I replaced my master cylinder last night on my brakes - it didnt fix my brake problem, but it reminded me of something really stupid I did to my first car.
My first car, when I was 17, was an aircooled VW. I got it home and was checking it out, and noticed the windshield washer fluid was really low.
I got the hose and topped it off, thinking, "wow this washer fluid tank is really small compaired to the one on dads Dodge".
It was a few days before i realized I had filled the brake fluid reseviour with water. Now that I think of it, I dont think I ever drained it back out, and I dont think I ever had any problems with the brakes on that car either.
But thinking about it last night while I was test driving my new master cylinder still made me laught - even after 26 years.
Geeze that was stupid!
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08:37 AM
PFF
System Bot
stimpy Member
Posts: 8197 From: Salinas, CA Registered: Jan 2000
I had Iranian neighbors when I was in college - in an apartment complex - the one guy pulled his mustang out of his garage (under our apartments) and took the carb off to rebuild it.
then he gets back in the car and tried to start it back up (with no carb) to pull it back in the garage.
the fuel pump sprayed gas all over the engine - and it caught fire. First time I got to put out a car fire with my handy extinquisher.
He is part of the reason I mount a new fire extinquisher in the trunk of every car I buy. Not so much for my car, for the other people.
I hope nobody on this forum ever did anything that stupid - he had no idea what he was doing. And I cant speak for him, cause he may have done worse things that I dont know about.
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09:31 AM
SteveJ Member
Posts: 805 From: Orchard Park, NY Registered: Feb 2001
Oh no Ken! You reminded me of my bonehead move involving the brakes in my Fiero!
One time, my friend and I were bleeding the brakes. I had him pumping the pedal and refilling the fluid while I messed around with the bleeders. So, we got all done, and I started the car to build up the vacuum in the master cylender again. I wanted to see how the brakes felt, so I slammed on the pedal. But, I forgot to replace the cover to the fluid resivior! A big fountain of brake fluid shot up about 8 feet and splattered all over the ceiling, and brake fluid rained down all over my car. Luckily, I could polish out the marks left in the clear coat left by the fluid eating it away. I laugh about it now, but it scared the hell out of me when it happened!
I use a regular dry chemical extinquisher - home style - not the smaller cars ones.
no problem from heat that I can see - on my fiero i put it in the front trunk, against the left front wheel well, next to the brake master cylinder, and bolted it right through and cut the bolts off flush with the ends of the nuts in the wheel well.
I really lucked out on that cause I forgot all about the sunroof storing in there - and it was pure dumb luck that I put it low enough to not be in the way when I take the sunroof off the car.
I was gonna put it in the rear trunk, but I figured if I ever did have an engine fire I would never be able to get it out of there.
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09:43 AM
Raydar Member
Posts: 40686 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
This didn't happen to be, but to somebody I knew (who was very mechanically challenged), when I was a teenager. He decided to change the oil in his car, a Buick or Olds something-or-other. V-8. Drained the oil out, then got ready to replace the oil.
<Talking to himself> "Hmmm... how much oil should I put in?" "I guess until it's full."
About six gallons of oil later, it was finally topped off. He started it up, and promptly blew every seal right out of the motor.
Last time I saw him, about 20 years ago, he had bought a Lotus Europa. Scary.
------------------ Raydar - aka Steve
Black 88 Formula. Red 88 Duke coupe. "The Project" 88 Formula parts car. "The Donor"
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 06-05-2001).]
Raydar - reading that made my day! It's scary the things people will try to do to try and fix thier car. I work at a hardware store, and I've helped a few people who I was really worried about their personal safety with the fix they were doing. One guy, bought some clear vinyl hose to repair his brake line. He refused to understand that this hose has a blow out of 80 psi, and that as soon as he steps on the brakes its going to blow.
"Nope, It will work"
I just walked away, if he wants to be a dumbass, I could care less. I was just hoping that he didnt get the car going at any speed and then try to brake, cause he'd probably lose control and kill himself.
