Repair/install you're not proud of
10-16-2006, 12:20 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 113
Repair/install you're not proud of
I'm not sure if this has been done before but I wanted to start a thread dedicated to installions/repairs you're less than proud of, or downright ashamed of.
As my car gets older, things start falling apart here and there, and considering I bought the car because it was cheap, sometimes it's too expensive (I'm too lazy) to fix something properly.
Today, I was bothered by some clanging noise at the bottom of my car. After some observation, I concluded that a clamp holding the exhaust pipe had rusted off and that the pipe somewhere behind the catalytic converter was hitting some metal beam. So what did I do? I cut off the rusted clamp which was attached to some rubber piece, cut a piece of that rubber off, and wedged that rubber piece between my pipe and the metal beam so the pipe would not hit it on bumps.
A shameful fix, but it seems to work. I'm sure others have more interesting guilt ridden stories.
As my car gets older, things start falling apart here and there, and considering I bought the car because it was cheap, sometimes it's too expensive (I'm too lazy) to fix something properly.
Today, I was bothered by some clanging noise at the bottom of my car. After some observation, I concluded that a clamp holding the exhaust pipe had rusted off and that the pipe somewhere behind the catalytic converter was hitting some metal beam. So what did I do? I cut off the rusted clamp which was attached to some rubber piece, cut a piece of that rubber off, and wedged that rubber piece between my pipe and the metal beam so the pipe would not hit it on bumps.
A shameful fix, but it seems to work. I'm sure others have more interesting guilt ridden stories.
10-16-2006, 12:58 PM
#3
I was being stupid, and when revmoing the vynil of the body posts, I used an exacto knife to get it out of the edge...there is now about a 3 inch scratch on one of my body posts. It is slowly getting smaller every time I wash/wax. Thats it for me so far, but I can guarrantee more will come.
10-16-2006, 01:47 PM
#7
Here's one I'm not proud of: I was installing door panel vinyl inserts to cover the cloth since I had changed my seats to leather. I was growing impatient because the instructions said to just tuck the extra vinyl in around the back but there was too much material and I decided to take a utility knife and run it along the outside of the inserts. Well I was drinking quite a few beers cuz this took forever and I put slices all over my door panel where the knife kept slipping out of the slot around the inserts. It started off looking really nice, but towards the end it got pretty bad. My interior was mint before that fukk up.
10-16-2006, 01:59 PM
#8
Attempting to change my shocks and springs without a breaker bar. Yea I fukked up the bolts and it cost me 425 for a shop to install them. I think I may lay off the big time projects for a little while.
10-16-2006, 06:00 PM
#9
Originally Posted by mazzivart
Attempting to change my shocks and springs without a breaker bar. Yea I fukked up the bolts and it cost me 425 for a shop to install them. I think I may lay off the big time projects for a little while.
10-16-2006, 06:10 PM
#10
Originally Posted by mazzivart
Attempting to change my shocks and springs without a breaker bar. Yea I fukked up the bolts and it cost me 425 for a shop to install them. I think I may lay off the big time projects for a little while.
In the future, the next time you strip the head of a bolt, dont go to a shop. Go to lowes or some tool store and buy a bolt extractor socket, wont be more than a couple bucks for one, maybe around $20-$30 for a cheap set.
10-16-2006, 06:17 PM
#11
Originally Posted by Fr33way™
I don't view it as bad but perhaps others might. I use black zip-ties all the time. They blend in and they do a great job.
word i broke the retainers for the ram-air snorkel part of the intake...so i use Zip-ties to hold it in place
10-16-2006, 07:12 PM
#12
I once broke two intake manifold bolts off with a torque wrench set to 20 lb-ft and tried to use a C-clamp in their place.... and then proceeded to drive like a bat out of hell. Needless to say, it came loose. So I put it back. Then it came loose again, and I put it back again. Why didn't I get the hint? Eventually it came off when I was on the gas really hard, and the engine started acting REALLY funny. Turned out part of the upper IM gasket was getting sucked into the runners.
