Ever really hurt yourself doing car repairs?

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Got a burn from an exhaust mani on a 92 Corolla once.
Never quite healed properly so now I have a scar.

Aside from that, safety is my main concern when completing auto repairs. I always consider all options on how to complete a task the easiest, and safest way.

Nothing worse than being physically harmed after you've completed a job.
 
One week ago...truck's driveshaft vs my finger
smile.gif
I am resting at home now.
..everything is ok!

 
The original car tire implement in my '95 Hyundai Accent Hatchback let go. (thin rusty plate as a base)
Luckily I had the wheel under the frame.

The car "of love"/I worked the most on was the '04 Elantra.

The rest, plenty of scrapes and cuts.
 
I was hospitalised from push bike repairs when I was 8 or 9. I was cleaning my chain and my finger got caught between the chainwheel teeth and went all the way round. I lost the end of the bone on my finger, was nothing left to stitch so left it to heal naturally (I had to wear a special finger bag to keep it clean for many weeks, but grew back well, still got the scar.
 
Wow. Hate to see anyone getting hurt. Scraped knuckles, dirt in my eye (I try to wear safety glasses now), sore arms from overreaching with a grease gun. The most hazardous thing for me is getting tired and impatient. I sometimes forget to put wheel blocks behind the rear wheels when the fronts are on the ramps or don't bother to get the tires perfectly centered on the ramps. A guy has to take it slow and do it right. I have to keep reminding myself.
 
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Originally Posted By: NGRhodes
I was hospitalised from push bike repairs when I was 8 or 9. I was cleaning my chain and my finger got caught between the chainwheel teeth and went all the way round. I lost the end of the bone on my finger, was nothing left to stitch so left it to heal naturally (I had to wear a special finger bag to keep it clean for many weeks, but grew back well, still got the scar.


Too weird, me too!
 
Worst for me was a 2nd degree burn on my forearm from touching a hot exh manifold. After many many cuts and busted knuckles I now wear mechanics gloves. I always adhere to safety rules, having only 1 usable arm I can't afford to hurt my good arm.
 
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Got a scare when I was working under the MG bleeding the clutch and dripped brake fluid in my eye. NOT FUN. Looked at the bottle of brake fluid and it said "in case of eye contact, flush with water and seek medical attention immediately". Called the poison control hotline after flushing with water, and they said if it gets worse after flushing with water for a few minutes, then get to the ER. All turned out OK, but it sure burned. That's what I get for not wearing full goggles instead of safety glasses.
 
Many times. Burns, cuts, bruises, broken finger, back spasms. Anywhere from "eh put a band-aid on it" to "hey boss... I gotta go to urgent care".

Comes with the territory!
 
My dad was diagnosing a noise on a VW Beetle engine and used a long screwdriver as a stethoscope. The screwdriver hit a weight on the generator pulley and flew towards his face. Luckily it missed his eye and grazed his ear. So much blood came out of that little ear Nick that I thought we were taking a trip to the ER. The neighbor heard the commotion and brought over some wound seal. That stuff sealed it up fast.
 
Nope. Sure, I've had the minor burns, cuts, and abrasions that anyone who has ever worked on cars has experienced. But I've never broke a bone. Never had a cut that has required stitches.
 
Yep. Worst was 5 smashed toes. I was maybe 17 and worked after school at a repair shop. They had a 390 Ford engine on an engine stand. They asked me to remove the heads. I got all the head bolts out and stuck a bar into a port to pry a head off.

It came off in a hurry.fell on to my toes! While I screamed in pain the now unbalanced engine spun upside down. Once up side down the other head fell off and landed on the other one which was still on my toes.
 
I didn't notice that the pivot bolt (where the jack handle meets the jack body) came out of my floor jack while under full power jacking up the car with one arm. Effectively it was the equivalent of taking a metal pipe in my fist and smashing my fist palm side down on the concrete as hard as I could.

Upon impact, the skin blew open on the end of my right hand ring finger about 3/4 inch long with tissue I wish I could un-see erupting out. 4 stiches....1/4 inch section of it is still numb a year later.

Smarted a bit. I was more grossed out than anything....I hate the sight of my own wounds.

Moral of the story check equipment periodically.
 
I have only had minor cuts, scrapes, burns, and a few toe smashings. Unfortunately my grade schools friends Father was crushed and died when he was working under a lifted car and did not secure it properly and it fell of the jack, every time I lift my vehicle I remember this and always make sure to be safety first.
TOTO.
 
Decades ago, I was removing the driveshaft from my truck. Almost flat driveway, and I'd never had it roll before. But this time, it did. Rolled all the way to the street, very slowly, with me underneath the truck.

3 of the bolts removed, and one loose. The driveshaft oscillated around that one loose bolt, with my arm being jammed and cut up on each revolution.

That was very stupid! Took months to heal.
 
Lots of cuts, scrapes, burns, busted knuckles, etc., working on assorted British sports cars over the years. Even though my "unusable in public vocabulary" was formed while in the military, it was added to while working on said vehicles.
 
Had some close calls. Almost had a crown Vic and a Mercedes crush me when I didn’t chock the wheels at all. A buddy and me were working on my can van and he disconnnected some linkage that caused it to roll. Luckily I was in the driver seat and hit the brakes. He would have been run over. Been sprayed in the face with gasoline and brake cleaner. Smashed many a finger and burned myself on hot engine parts. Gave myself a bath in hot coolant once. Dropped wrenches on my face. That kind of stuff.
 
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