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09:54 AM
FieroJoe Member
Posts: 2314 From: Southfield, MI Registered: Nov 2000
ok I gotta tell you the funniest stupidest thing I ever saw someone else do.
I was working in a small TV repair shop for the summer when I was a HS senior. Some guy pokes his nose back into the shop area, where I was alone, and asks if he can use the tube checker out front.
you know how to use it? He says yeah - Ok sure.
He comes back in a few minutes and says, "if the tubes light up does that mean they are ok?"
I get up to go show him how it works.
he had brought in all the tubes from an older color TV in a paper bag. When I turn the corner, I see he had ALL the tubes stuffed into the tube tester, where ever they would fit, all at the same time - and he had the filiment votage turned all the way up, and they were all glowing - almost white, like lightbulbs.
I said , "excuse me a second" and went into the back room and closed the door. I was laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face and I couldnt breath.
when I regained my composure I went back out front and he was gone. I think maybe he heard me - couldnt help it. He never came back.
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10:36 AM
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System Bot
Raydar Member
Posts: 40686 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
Gee, those tube tester stories were, uh, entertaining? I guess the tube glowing thing is a bad thing? It would probably get a better audiance on a tech geek forum then a Fiero geek one. Perhaps you could translate for the 98% of us who have never built their own ham radio?
Originally posted by stimpy: ...Perhaps you could translate for the 98% of us who have never built their own ham radio?
Wife: "What are you building now?!" Husband: "It's a light dimmer." Wife: "So?! Big deal! Everything you build is a light dimmer!"
The tube thing was kind of a harmless electronic geek equivalent of pouring a couple of gallons of nitromethane into your gas tank. You'd have the fastest stock Fiero in the world for about 10 seconds. Then all the engine's internals would melt together into a single unit. Ken's right though. You prolly woulda hadda been there. Sorry for dragging the thread off topic.
------------------ Raydar - aka Steve
Black 88 Formula. Red 88 Duke coupe. "The Project" 88 Formula parts car. "The Donor"
[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 06-05-2001).]
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12:44 PM
Oreif Member
Posts: 16460 From: Schaumburg, IL Registered: Jan 2000
I saw two guys trying to jump a 67 Chevy with a 53 Buick. The problem they had was only 1 jumper cable. So these guys decide to hook the positive sides of the battery and pull the cars together so the bumpers touch. Well once the bumpers touched there was a big spark and a loud "sizzle". The next thing that happened was the battery in the Chevy blew up like a M50 firework and caught both cars on fire. Turns out the Buick was a POSITIVE ground system. So once the bumpers touched, they basically shorted the Chevy's battery. The sizzle was the jumper cable cooking, the explosion and ensuing fire was caused by the hydrogen gasses from the battery ignited by the glowing cable. By the time the fire department got done neither car was usable.
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01:01 PM
thomas_l Member
Posts: 1197 From: Alpharetta, GA, US Registered: Apr 2001
Me and my bro in law where changing the oil in his 89 Ranger, so we pull the plug, drain it, change the filter and put the plug back in and fill it up with oil. We hope in to take off somewhere and we get to the end of my 300 ft. driveway and we look forward and we saw a foot wide black stripe from the garage to us, needless to say the filter wasnt on tight enough and to this day when it rains i still got a strip down my driveway, Opps!
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03:28 PM
1FST2M6 Member
Posts: 3905 From: Dallas, GA. Registered: Jan 2000
taking the A/C out was the dumbest thing i've ever done to any car i've owned.. although it was extra weight... the added comfort was QUICKLY missed... and the now wife wouldn't ride in the car unless it was below 80* outside..
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03:30 PM
AkursedX Member
Posts: 2890 From: Lackawanna NY Registered: Aug 2000
The stupidest thing I've done on a car was that I dropped a rebuilt engine on the front end of my brothers dodge diplomat.
