I'm just kicking myself up one side and down the other tonight. I'm the middle of changing out an axle seal on a Jeep WJ with the Dana 35. It's the type where the seal is captured by the bearing and retainer so those have to be removed before you can get to the seal. Like a total dipstick, I screwed up the seal surface on a Jeep axle to the point where the axle is not fixable without a big lathe (which I don't have). I got careless with the angle grinder removing the bearing race and now I get to buy a new axle. GRRR!!!
Post your latest mechanical screw up.
- Thread starter ripcord
- Start date
Mine would have to be the mistake I made the last time I lubed the slip joint splines on my Ranger (Thanks Ford, you've only had 100 years to get them right and still don't).
The first time I did the job, I realized the joint is keyed. So I didn't bother to mark the shaft this time. It's keyed alright, but you can still flip it 180* out....and I did. Took the truck for a drive and 'where'd that low-frequency rumble at 40mph come from?'
Ohh..
#$@%#$%#@$
Luckily I'd bought a 10 pack of the boot clamps, so it was only a 15-20 min job to pull it back down and flip it.
The first time I did the job, I realized the joint is keyed. So I didn't bother to mark the shaft this time. It's keyed alright, but you can still flip it 180* out....and I did. Took the truck for a drive and 'where'd that low-frequency rumble at 40mph come from?'
Ohh..
#$@%#$%#@$
Luckily I'd bought a 10 pack of the boot clamps, so it was only a 15-20 min job to pull it back down and flip it.
There’s axle saver kits for many axles. Slip a ring around the sealing surface and they give you a different sized seal to fit the new diameter.
AutoMechanic
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This was mine. On my dads car. Luckily not a customer car. I failed to tighten down the pulley on the water pump all the way and so 3/4 bolts sheared off and one just came loose. My coworker Toyota tech said to use orange thread locker and not blue, orange is high strength but removable with hand tools. I took it all apart today and have a new pulley and belt and bolts coming in on Monday. This happened Wednesday or Thursday. Brand new belt too haha. But hey it happens to everyone. I think besides having a drain plug come out this is probably my biggest mess up. I feel bad it was on my dads car but I would have felt worse if it was a customer car.
I had a loader on a job site that wouldn't start. First thing I do is test batteries with my tester. They tested bad.
Unhooked them and took them to a orileys to get new ones. They happened to test them and both tested good on their machine when tested independently.
Tested them independently with my tester and they also test good .
Turns out that my tester that's advertised as 12 or 24v won't do a proper reading when testing 2 batteries in series. Whoda think.
Chased my tail with that for a couple of hours while working in ankle deep mud.
Turns out the starter is bad but with so much noise going on there I couldn't hear the starter kick out but not spin.
Unhooked them and took them to a orileys to get new ones. They happened to test them and both tested good on their machine when tested independently.
Tested them independently with my tester and they also test good .
Turns out that my tester that's advertised as 12 or 24v won't do a proper reading when testing 2 batteries in series. Whoda think.
Chased my tail with that for a couple of hours while working in ankle deep mud.
Turns out the starter is bad but with so much noise going on there I couldn't hear the starter kick out but not spin.
Once I put an air injection pump on a customers Corvette. I had to swap the old pulley onto the new pump. Guy left and a day or 2 later it came back on a tow truck.
The part the pulley bolted to was a press fit onto a shaft and the rebuilder ( cardone) didn't realize it was a loose fit and it fell off. Fortunately the pulley and the other part was still in the car laying on the frame still bolted together so it wasn't my fault.
My friend's high mileage ex-Hertz 2015 Altima strippie was dripping oil. Turned out to be a leaky M1 oil filter; some idiot musta failed to properly install it.
I am the only person who works on this vehicle.
I am the only person who works on this vehicle.
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- Nov 29, 2021
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- 5,387
No AC until the new one of this comes in the mail. (That is an AC Idler Pulley Tensioner.)
Mishap happened during installing what was supposed to be both new AC belt and Power Steering/Alternator belt, since they came in a 2-pack.
Strangely enough, there is a correlation between "brand new, TIGHT belt" and what sounded to me for months like a transmission whine in 2nd gear.
However. That was yesterday. My latest mechanical screw-up is... upon removing Taurus FPRS, somehow (and no I do not know how) it blew away the rubber vacuum elbow. So I fixed it just now. Shows signs of being the issue.
Will report back when time shows that correct or not.
Mishap happened during installing what was supposed to be both new AC belt and Power Steering/Alternator belt, since they came in a 2-pack.
Strangely enough, there is a correlation between "brand new, TIGHT belt" and what sounded to me for months like a transmission whine in 2nd gear.
However. That was yesterday. My latest mechanical screw-up is... upon removing Taurus FPRS, somehow (and no I do not know how) it blew away the rubber vacuum elbow. So I fixed it just now. Shows signs of being the issue.
Will report back when time shows that correct or not.
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2020
- Messages
- 2,423
I pushed the gasket into place instead off pressing it into the channel on my valve cover. It took me a long time. 8 am to 4am. I had to go to work at 7am.
It leaked oil like crazy; there was a huge puddle in my driveway. Rough idle and check engine light due to vacuum leak. Could smell burning oil. Had to drive like this for a week until I could redo it. I was so angry.
I have driven a little over 400 miles since fixing it, and no leakage
It leaked oil like crazy; there was a huge puddle in my driveway. Rough idle and check engine light due to vacuum leak. Could smell burning oil. Had to drive like this for a week until I could redo it. I was so angry.
