Welcome to my world....

I'm even hesitant about taking my rims off these days.

 

ROFLMFAO!!

I'm sorry man, I'm sorry. That part, I just had to laugh at. But anyways, I feel for ya, and like Tim and others have posted here, I guess its all about being patient and taking your time. I'm not technically sound when it comes to working on cars (which is probably the reason why I won't be modding for awhile, plus I want to pay my car off before I even think about it) but I do work in the IT field and working with computer hardware, I can relate to. Anyways, I hope everything turns out good!

 

That sucks man....

Way back in 1996 I cut my finger on my exhaust pipe while washing my car. It was pretty deap.

TO THIS DAY, my finger has a black line in it where I cut my finger. It looks like I drew on myself with my a perm. pen that has never washed off.

I hope your cut doesn't do the same.

 

You can't give up now! How do you think any of us learned to work on cars or anything else? It takes time, patience and a lot of healing! Everyone has to start somewhere, no one was 'born' a mechanic...

 

Naw, you can't be making this up. Sometimes, it's our turn to be the s#&t magnet.

Buzz

 

Sorry to hear another mishap added to your already long list, but it did give me a nice long laugh...
As everyone has been saying, if you want to work on your own car it's all about trial and error. Hang in there and Good luck on your second attempt!

 

Andy,

I'm sorry to hear about your problems. This sh*t is kind of funny though. Don't give up on manual labor, yet! Exhaust work is probably one of the hardest things to do on a car. I remember being little and helping my old man fix exhaust on our cars. Man.....that's when I learned how to cuss!

 

x 9545415641564

 

not to mention that he loosen them up because of the rust

 

Touch luck modding Asu It's all good we've all been through some mess like that.

I didn't see anyone comment about the issue with the STS not snapping back to the center when you slide it over from the right (5th and reverse) side. That's normal for the Pacesetter. There's only one spring and that pulls it back to the center when coming from the 1st and 2nd gear side.

I have no explanation why it's like that. Some type of design flaw

 

Dont give up man weve all been there before hell even this morning, I was installing my test pipe and snaped the back 2 bolts on the stock cat. Also ive been installing car sterios for about 6 years now, when i started doing it yeah i screwed up alot... once hoooked up a cd players power to the 12v source that alwasy stays on . there battery was dead the next morn.... Just dont give up no one is perfect at everything.

 

UPDATE

Those rear bolts aren't going anywhere. I stripped them pretty much down to nothing. I bought a new nut and bolt for the front so the zip ties and noise are gone. I'm basically back where I started.

We're gonna have to cut those rear bolts off, which is no biggie because they are being replaced anyhow....

Looks like I'm good to go for now....... I lubed up the shifter and it made a slight difference. I'm much happier with it now.

All in all, a much better day!

 

Oh, one more thing......

I went to work this morning and this REALLY HOT girl I work with was like, "What happened to your forehead?" I told her modestly, "Oh, I was working on my car and the catalytic converter slipped and fell on my face."

Needless to say, I sounded totally cool and car-saavy and she said, "Oh, well maybe when my cacalyptic converter goes out, you can replace mine for me too." She kinda winked and then squeezed my arm.

Hopefully her "cacalyptic converter" never goes bad so I don't have to make a fool of myself attempting to replace it.

 

chics did scars hehe

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by asu174
[B]

I just did the same thing, only I was replacing the entire sink! It took me 2 full days to complete! While I was under there, the garbage disposal slipped out of the rubber clamp and landed on my face. My gums were gashed up and bloody for a full week.





DAMN!!! I knocked the drain loose from the garbage disposal and rotted old food came spilling out. Damn dude, you got me beat on all points...GOOD LUCK fixing it. It does suck when crap goes wrong, but boy if you finish and everything works (like my faucet last night!), it's just plain fun.

ARFF

 

I think we were separated at birth. Seriously, your car modding experiences sound exactly like mine, just I won't admit to my goof-ups because of pride. Since you had the guts to list your foul-ups, here are mine:

1. Took off rims to paint the brake calipers, supported the entire front of the car with only the stock jack, jack bent under the weight, I lowered the car with the two front wheels half on and half off, ruined the wheel mounting studs, cost $60 to tow and $180 to have two sets of wheel studs replaced.
2. Added coolant\antifreeze to the powering steering reservoir, cost $80 for a flush, not sure of long-term problems with the steering components.
3. Took 3+ hours to install the Frankencar intake.
4. Installed the Stillen RSB, put the long bolts on the top and the short ones on the wider bottom, one of the brackets came loose while driving, luckily the bracket didn't fall off and I was able to buy new correct-sized bolts and install the RSB correctly.

My list isn't as long because I can't be without my car for long, and I'm more afraid of the possible damage I can cause. But I think we have the same problems, lack of patience, lack of correct tools, lack of mechanical skills, and lack of help.

Keep it up man, consider the Maxima your test car, so you'll have all the skills you need when you mod your next car .

 

Hehe, if your ever busy and she needs it changed, hit me up! I'd be all over that!

 

so are you gonna put that in yourself??

 

I vowed not to work on my own car years ago, back when I had my SHO. I tried to do a tune up(replace spark plugs, wires, gaskets) and it took me about 15 hours and the car would not start when I put everything back together. I ended up pushing it that night to a local garage down the street.

My body was so sore the next week. It felt like I had played tackle football w/o pads.

 

Wow all the hassle that should only be a 2-hour job for a competent mechanic...I guess some guys just can't swallow their pride!

Lots of people try DYI's without knowing what they're undertaking. Sometimes you end up spending a lot of time and effort and still end up having to take it to a qualified mechanic to right your wrongs.

Anything that touches the exhaust systems requires a LIFT, proper tools and some good ole know-how. Doesn't save money, but time, frustration and band-aids!

 

Wow..that kinda sucks. Hope your hands are looking/feeling better.

 

Yup, I put installed Dynamat Xtreme in my trunk this past weekend. I didn't have a roller, so I just used the heat gun and put on some gloves to do the smoothing. I ended up scraping off all the skin on my knuckle...it looks and feels really great right now...especially when typing!

 

I'm still rollin as I type this message. Not at you but with ya. Well it seems you need to gain alittle experience shadowing others while they do their mods...it doesn't matter what type of car. The important point is to experience the process, using the right tools and what not to do.

Someone else wrote about a police for DIY..LMAO

I'm sure you have good intention but somehow...step back and rethink the procedure/process, consult, read a manual or just smoke up ,before tackling that next project.

Good luck...oh btw..you should really submit your list to David Letterman Show. I'm positive he'll read it on air.

laters~