I was controlling the hoist and I was lowering it and my dad told me to stop it. Well I turned the little knob the wrong way and *BOOM* right on top of the front end. Not too much damage though. a little bit of glassing and some paint and it was as good as new. Ran awesome too!
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03:33 PM
PFF
System Bot
FieroLisa Member
Posts: 1992 From: Sebastopol, CA Registered: Nov 2000
Alright so I haven't done anything *too* stupid yet, except Hoop and I, in one day: Made my car fall of jackstands, forget to tighten the lug nuts and drive off (nothing happened), drop a nice new rim on its side, AND throw away my socket that tightens my lugs (which was dug out of the huge trashcan)
------------------ Lisa 86 violet pearl 4 speed GT: 17 in. rims, lowered, cold-air intake AOL IM: FieroLisa
Originally posted by Oreif: The problem they had was only 1 jumper cable.
How do you only have 1 cable, they're always linked together?
When I was working at NAPA, a customer came in with one of bolts on his lower control arm gone, so the arm was tipped down at about 30 degrees. I told him we didn't have a replacement part and he should call a tow truck. He left with the control arm still loose.
did that to my sisters bug, front wheels. She got all the way to the other side of town on the squagquida expressway (people in buffalo will know where Im talking about)
then she says to her passenger as the tire takes off in front of them "look! someone lost a wheel!"
good thing the engine is in the back.
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04:03 PM
Philphine Member
Posts: 6136 From: louisville,ky. usa Registered: Feb 2000
get in your fiero on the passenger side look at the corner where the footwell meets the center console wall. if you feel around over the top of the center console wall you can feel two layers of metal. those two layers don't go all the way to the bottom so if you drill a hole near the bottom and come through and hit metal again make sure you stop. it's the gas tank. don't ask me how i know that.
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07:57 PM
Richard Parnell Member
Posts: 482 From: Haleiwa,HI. USA Registered: Aug 99
I changed the oil once and forgot to put the plug back in the oil pan. I was standing there leaning over the hood pouring in the last quart and stood up only to look down and find myself standing in a huge puddle of 30W. Duhh!
Originally posted by Ken Wittlief: ok I gotta tell you the funniest stupidest thing I ever saw someone else do.
I was working in a small TV repair shop for the summer when I was a HS senior. Some guy pokes his nose back into the shop area, where I was alone, and asks if he can use the tube checker out front.
you know how to use it? He says yeah - Ok sure.
He comes back in a few minutes and says, "if the tubes light up does that mean they are ok?"
I get up to go show him how it works.
he had brought in all the tubes from an older color TV in a paper bag. When I turn the corner, I see he had ALL the tubes stuffed into the tube tester, where ever they would fit, all at the same time - and he had the filiment votage turned all the way up, and they were all glowing - almost white, like lightbulbs.
I said , "excuse me a second" and went into the back room and closed the door. I was laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face and I couldnt breath.
when I regained my composure I went back out front and he was gone. I think maybe he heard me - couldnt help it. He never came back.
TUBES? vacumn tubes? Ken, I thought I was about the only one around old enough to remember using those things. Just joking!
Years ago ,(when Moby Dick was a mionnow & Capt Ahab was a seaman apprentice)I worked in the oilfield as a diesel mechanic. If you've ever been around a drilling rig, you know EVERYTHING is covered in oil & grease. I had done so much work on my tailgate and in the bed, the back of the truck was oily too. Anyway, I had some grinding to do and did it on the tailgate and caught the stuff in the bed on fire and the whole truck burned to the wheels. Boss was NOT real pleased.
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 06-05-2001).]
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09:22 PM
Patrick's Dad Member
Posts: 5154 From: Weymouth MA USA Registered: Feb 2000
"TUBES? vacumn tubes? Ken, I thought I was about the only one around old enough to remember using those things. Just joking!"
I'm still using them. 12AX7's. See: "Tubes Rule" topic.
Also A/V related, we used to plug car speakers into an AC socket to watch the voice coil pop. Takes about 5-10 seconds of 60Hz, then heads up. One hit the ceiling. Have also plugged in an AC photo slave. They pop pretty quickly.
