Texas Manx Club

by **David O'** » 14 Mon Nov, 2005 8:44 pm

I thought that everyoine might get a kick out of the dumbest things that I've had happen to me while builting an engine.
(1) building the entire long block first and getting ready to mount the early oil cooler to the block....only to drop the 10mm nut and have it bounce on the block once and fall right down the oil cooler passage, and then get stuck in the bottom of the oil passage....requiring the complete teardown just to get the nut out of the hole!
The lesson here is, before you put the pistons and cylinders on, install the oil cooler to the block and then it can't happen to you!
(2) Putting the head nuts and washers on, with the engine right side up...only to have one of the nuts not get started right....yep, you guessed it...it bounced on the bottom of the head and went right down the push rod tube, and actually made it passed the lifter to end up in the botton of the block.
Lesson hear is to turn the engine upside down when installing the heads, and then install the push rod tubes and the first 4 nuts and washers before turning the engine rightside up and installing the rest of them. No more nuts in the bottom of the block!!!!!
(3) Changing engines from one car to the other.....only to forget that the clutch pressure plate on one was an early model and the transmission was the late style......causing the loss of two hours time.....saying all kinds of words.....and ending up feeling that I neded to go back to my "day job". It causes the engine to go in up to about 1" from fitting and then not moving any more.
This can cause an embarrasing moment in your life that will not be forgotten by your wife for years!
Can any of you guys top these? If you can.... I FEEL YOUR PAIN!

by **carlos del carpio** » 14 Mon Nov, 2005 9:01 pm

Yeah, embarrassing enough, I do...

I'm banging and banging on the rear axle nut for what seemed like HOURS, and after DESTROYING the rear axle tool, looking and saying..ooh...LEFTY LOOSY...

by **GregR** » 14 Mon Nov, 2005 9:54 pm

or how about having put the engine back in. Now unable to get it to idle below 1800 rpm. start messing with the dual kad linkage...adjust the linkage between the carbs all the way out. Finally realizing that I pulled the throttle cable too tight and it couldn't give anymore.....yup...words, many words :oops:

by **David Head** » 15 Tue Nov, 2005 9:45 am

After mounting the engine, installing the the exhaust and throttle linkage, I was installing the rear engine cage and noticed that I had neglected to tighten down the tranny to tranny mount nuts. *%#&$#*. Nothing to do but remove everything and start over.
The good thing about mistakes is that we learn from them. David H

by **Buggy1** » 15 Tue Nov, 2005 9:49 am

HOw about getting the whole engine done one niight to find out that you droppe one of the lifters out while putting the engine together, yep another tear down.

When your son ( 5 years old ) tries to help daddy by puttting nuts down the manafold when your not looking to find the reason the engine does not run good is one nut is holding the valve open - I learned never to leave my industrious son in the garage to answer the phone.

And my favorite, putting the whole engine together and firing it up just to remember you greased everything for the fire up but did not put the oil in!

by **David O'** » 15 Tue Nov, 2005 7:03 pm

I remember that one time I put a whole long block together, and looked on the table and saw a main bearing dowel pin laying on the table. Since it was for a first time customer....who was wanting that night, I had to call and tell him that I wasn't sure about the dowel pin and it would take another day. Tore the whole thing down to find out that I had miscounted the dowel pins and did the tear down for nothing....and lost the customer also.
OH, THE PAIN!!!! :oops:

by **blackthree4me** » 16 Wed Nov, 2005 8:03 pm

I bought the wrong oil pump cramed it in. tightened it up.
after getting most everything on I tried to turn it over with a wrench
it was tight so I go get a bigger wrench. after about an hour of turning this
beast back and fourth a loud POP then it sudenly freed up.
I though OK I fixed it somehow. after explaining the process of fixing my tight engine my mechanic told me I had put the wrong pump in smashed
the cam shaft up against the block and proceeded to grind off shavings into the bottom of the block untill I hit a hard spot at witch time the cam snaped off at the gear
cheap junk LOL
needles to say he was pissed I had ruined his long block he built for me
back down we went oh well just money
blackthree4me
PS be sure to ask me about bleeding disk brakes some time LOL

by **carlos del carpio** » 16 Wed Nov, 2005 8:59 pm

I've given my engine a tune up, new plugs, wires, cap, valve adjustment..get all done, and nothing works. turns, but doesn't start. after an HOUR of checking things, I go inside to get a drink...oh, what's that on the counter? why, a rotor. :oops:

by **bobaganoosh** » 17 Thu Nov, 2005 10:53 pm

you guys are great. I only hope that I can come up with some of my own stories.

just remebered my first.

putting the rear end of the car together get the wheels on, and the body back on the chasis, then I look over to find my paper gaskets to the axle tubes are at qualitat ( I haven't bought them yet).
so I get to take it all apart and do it again. maybe in the next month I'll get around to it.
mike

by **David Head** » 17 Thu Nov, 2005 11:13 pm

Just think how easy it will be to redo it. Nothing helps you learn better than practice,practic,practic. David

by **David O'** » 19 Sat Nov, 2005 9:46 am

How would you like to be the guy who left his beetle at the airport parking lot with the radio on (for days)....to return and find out that the car is dead.
Doesn't sound like a big deal, he just got someone to hook the car to another and charge the battery up enough to get the thing going. However, he brought the car to me because the radio and the turn signals wouldn't work, a problem the car didn't have when it was left.
So, after a lot of checking out things, I discovered that when the help hooked the two cars together, they had hooked the batteries wrong.
Yep, you guessed it......he now had a positve grounded car, instead of a negative gounded car!
Believe it or not, it actually ran that way and I was surprized to find out that it had not taken out the generator or the regulator.
Oh, as a side note, he is the same one who carried a can of fix-a-flat behind the rear seat of his bug....until the summer sun exploded the can and it shot through the left rear quarter panel of the car! If you don't believe that.....I actually have the pics to prove it! LOL! :lol:

by **carlos del carpio** » 19 Sat Nov, 2005 10:47 am

Yeah, I also have pics of the fix a flat incident...keep him away! He's a MAGNET for bad luck! Ayyeeeeee! :lol:

by **David O'** » 19 Sat Nov, 2005 11:01 pm

Maybe someone could tell me how to post pics. I would be interested to know if you have the same ones that I have, since I shot the pics myself! It was a customer of mine!

by **blackthree4me** » 20 Sun Nov, 2005 2:05 pm

you can use a web site called photo bucket its free
set up an acount down load some pictures from your computor to your new account then
Highlight IMG you want to use, right clik coppy and go back to message then right click paste a link to the message you are writing .
email me if you need more help
blackthree4me

by **Texasbuggys** » 20 Sun Nov, 2005 8:40 pm

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a60/Texasbuggys/Viperredonhoist3.jpg

by **Texasbuggys** » 20 Sun Nov, 2005 8:41 pm

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Texas Manx Club

Technical screw ups that make you feel really dumb!

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