Another time, I tried to fix a coolant leak with that Bar's Stop Leak stuff. It wound up blocking coolant flow to the head, causing wicked overheating and ridiculous misfiring. It was bad enough that my knock sensor actually started to melt. Funny thing is, all it took was a coolant flush and it was as good as new (except for the KS). And then, a couple months later, surprise surprise... Burning oil from a bad valve stem seal.
On one of my rear Ksport coilovers, I had left the locking collar for the lower mount loose -- and I reallly mean loose, not just not tight enough -- and, over time (because of the movement that was permitted), the lower mount ended up seizing so I could not adjust the height. That sucked, because I needed to raise the rear end a little and had no way of getting that lower mount to move. So, I hacked up an old top mount I had and used it as a spacer on the existing top mount, somehow not worrying about having killed 25% of my downward suspension travel in the process. I drove on it through DC and NYC a few times, and that damper blew out in a hurry.
Another time, I tried to fix a coolant leak with that Bar's Stop Leak stuff. It wound up blocking coolant flow to the head, causing wicked overheating and ridiculous misfiring. It was bad enough that my knock sensor actually started to melt. Funny thing is, all it took was a coolant flush and it was as good as new (except for the KS). And then, a couple months later, surprise surprise... Burning oil from a bad valve stem seal.
On one of my rear Ksport coilovers, I had left the locking collar for the lower mount loose -- and I reallly mean loose, not just not tight enough -- and, over time (because of the movement that was permitted), the lower mount ended up seizing so I could not adjust the height. That sucked, because I needed to raise the rear end a little and had no way of getting that lower mount to move. So, I hacked up an old top mount I had and used it as a spacer on the existing top mount, somehow not worrying about having killed 25% of my downward suspension travel in the process. I drove on it through DC and NYC a few times, and that damper blew out in a hurry.
10-16-2006, 07:37 PM
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Posts: 238
When i was replacing my clutch, I broke 2 of the bolts to the pressure plate off while torquing them. this happened during the re-assembly process which made it worse cause i was getting excited to drive my Max. Ended up having to go to Nissan for the bolts--i think they were like $9 EACH! i had to wait well over a week for my bolts to come in....2 little bolts held me back that long.
My old civic: haha i've got a lotta stories of stuff i did to that poor car. Example: i had to replace the oil pan gasket but the down pipe was in the way....no problem, unbolt it from the header and go from there. the bolts were seized up so i grabbed the sawzall and cut it off. when i put it back together i figured it would be fine to weld but i didn't realize i destroyed the header and downpipe in the process.....ended up getting a WHOLE new exhaust outta the deal tho
My old civic: haha i've got a lotta stories of stuff i did to that poor car. Example: i had to replace the oil pan gasket but the down pipe was in the way....no problem, unbolt it from the header and go from there. the bolts were seized up so i grabbed the sawzall and cut it off. when i put it back together i figured it would be fine to weld but i didn't realize i destroyed the header and downpipe in the process.....ended up getting a WHOLE new exhaust outta the deal tho
10-16-2006, 07:57 PM
#15
(1) installing a trunk lip spoiler. got it off ebay since they were sold out on paradox. anyway the plastic was very stiff and I had to bend down the edges to conform to the trunk, needless to say the 3M tape didn't hold on. I had the idea of putting some epoxy on the edges and taped them down while the epoxy set. left it overnight and woke up to the spoiler popped up on the edges and the epoxy drying it "up". had to cut through it and sand down the epoxy
(2) wanted to paint it and didn't mask off up to the entire area up to the spoiler and a strip of paint on the trunk that looks horrible
(3) tried wetsanding the dried paint off and took off all clearcoat, stock paint, and a glimpse of the stock primer came up on one end
WTB: black 4th gen trunklid
(2) wanted to paint it and didn't mask off up to the entire area up to the spoiler and a strip of paint on the trunk that looks horrible
(3) tried wetsanding the dried paint off and took off all clearcoat, stock paint, and a glimpse of the stock primer came up on one end
WTB: black 4th gen trunklid
10-16-2006, 08:31 PM
#16
Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 51
I was backing out of a parking spot. And for some reason, instead of hitting the brake, I slammed on the gas. And ramed a wall. I dont know what I was thinking! Thank god no one was behind me.