Back to cars, I forgot my wallet, as I ran out to do some errands in my wife's Explorer, so I turned around, drove up and around the back of the house (still driveway). Slammed the shift lever up, got out, and bounded up the stairs. As I got about halfway up, I heard a noise. I turned to see the truck, now in Neutral, coasting off the driveway, down two steps, over a baby tree, and heading for the neighbors' yard. Interestingly, my neighbor's kids ran toward the truck.... I caught up with it before it crossed the property line, stopped it, switched into 4x4, and drove back up the stairs without tearing up the lawn.
My wife just looked at this topic, and said, "You mean besides buying a Ford?"
[This message has been edited by Patrick's Dad (edited 06-05-2001).]
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10:15 PM
mblackwell Member
Posts: 125 From: Orient, OH, USA Registered: Jan 2001
One time I was driving down a busy road in my Fiero at 55 mph. I looked over my shoulder to see if the right lane was clear, and I see somethin rolling around on the decklid. It was the oil fill cap. Ooops!
I won't admit to anything stupid regarding the Fieros, since I may want to sell one to a Forum member someday. But as a teenager me & a friend were at a Dairy Queen in his 67 Impala 327 2-door. We decided to have a race to see who could finish their banana split first. Before we started, I said let's not include the bananas because it's so easy to break the plastic spoons on them. Anyway, we counted 3-2-1 and started digging in like rabid dogs. I thought I was doing pretty good, and as I got the last bite in my mouth I looked over and he was doing the same. I swallowed, then noticed his boat was clean - I said "You mean you ate your bananas too?!" - and he burst out laughing so hard he spewed chunks all over the dash. Here's the punch line: six months later we were cleaning his car and when he pulled down the visor there was a dried chunk of banana.
As for the stupidest thing I have heard of: Go to remove the wheels off car. After breaking off several studs look down to see the "L" on the end of the stud.
Or on a trailer. After several attempts to remove a flat tire remove the tire with the axle while leaving the trailer chained up on the side of the road. Once home put the assembly in the vice to see the "L" on the end of the stud.
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03:07 AM
Nashco Member
Posts: 4144 From: Portland, OR Registered: Dec 2000
Stupidest thing I've done with my car is leave it at home 2400+ miles away (my VW). "Yeah, I'll still get stuff done on it when I visit home. Oh, and I'll at least be able to get all my parts saved up for when I am there to work on it." Yeah, right...until I bought this damn fiero I almost wish I could forget about the VW...until I remember those days with the top down in the dunes; can't do that with a fiero
Bryce 88 GT
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04:23 AM
JSocha Member
Posts: 3522 From: Felton, MN, USA Registered: Apr 2001
Originally posted by Patrick's Dad: Also A/V related, we used to plug car speakers into an AC socket to watch the voice coil pop. Takes about 5-10 seconds of 60Hz, then heads up. One hit the ceiling. Have also plugged in an AC photo slave. They pop pretty quickly.
You know your bored when...
I didn't do it...
Took my 87 Chrysler LeBaron to the service station and the owner has one of his employees (who was one grade younger then I and not the brightest crayon in the box mind you) do the oil change.
When they are done with the vehicles, they park them on the street for the customer to pick up.
I get there, pay the bill, go out start the car and start to head home. Within a few minutes my digital dash lights up like it was Christmas time with all kinds of warnings "Engine Service Light; Oil Pressure Low; etc" all start coming on and the voice box spouting its pre-recorded messages.
I turn around and take the car back. The owner of the station checks the oil. Not a drop! Pulls it in, puts it on the lift, raises it in the air, looks underneath...first thing he notices, "oil drain plug" wasn't put back in. Dummy forgot to replace it (still in his tool box). Does a little more checking...second thing he finds, absulutely NO OIL FILTER!
Decides to go and check a couple of other vehicles that he had done that day. One was okay, the other had the oil plug but no filter.
