Your most frustrating mechanical experience

[MercuryT]

So at Christmas my VW died suddenly.

Was confident just the battery.

Right.

So........where is the bloody thing?!?!?!

Original handbook says in engine bay. Nup. Of course it's not - that makes too much sense.

Sure enough, it's actually hidden in the boot........brilliant. Not.

Your own mechanical experience that drove you to near despair?

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by MercuryT

So at Christmas my VW died suddenly.

Was confident just the battery.

Right.

So........where is the bloody thing?!?!?!

Original handbook says in engine bay. Nup. Of course it's not - that makes too much sense.

Sure enough, it's actually hidden in the boot........brilliant. Not.

Your own mechanical experience that drove you to near despair?

did you punch yourself in the face ??

[fiestaz]

Originally Posted by MercuryT

So at Christmas my VW died suddenly.

Was confident just the battery.

Right.

So........where is the bloody thing?!?!?!

Original handbook says in engine bay. Nup. Of course it's not - that makes too much sense.

Sure enough, it's actually hidden in the boot........brilliant. Not.

Your own mechanical experience that drove you to near despair?

Just like a commodore.

[MercuryT]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

did you punch yourself in the face ??

Ummm......no?

Should I have?

[MercuryT]

Originally Posted by fiestaz

Just like a commodore.

Nah.

My Maloo had battery in the engine bay.

All my cars have had.....simple!

[fiestaz]

Originally Posted by MercuryT

Nah.

My Maloo had battery in the engine bay.

All my cars have had.....simple!

Commodore sedans since VE have all had the battery in the boot.

[MercuryT]

Originally Posted by fiestaz

Commodore sedans since VE have all had the battery in the boot.

Really?

Thanks mate. Maybe the manual also says that

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by MercuryT

......

Your own mechanical experience that drove you to near despair?

Pretty much every time I take something off and put it back. Have a habit of snapping bolts or destroying threads.

[Falcon SXR8]

Spent 12 months building a 351 clevo to perfection. It was while my dad was dying of leukemia, he would come and check on progress and was looking foward to going for a ride. Unfortunately i never got it built in time. Few months later i had it in the car ready for break in. Cam wiped out on break in and wrecked it. Not gunna lie i was shattered pulling the motor back out the next day. That was 2 years ago, its still sitting on an engine stand in the shed, ill do it again one day.

[MercuryT]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Pretty much every time I take something off and put it back. Have a habit of snapping bolts or destroying threads.

Ha!

Yep I'm not as talented as you but I guarantee if I fix something huge chance it'll cost more to fix my mistake

[MercuryT]

Originally Posted by Falcon SXR8

Spent 12 months building a 351 clevo to perfection. It was while my dad was dying of leukemia, he would come and check on progress and was looking foward to going for a ride. Unfortunately i never got it built in time. Few months later i had it in the car ready for break in. Cam wiped out on break in and wrecked it. Not gunna lie i was shattered pulling the motor back out the next day. That was 2 years ago, its still sitting on an engine stand in the shed, ill do it again one day.

Sorry to hear on that.

Great (if sad) story

Hopefully sorted asap

[.:4:.]

Got a waterpump done which was the same belt as the cams. It wasntnt tentioned properly. I was sort of lucky, only bent 4 valves.

[Crazy Dazz]

Electro-Mechanical:
We had a Starwagon 2.4, that would simply flatten the battery whilst operating.
No significant parasitic drain, and battery was fine when just sitting. Fitted new Alternator, belt, and battery.
Alternator appeared to be functioning, even with lights on at idle. But drive the car, and it would progressively flatten the battery. Worse if lights had to be used.
Had to put the battery on charge every night, carry a jump pack, and try not to drive at night.
Traded it in, never having figured it out.
(In retrospect I suspect that the Alternator was possibly one of those controlled by the ECU, and I suspect that being a non-original engine it either had an incorrect ECU, or somehow wasn't hooked up correctly, but at the time NFI.)

[Tonz]

back in early 70's had a Peugeot 403, if I went on a day drive and it used 4 gallons petrol it also used 20 gallons water. at one stage the Pug dealers had engine out, mounted onto work bench, large fans blowing through radiator and rest of engine sealed in plastic, no water dripped, none in oil, none out exhaust pipe.

It finished up running downhill on its own and over a big cliff and insurance paid out.

as a kid I started buying bikes from school, church fetes etc for 1 shilling, bring them home packet of steelo soap pads, hand painted and sold 5 shillings upwards, was a great money earner, then I went further and started buying broken ones and TRYING to repair them, never knew there were so many ball bearings in a bike, always had plenty of them and other parts lying around after trying to rebuild them.
Realised my talents as a mechanic were very limited.

[MercuryT]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

Got a waterpump done which was the same belt as the cams. It wasntnt tentioned properly. I was sort of lucky, only bent 4 valves.

Oh mate that's uncool.

[MrEL]

Seems someone is really frustrated over the battery not being in the engine bay????

[Big_Daz]

Wow, well that escalated... Quickly....

but anyway, back on topic... For me it was with our WK2 Grand Cherokee and the Battery... So we needed a new one, no problem these things happen, not in the engine bay.. Wasnt in the boot either... Where was it you ask? Under the goddam passenger seat!!!! Which is bloody electronically operated!! 'Merica!!!

[MercuryT]

Originally Posted by MrEL

Seems someone is really frustrated over the battery not being in the engine bay????

Well I am!