10-16-2006, 08:35 PM
#17
Originally Posted by kbmaxima
(1) installing a trunk lip spoiler. got it off ebay since they were sold out on paradox. anyway the plastic was very stiff and I had to bend down the edges to conform to the trunk, needless to say the 3M tape didn't hold on. I had the idea of putting some epoxy on the edges and taped them down while the epoxy set. left it overnight and woke up to the spoiler popped up on the edges and the epoxy drying it "up". had to cut through it and sand down the epoxy
(2) wanted to paint it and didn't mask off up to the entire area up to the spoiler and a strip of paint on the trunk that looks horrible
(3) tried wetsanding the dried paint off and took off all clearcoat, stock paint, and a glimpse of the stock primer came up on one end
WTB: black 4th gen trunklid
(2) wanted to paint it and didn't mask off up to the entire area up to the spoiler and a strip of paint on the trunk that looks horrible
(3) tried wetsanding the dried paint off and took off all clearcoat, stock paint, and a glimpse of the stock primer came up on one end
WTB: black 4th gen trunklid
I also forgot to mention that when I took out my center vents for the always illum. one of the little vents cracked. I have a tiny spot of glue and no one has ever noticed but it bugs the HELL out of me. It will be replaced in time. Probably my biggest regret.
10-16-2006, 08:47 PM
#19
Originally Posted by Vlasic
Since when do you need a breaker bar to take out the struts?
10-16-2006, 08:49 PM
#20
Originally Posted by FX45
I was gonna try to change my back breaks because recently I did the front brakes+ rotors, but the back are discs so I think I'll pay someone to do it for me
10-16-2006, 09:36 PM
#21
Well lets see, first was the painted dash pieces..I have a white max with blk interior. So I painted the plastic trims white..the paint wasnt that good, got it from autozone or something and it just didnt look good, then got dirty and ended up looking worse. now im going back to black
Then the glow gauges..or the gauges were first..either way i messed it up putting in under my needles..the needle kept sticking on either rpm or mph and so i ended up cutting part off of the glow gauge which made it look back because then it got dirty. in the process of install I broke the little nipple that stopped one of the needles at 0 so there after it went straight down. So i took those out and went back to stock white face gauges.
AND FOR THE BEST>> Decided to do de-k swap. lots went wrong, but to make a long story short, I over tightened pp bolts the snapped and went thru my tranny while driving..had to tow the car home, (from an hour away at 1am) start taking tranny off and have to replace flywheels because studs of broken bolts are stuck in there..flywheel wont come off..messed threads up running flywheel bolts in with impact too fast and overtightened them..crossthreaded..got all bolts out, most werent re-usable so had to get new ones. nissan charges $8/piece. had to buy tap and die. re tapped flywheel bolt holes on crankshaft. Then flywheel bolts wouldnt tighten..so couldnt use that motor, got another de-k. was swapping oil pans..find out -the motor I got was a sludge-y-machine..couldnt use that one. had to go to the boneyard where a spare de of mine was just to get my car back to my house!!!! all this happened up til the night I had to leave to go off to college...WITH OUT MY CAR!!! right now it is still parked in the driveway!
...any1 top that?
Then the glow gauges..or the gauges were first..either way i messed it up putting in under my needles..the needle kept sticking on either rpm or mph and so i ended up cutting part off of the glow gauge which made it look back because then it got dirty. in the process of install I broke the little nipple that stopped one of the needles at 0 so there after it went straight down. So i took those out and went back to stock white face gauges.
