam bolt removed from the cam........ £150 in bits to put it all back together again... and a misses that wasnt very happy.... i now plug all holes on the engine while working on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hattymender Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Welding's always a rich vein for comedy. Welding up a door with a friend, he grabbed it to turn it over, burned hand and dropped it. So I caught it. In the same place. Identical burns. Waxoiled chassis in old overalls. Put them on a few days later to do a spot of welding. Can anybody smell burning? Ever been blasted with a fire extinguisher? Set fire to a Fiesta 'cos we forgot to scrape off the damping pad (bitumen thing) on the panel. Burned through an Uno's harness welding up the sills. Explained to a mate how to mig weld (not that I'm any expert). Only a fool pulls trigger without mask up. Then I pulled it. etc, etc, etc.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeSheds Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 while visiting relatives in cambridge ( some 160 miles away from home ) the shogun i had at the time developed a nasty squealing sound from the engine. i called a mate in london who said as i was up for the weekend, if i poppped down to him on the saturday morning we could have a look and sus out what it was. so i left the misses and number one son at the mother in laws and headed for london on the saturday morning. safe in the knowledge that i would be home saturday night ready for the trip home to portsmouth on the sunday evening.gets to mates and has a cuppa and then straight under the bonnet to sort the problem out. we removed the intercooler from the top of the engine so we could see what we were looking at,.....a quick look and there it was. the EGR valve was leaking slightly on the flange. so it seemed an easy job to remove it, clean it and refit it......a nice simple job,.....as i unbolted it i went to put the nut i had taken off into the tub i had sat on the rocker cover....... tink.....tink....tink.... yes i dropped it in to the inlet manifold......tiny little hole and it went in. ah well a nice easy job to get it out then huh............. a fish round with a magnet and no joy.out with the hoover...that will lift it out. being a dyson we would see it come out. 40 mins later and nothing,....... damn. so it was now the time to take the inlet manifold off and retrieve the nut....40 mins later and lots of swearing with studs threaded everywhere we get the manifold off,......... no nut in sight,,, oh my god....could i of been that unlucky that it went in to that small hole in the first place...........bounced down the inlet manifold and found the one valve open....and dropped in to the cylinder.... anyway, to cut a long story short .... the cam bolt snapped inside the cam, while removing the head. when we eventually got the head off the zinc coated nut was sat in the 2nd cylinder waiting for us..... the reverse job putting it all back together took 4 days .........having to wait for parts to come in to stock, and to have the cam bolt removed from the cam........ £150 in bits to put it all back together again... and a misses that wasnt very happy.... i now plug all holes on the engine while working on it This gets my vote... Of course I have never done anything wrong like all of yous... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob90 Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Whilst removing the sump plug to change the oil with ratchet spaner, went the wrong way over tightened it and striped the threads on the sump, on a Saturday afternoon. oh well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Well Dan, Your last TDi rebuild is around the 40k miles mark now, and so far so good. Just make sure you get the timing right this time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hattymender Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Work in progress..... Last weekend I pulled the gear box back to change the fork arm. Put all the stuff in the back to keep it safe. Re-assembled. Carefully. All seems well. I've just found an 6mm high tensile bolt. It looks important. Buggerd if I know what for. Next installment of 'what's the daftest thing youve done' coming soon............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Only today.... swapping oil pressure senders between my two rangies, get one off, move the Rangie out of the way of the garage, and move the other one in, swap them over and then wonder why I have a trail of engine oil going back to where the first Rangie was.... :thinks: *THAT'S* why it sounded a bit rough... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 Another one - I had to replace the drivers side floor pan on an old mini. I got the angle grinder and cut the old floor out - straight through the wiring to the rear, fuel pipe, and brake hose. Lucky I didn't blow myself up ! Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denviks Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 This gets my vote...Of course I have never done anything wrong like all of yous... :lol: i can laugh about it now............but i was in the dog house for days.... now i get " ok so is this one of them 5 min jobs then " :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiFonics Posted March 3, 2008 Share Posted March 3, 2008 I avoid doing anything too practical as I am a bolt shearing, screwhead rounding disaster area. Its not a problem with understanding what to do but purely being dangerous with a spanner. I can even ruin simple job. When I first got my 90 I bought one of those air intake things that are meant to improve heater efficiency. It should have been a simple removal of a couple screws and then screwing back on the new item, however you had to glue in a small piece of mesh and I carefully applied the glue and then managed to knock the whole lot onto the floor of the workshop which was covered in wood shavings and other carp which all stuck to the vent. I had a complete sense of humour failiure and the whole lot went in the bin and the original vent went back on the landrover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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