I have driven a little over 400 miles since fixing it, and no leakage
I have a bad habit of over-torquing bolts by hand and snapping them off. Not so much now, but it happened a lot in the past. I would be tightening just ever so slightly tighter and then feel the bolt get loose. 
. Using 1/4" tools instead of 3/8" has helped a lot on the smaller bolts.
Latest fumble was the rear main seal on my Jeep 4.0L. Got it back together and it leaked worse, turns out I knocked the oil pan gasket loose in the area near the back where it is hard to see. I've only done that job about 5 times on other Jeeps.
. Using 1/4" tools instead of 3/8" has helped a lot on the smaller bolts.Latest fumble was the rear main seal on my Jeep 4.0L. Got it back together and it leaked worse, turns out I knocked the oil pan gasket loose in the area near the back where it is hard to see. I've only done that job about 5 times on other Jeeps.
My last one was about 2 hours ago.
My son and I changed the ATF fluid and transmission filter on the new to him Scion tC, and I let him do most of the work.
He had gotten the bolts started and I was going around tightening them, and snapped the head of one of the pan bolts.
Not sure if it was cross threaded or what.
Not leaking right now but I know I will need to get a bolt remover and drill it out.
My son and I changed the ATF fluid and transmission filter on the new to him Scion tC, and I let him do most of the work.
He had gotten the bolts started and I was going around tightening them, and snapped the head of one of the pan bolts.
Not sure if it was cross threaded or what.
Not leaking right now but I know I will need to get a bolt remover and drill it out.
Last august I noticed some oil under my 247,000 335. Thinking it was due for oil pan gasket #4 but not being sure, I pressure washed the engine bay. Over the next few days it began to develop weird miss issues, and the only code was for dme failure. (It was only a couple years old).
i didnt have time to deal with it and saw a 328 at a Volvo dealer by my house. Feeling the burn of all of the blood, sweat and tears of keeping my n54 going over the last nine years, I overpaid for the 328.
later in the fall I sent the dme in for repair. They found no problem. I got it back, plugged it in, and the 335 has been running fine since.
I just got it wet!
i didnt have time to deal with it and saw a 328 at a Volvo dealer by my house. Feeling the burn of all of the blood, sweat and tears of keeping my n54 going over the last nine years, I overpaid for the 328.
later in the fall I sent the dme in for repair. They found no problem. I got it back, plugged it in, and the 335 has been running fine since.
I just got it wet!
It would seem I will never learn to pump the pedal to seat the pistons after retracting calipers. I really should devise a flag or sign I hang on the steering wheel the second I push a piston back...or maybe immediately after pulling into the shop if I know I'll be touching the brakes
Wait what? I guess I'm screwed. I've seen Explorers with over say 250k that have balance issues, but greasing splines is like a GM thing. Why Ford? You literally had everything except gas mileage figured out.
I've known people all the way back to my buddies mid 2000's F150 with 2 piece shafts that clunk. Why they can't figure it out is beyond me. You'd think they would just lean on their supplier to fix the problem. They're coated with this blue plastic-looking stuff, but it doesn't work.
We won't get in to the driveshaft take-off shudder that a lot of Rangers have.
Not a screw up but a waste of time:
I put a new front axle in a CR-V. As soon as I tightened the hub nut the hub would nearly lock up. Concerned something was amiss with this inexpensive TrakMotive axle or the wheel bearing, I pulled it back apart just enough to get detailed measurements on the new stub axle vs the old. I also completely removed the caliper to rule out any possibility of a dragging brake.
In the end the ONLY difference was the rubber seal that gets pulled into the backside of the wheel bearing was ~0.075" larger in OD. I figured being rubber it would run in/self-clearance within 100 yards of driving -- and it was spinning free after my test drive.
I learned not to panic if a new CV shaft causes that wheel to spin with difficulty at first.
I put a new front axle in a CR-V. As soon as I tightened the hub nut the hub would nearly lock up. Concerned something was amiss with this inexpensive TrakMotive axle or the wheel bearing, I pulled it back apart just enough to get detailed measurements on the new stub axle vs the old. I also completely removed the caliper to rule out any possibility of a dragging brake.
In the end the ONLY difference was the rubber seal that gets pulled into the backside of the wheel bearing was ~0.075" larger in OD. I figured being rubber it would run in/self-clearance within 100 yards of driving -- and it was spinning free after my test drive.
I learned not to panic if a new CV shaft causes that wheel to spin with difficulty at first.
Why would you expect better from Team TTB/Team TFI/Team 3V ?
Lol, other than those two minor annoyances, both fixed, mine has been a really solid, smooth truck. And it puts in its share of work. We'll see how it goes long-term, but I bought the longest Ford extended warranty I could get as a backup.Why would you expect better from Team TTB/Team TFI/Team 3V ?
My former 2002 Ranger that a family member now owns has a single piece aluminum driveshaft that was removed once to do the tail shaft seal and that has been it. 257k on that truck and still driven daily. Its cam issues are what's going to take it out, eventually. Engine and transmission have never even been unbolted from this truck.
Both Explorers with driveshaft issues were past 250k, off roaded, and basically driven with no mercy. And still got driven on the interstate because you can just turn the radio up and keep a death grip on the steering wheel.
I'm good dealing with Ford idiosyncrasies and weird stuff, but I want that thing to pull through for 20 years and being run down a ravine and whatnot.