I got my money back for this service and doorknob got canned the next day.
Only made it a few blocks in our small community (less then 3000 pop) before the alerts went off (which at 15/20 mph wouldn't have done that much damage on a still cool motor). I took it to Minot thereafter and I don't do business at his station anymore here in our town. It was a brand new motor. Its now in storage since the Distributor and a few electrical starting componenets need to be replaced (all carry over parts from the old motor).
Besides, we have only two streets and they are named after trees.
Stick and Plumb.
If you "Stick" your head out your car window, your "Plumb" out of our town!
------------------
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10:42 AM
ferg Member
Posts: 184 From: Lafayette, In Registered: Jan 2001
When I was in high-school, I took auto shop. There was this kid in my class who was as dumb as a post. Some of the things he did in class were 1) rotate lug nuts- seriously! We told him it would make his car faster
2) he got a pair of 8" subs, he tried to tell us that they were *special* and that they didn't need a box to work properly. So he installed them On TOP of the rear shelf of his regal. This kid also said that the inside of the car was used as an enclosure. I've never heard bass like that before!
In my first car I couldn't find a constant power source for my radio, using an adapter kit was impossible since a previous owner cut all the factory connectors. So the idea I came up with was to use the cig. lighter as my power. That worked out well- for a while. Later I bought an amp off some guy and used the same cig. lighter power source. Also, I had a portable cd player and that too was plugged into the cig. Lighter. Next- time for the driving lights- yep you guessed it, my trusty cig lighter. Somewhere along the line I developed a short of some kind. Since I was stupid and poor I got tired of always replacing the fuse, so I jumpered it with a #12 solid wire. That lasted about a month or two. Until the wiring harness caught fire. By the time the smoke cleared out, I melted about a 1' of the wire leading to the cig. lighter. The car was sold not long after.
My next car was a 89 chevy p/u. I always had an overheating problem that I could never get fixed, It over heated one day and I pulled over to see if I could see anything, I couldn't so I took off. Forgetting that I didn't shut the hood completely. At about 75 mph. I found my mistake, and the hood flew up. Luckily I didn't break anything, but I did put 2 nice dents where the hinges were.
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01:50 PM
TSPalmer Member
Posts: 177 From: Franklinville, NC, USA Registered: Mar 2001
My first car was a '72 Mach I and the lady that I bought it from didn't really believe in maintenance that much (as could be determined by the look of the car when I got it ). Dad says "change the oil in that car before you try to go anywhere in it" and being new to the mechanic side of a car I said sure. I got the oil and filter work complete and drove over to my friends house to visit. Later that night, my friends Dad called to tell me that he didn't want my oil leaking car in his drive again. Seems the seal off the old filter that had probably been on the car for 4 yrs (joking) was cooked to the enging and the filter I put on was mating to it instead of the block. I had dumped a good part of my oil change in his driveway. Now I know better! Always look at the filter when you change it.
------------------ T.Shawn Palmer '85 SE 4cyl 5spd
I went grocery shoping where I picked up a gallon of milk which I put on the passenger seat. Forgeting that it was their, I threw a stack of newspapers on top of it. The milk jug split open drenching the passenger side with a gallon of milk. You know what happens to milk in the summer heat?
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05:28 PM
Neverfinished Member
Posts: 280 From: Vernon B.C. CANADA Registered: Jan 2001
When I was unaware about cars and the consequences of my actions, Me and my friends were out playing with a garden hose. We found it fun to see how far we could push it up the exhaust pipe on my dads VW dune buggy... I think you can figure out the rest. I was only 3 years old so I had an alibi. Also my dad was installing a console in his police cruiser and drilled a hole through his tranny. and last was putting 55 psi in my fiero's tires. I know you should never trust the 7-11 tyre guages but thats all i had, it felt like i was riding on bike tires until i got home.
------------------ To Be Old And Wise, You First Must Be Young And Stupid.----------------- It's not a waste of time... If you are wasted at the time