AND FOR THE BEST>> Decided to do de-k swap. lots went wrong, but to make a long story short, I over tightened pp bolts the snapped and went thru my tranny while driving..had to tow the car home, (from an hour away at 1am) start taking tranny off and have to replace flywheels because studs of broken bolts are stuck in there..flywheel wont come off..messed threads up running flywheel bolts in with impact too fast and overtightened them..crossthreaded..got all bolts out, most werent re-usable so had to get new ones. nissan charges $8/piece. had to buy tap and die. re tapped flywheel bolt holes on crankshaft. Then flywheel bolts wouldnt tighten..so couldnt use that motor, got another de-k. was swapping oil pans..find out -the motor I got was a sludge-y-machine..couldnt use that one. had to go to the boneyard where a spare de of mine was just to get my car back to my house!!!! all this happened up til the night I had to leave to go off to college...WITH OUT MY CAR!!! right now it is still parked in the driveway!
...any1 top that?
10-16-2006, 10:05 PM
#23
Originally Posted by matts95max
Well lets see, first was the painted dash pieces..I have a white max with blk interior. So I painted the plastic trims white..the paint wasnt that good, got it from autozone or something and it just didnt look good, then got dirty and ended up looking worse. now im going back to black
Then the glow gauges..or the gauges were first..either way i messed it up putting in under my needles..the needle kept sticking on either rpm or mph and so i ended up cutting part off of the glow gauge which made it look back because then it got dirty. in the process of install I broke the little nipple that stopped one of the needles at 0 so there after it went straight down. So i took those out and went back to stock white face gauges.
AND FOR THE BEST>> Decided to do de-k swap. lots went wrong, but to make a long story short, I over tightened pp bolts the snapped and went thru my tranny while driving..had to tow the car home, (from an hour away at 1am) start taking tranny off and have to replace flywheels because studs of broken bolts are stuck in there..flywheel wont come off..messed threads up running flywheel bolts in with impact too fast and overtightened them..crossthreaded..got all bolts out, most werent re-usable so had to get new ones. nissan charges $8/piece. had to buy tap and die. re tapped flywheel bolt holes on crankshaft. Then flywheel bolts wouldnt tighten..so couldnt use that motor, got another de-k. was swapping oil pans..find out -the motor I got was a sludge-y-machine..couldnt use that one. had to go to the boneyard where a spare de of mine was just to get my car back to my house!!!! all this happened up til the night I had to leave to go off to college...WITH OUT MY CAR!!! right now it is still parked in the driveway!
...any1 top that?
Then the glow gauges..or the gauges were first..either way i messed it up putting in under my needles..the needle kept sticking on either rpm or mph and so i ended up cutting part off of the glow gauge which made it look back because then it got dirty. in the process of install I broke the little nipple that stopped one of the needles at 0 so there after it went straight down. So i took those out and went back to stock white face gauges.
AND FOR THE BEST>> Decided to do de-k swap. lots went wrong, but to make a long story short, I over tightened pp bolts the snapped and went thru my tranny while driving..had to tow the car home, (from an hour away at 1am) start taking tranny off and have to replace flywheels because studs of broken bolts are stuck in there..flywheel wont come off..messed threads up running flywheel bolts in with impact too fast and overtightened them..crossthreaded..got all bolts out, most werent re-usable so had to get new ones. nissan charges $8/piece. had to buy tap and die. re tapped flywheel bolt holes on crankshaft. Then flywheel bolts wouldnt tighten..so couldnt use that motor, got another de-k. was swapping oil pans..find out -the motor I got was a sludge-y-machine..couldnt use that one. had to go to the boneyard where a spare de of mine was just to get my car back to my house!!!! all this happened up til the night I had to leave to go off to college...WITH OUT MY CAR!!! right now it is still parked in the driveway!
...any1 top that?