As for Pottery who knows. Probably finding the steering wheel in his VT Commo

[MercuryT]

Originally Posted by Big_Daz

Wow, well that escalated... Quickly....

but anyway, back on topic... For me it was with our WK2 Grand Cherokee and the Battery... So we needed a new one, no problem these things happen, not in the engine bay.. Wasnt in the boot either... Where was it you ask? Under the goddam passenger seat!!!! Which is bloody electronically operated!! 'Merica!!!

Apparently new Jeeps have same issue.......madness!!

[.:4:.]

Years ago i was talking to a florist who bought a mercedes ex ambo as a delivery van. She found out in the stressful way the battery was under the passengers seat. So obviosly transporting flowers they need water. So one day with things sloshing around in the back the thing started smoking from under the passengers seat. It was the battery starting to short out. So the lesson learnt there was take more care in the future.
And surely Chrysler jeep would have some form of jump start point under the bonnet if they have an electric seat over the battery. If an engineer who spent years on r&d couldnt think that could create a future issue, then theyre in the wrong industry.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Falcon SXR8

Spent 12 months building a 351 clevo to perfection. It was while my dad was dying of leukemia, he would come and check on progress and was looking foward to going for a ride. Unfortunately i never got it built in time. Few months later i had it in the car ready for break in. Cam wiped out on break in and wrecked it. Not gunna lie i was shattered pulling the motor back out the next day. That was 2 years ago, its still sitting on an engine stand in the shed, ill do it again one day.

The curse of flat tappet cams. Roller cams are so much more forgiving.

[mick taylor]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

The curse of flat tappet cams. Roller cams are so much more forgiving.

Boy I see so many engines on TV shows that they start the fully reco engine up and gust get it going and switch it off 99% of the time I would say.

Not to mention seen such done myself so many times, they just have to turn it off, or something is not right with something that they forgot to do. but never seen one wipe out a cam lob yet.

My old mate box head had a reco worked 202 going into his G Pak Torana he put the fuel pump in under the cam and when we tried to fire it up, well we found he put the pump in wrong and the pump arm had broken, it was just hanging off the pump by a touch and then fell off into the sump, boy box head was stomping about and kicking up dust, now we will have to pull everything off and out again and all, but I said have you got a magnet and a bit of wire and we will try fish it out, off he went directly and sacrificed one and he fished it out. and then went and found another pump in the shed off a 202 that his elder brother had blown up, it was full of blown axels diffs and tail shafts etc, just like at my place.

Once I had walked a cop through under the house and then thought hey I should of walked he around the house, someone had been cutting loose down on the foreshore, I had been dobbed in and he wanted to feel if the engine was hot in my other car down the back, well it was still warm. I just said it wasn't me. then I though oh no ! he has just seen all them broken parts, now he will be convinced that I was a rat.

[Beastie]

Changing a Power Steering pump in a T5 Transporter...



It's up in there somewhere...



Needed to remove the front bumper, 2 brackets, an engine mount and a bump stop just to get to it, but I got there...





All done...



Buy a VW they said...

[Pis-ton broke]

Originally Posted by Big_Daz

Wow, well that escalated... Quickly....
!

should have left the posts up imo, i read them ,and they weren't offensive. it makes for amusing reading, etc.

[pottery beige]

Originally Posted by Beastie

Changing a Power Steering pump in a T5 Transporter...

image

It's up in there somewhere...

image

Needed to remove the front bumper, 2 brackets, an engine mount and a bump stop just to get to it, but I got there...

image

image

All done...

image

Buy a VW they said...

VW piece of **** there mate

[Pis-ton broke]

good job beastie, i,m going to have to get one of those oil catch containers, it looks like a good one. i use a 15l plastic square drum, cut in half, but a bit tricky draining the oil out of it .

[Beastie]

Originally Posted by Pis-ton broke

good job beastie, i,m going to have to get one of those oil catch containers, it looks like a good one. i use a 15l plastic square drum, cut in half, but a bit tricky draining the oil out of it .

I've had that one for 20+ years...

You can even sit the oil filter on the little knob so it drains too...

[vbvbvb088]

Changing the 236 JB Camira coolant hoses from above. Pre internet. Found out that should be done from underneath.. arrrggghhhh! Camira haters jog on.

[bb_zetec]

Had a VL Calais that broke down on the hour after driving it every time.

It would not restart for about 30 minutes then on, just crank only.

The fuel pumps were replaced (both as it had two!)...still did the exact same thing, only me being $500 poorer as a lowly student at the time.

Next suspect was the Distributor crank angle sensor, it was replaced along with the dizzy bearing and still made no change whatsoever and it stalled again with the exact same problem.

The ECU was then sent away for testing and found low idle circuit would fail after it warmed up...it was fixed and returned.

I thought my troubles were over...but alas a few months later it wouldnt start again.

After almost setting fire to it in a fit of rage i sold it.

1980's electrics at their best....

[MITCHAY]

I had the gear shifter bushes in my TX5 replaced after they recommended they be done. Busted the gearbox literally right after leaving the shop. A lot of $$$ for me at the time to replace it.

The key in switch **** itself in my WRX which meant I had trouble starting it at random times. I think it was about $800 to replace the ignition barrel and recode the keys for what was like a couple of cents part.

Then the good old Brandt security system. At least twice I recall it shut down the engine at 80-100km/h and then numerous other times I would try to start it and it would splutter and die and only after a while start again.

I got a re-solder done and replaced the fuel pump but still had issues. The final act was it was in for service and it died at another shop and they had to push it back so they ripped it out charging between $100-200.

But **** me it has been good ever since not having to deal with that POS security system however