10-16-2006, 10:43 PM
#25
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 370
i changed my front brakes without a c-clamp...so i there was no way for me to get the piston back in its slot, i ended up opening the brake line so i could relieve pressure and lucky for me it worked, but needless to say air got into the brake lines and i had to bleed my brakes.
even worse situation happened afterwards, i ended up getting a c-clamp but wasnt sure how to use it since i didnt have brake pads to use as a sort of pivet, so my friend decides to push and hold down the brakes and the piston FLIES out of the...seal..GG right?
after about an hour of frustration i finally give up and just decide to use my neighbors side fence to force the piston back in the seal and lucky for me it somehow worked.
did i forget to mention, after all of this my brakes still squeal? i threw away my old shims, not knowing that it may or may not reduce the brake noise, but all i know is that next time im using a c-clamp and im going to buy something other than DURALAST. gg on my part, i thought the lifetime warranty would do some good but its pointless to have those brake pads for life, they suck monkey...
even worse situation happened afterwards, i ended up getting a c-clamp but wasnt sure how to use it since i didnt have brake pads to use as a sort of pivet, so my friend decides to push and hold down the brakes and the piston FLIES out of the...seal..GG right?
after about an hour of frustration i finally give up and just decide to use my neighbors side fence to force the piston back in the seal and lucky for me it somehow worked.
did i forget to mention, after all of this my brakes still squeal? i threw away my old shims, not knowing that it may or may not reduce the brake noise, but all i know is that next time im using a c-clamp and im going to buy something other than DURALAST. gg on my part, i thought the lifetime warranty would do some good but its pointless to have those brake pads for life, they suck monkey...
10-16-2006, 11:06 PM
#26
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Bartlett, IL
Posts: 3,595
Like I changed my oil and as I was pouring the new oil in, I realize that it said 10w-40 instead of what I normally run which is 5w-30. Not like that my car was going to blow up or break but I was just irritated that I didn't notice it at the store.
10-17-2006, 01:08 PM
#27
[QUOTE=Vlasic]Since when do you need a breaker bar to take out the struts?[QUOTE]
When you have a really sh**** ratchet and broke of the end of it in the process. Plus it really isnt easy for a 290 pound man to get to those bolts. I dont exactly fit very well in the wheel well.
When you have a really sh**** ratchet and broke of the end of it in the process. Plus it really isnt easy for a 290 pound man to get to those bolts. I dont exactly fit very well in the wheel well.
10-17-2006, 01:28 PM
#28
Originally Posted by Nissan 6
Like I changed my oil and as I was pouring the new oil in, I realize that it said 10w-40 instead of what I normally run which is 5w-30. Not like that my car was going to blow up or break but I was just irritated that I didn't notice it at the store.
The DEK story and the piston flying out of the caliper were good (bad) ones.
10-17-2006, 07:17 PM
#30
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 98
decided i wanted a cone filter on my max, but didnt have the correct mounting plate for the MAF to bolt to (bolt pattern wrong), anyway, decide to drill out new holes in $4.oo plastic plate. Long story short, i just mated the plate and maf together and started drilling. Cracked the MAF and put the drill bit through the metal screen, effectively destroying the sensor inside.
so recap. $4 plastic plate
$12 filter
turned into
$100 MAF still @ stock
so recap. $4 plastic plate
$12 filter
turned into
$100 MAF still @ stock
10-18-2006, 07:46 AM
#32
Replaced driver's side drive axle but I couldn't push the new axle all the way in, maybe half an inch or so. I knew it didn't go all the way in but I thought it might be OK at least for a few days and put back axle nut and wheel. Next day, on my way back home from work, the axle popped out of the transmission in the middle of an intersection. I ended up having my car towed back to home.
10-18-2006, 10:30 AM
#34
Member
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 61
^^^^that's the point of the thread^^^^
What better way to learn then through someone else's mistakes.
Keep this thing going, it's fun and educational.
I haven't ever screwed things up to bad because I don't do much anyways, (I'm scared of messing up)
The worst thing I did was run power wire through the door jam instead of taking the time to find a proper place. Never considered the car could start on fire till my mechanic called me a dumbass for doing it.
Buying the wrong oil sucks especially when it's a whole case of 10W-40, I still have the oil it's like 6 years old now, oh well.
What better way to learn then through someone else's mistakes.
Keep this thing going, it's fun and educational.
I haven't ever screwed things up to bad because I don't do much anyways, (I'm scared of messing up)
The worst thing I did was run power wire through the door jam instead of taking the time to find a proper place. Never considered the car could start on fire till my mechanic called me a dumbass for doing it.
Buying the wrong oil sucks especially when it's a whole case of 10W-40, I still have the oil it's like 6 years old now, oh well.
10-18-2006, 11:47 AM
#35
OK i guess i will contribute, I was doing my progress / agx drop, i was in a hurry because i was doing at a Friends house, cause at my apartment complex you cant work on your cars there,and the max is my daily driver. i just couldn't wait to do it on a weekend, so i figured i would do the rears on Tuesday and the fronts on Wednesday. When i was doing the rears no problem, because I never rush things, always try to do things once, but like dumb a$$ instead of trimming the bump stops i trim the rubber bushings that go underneath the washer that goes above the nut. I put it all together, and head home all I could hear was clank clank, I was like wtf???
what the hell is wrong, when i got home I could not figure out what i did wrong so i went on the org. on Wednesday morning, and got my answer all in all it only cost me like $8 for the bushing so not a disaster.
The second stupid thing I have ever done was bringing my car to pep boys
, what a bunch of hand bones!!
I was going to help my g/f dad put up one of those car ports, and I had just gotten my rims and i wanted to put them on, but one wheel stud on each of the rear hubs were snapped off and i did not want to put my new sneakers on there with out all 5 lug studs. So I figure they cant screw that up........WRONG!!!! My g/f dad brings me to pep boys to pick my car up, the next day i go out side to put my new rims on..... guess what They put the studs on and cross threaded, 6 lug nuts, yes 6 out of 10 lug nuts leson learned.
The moral of this story have Patience and never let someone else work on your car.
what the hell is wrong, when i got home I could not figure out what i did wrong so i went on the org. on Wednesday morning, and got my answer all in all it only cost me like $8 for the bushing so not a disaster.The second stupid thing I have ever done was bringing my car to pep boys
, what a bunch of hand bones!!I was going to help my g/f dad put up one of those car ports, and I had just gotten my rims and i wanted to put them on, but one wheel stud on each of the rear hubs were snapped off and i did not want to put my new sneakers on there with out all 5 lug studs. So I figure they cant screw that up........WRONG!!!! My g/f dad brings me to pep boys to pick my car up, the next day i go out side to put my new rims on..... guess what They put the studs on and cross threaded, 6 lug nuts, yes 6 out of 10 lug nuts
leson learned.The moral of this story have Patience and never let someone else work on your car.
10-18-2006, 01:57 PM
#36
Originally Posted by 1FSTMAX
most of this problems aren't really problems.. it seems that most of you are just being lazy, taking short cuts.. and doing things the easy way.
10-18-2006, 02:10 PM
#37
de-k gone bad
Originally Posted by 1FSTMAX
most of this problems aren't really problems.. it seems that most of you are just being lazy, taking short cuts.. and doing things the easy way.
most of this problems aren't really problems.. it seems that most of you are just being lazy, taking short cuts.. and doing things the easy way.
10-18-2006, 02:55 PM
#39
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 497
Maxima: I was super glueing the "MAXIMA" letters from the trunk lid onto my passenger side dash after painting them silver, and I got a spot of super glue in the wrong place. Decided to take it off with some acetone, and it started eating through the dash. So I had to take some black spray paint with a q-tip to "hide" the area. Sucks big time.
Nissan Pickup: I was changing the tranny fluid with some Redline MT-90, and the little filler tube I had stuck on the end of the bottle blew off under pressure and slid into the tranny! Took me a few hours to get it out with a crazy pair of bent needle nose pliers.
Nissan Pickup: I was changing the tranny fluid with some Redline MT-90, and the little filler tube I had stuck on the end of the bottle blew off under pressure and slid into the tranny! Took me a few hours to get it out with a crazy pair of bent needle nose pliers.
