Stupid Things You've Done Modifying/Maintaining Your Ride

[StealthWyvern]

Put on my intake manifold yesterday and after the install i started the car and had no brakes. Pedal was hard as hell. After minutes of frustration i realized that the brake booster line was backwards so the check valve wouldn't let any vacume through. Oops. all fixed and running good now though.

I did that on my f150 when I was runnign sea foam though the p5 and the truck. lol




I also broke the headlight clip on the passenger side whiler trying to change the bulb out for the first time at midnight.


Forgot to screw down the driver side splash gard after installing new headlights. Now it has a big hole from where it flopped down and rubbed against the ground. Oh well now my CAI has a hole to suck are from. lol

 

[kura808]

wow i love this thread its awesome xD ok my turn hehe

when i first replaced the low beams, i got it in within 15 mins but when i looked at it, they were a bit off center on the drivers side so i adjusted it. i took off the plug thing and wiggled that little paperclip thing...the paperclip thing popped out and went somewhere into the engine bay. i used some masking tape on a little rod to get it back and eventually fished it back up but it took me about 2 hrs trying to figure out how that stupid paperclip thing went back into the assembly..that little space is hard to reach by the coolant tank lol it doesnt help that i got big hands either ><

uhh when i added on another horn, i had to take the top grill off right. ok i did that and followed the directions on a thread i read. a few little pop rivet things flew up and rolled down my driveway..(my driveway is at an incline and it doesnt help that the street i live on has 4 lane traffic ><) had a very "fun" time trying to find the stupid rivet things while trying to dodge cars...

xD subbing to read other peoples mistakes and misfortunes in the future

 

[StealthWyvern]

wow i love this thread its awesome xD ok my turn hehe

when i first replaced the low beams, i got it in within 15 mins but when i looked at it, they were a bit off center on the drivers side so i adjusted it. i took off the plug thing and wiggled that little paperclip thing...the paperclip thing popped out and went somewhere into the engine bay. i used some masking tape on a little rod to get it back and eventually fished it back up but it took me about 2 hrs trying to figure out how that stupid paperclip thing went back into the assembly..that little space is hard to reach by the coolant tank lol it doesnt help that i got big hands either ><

uhh when i added on another horn, i had to take the top grill off right. ok i did that and followed the directions on a thread i read. a few little pop rivet things flew up and rolled down my driveway..(my driveway is at an incline and it doesnt help that the street i live on has 4 lane traffic ><) had a very "fun" time trying to find the stupid rivet things while trying to dodge cars...

xD subbing to read other peoples mistakes and misfortunes in the future

lol I broke the area where that paper clip thing mounts to. This is my first car ever messing with or seeing that has this style headlights. Everyone I have messed with prior was just insert and twist!

 

[kura808]

lol i thought i had to go to the dealer and get it fixed but after panicking for a while got 'em in. these stupid paperclip things are really something lol. its totally different from the 4runner haha o yea this is my first car messing wit things too so i think i might be a regular here? LOL hehe

lol I broke the area where that paper clip thing mounts to. This is my first car ever messing with or seeing that has this style headlights. Everyone I have messed with prior was just insert and twist!

 

[TreFlip999]

wow i love this thread its awesome xD ok my turn hehe

when i first replaced the low beams, i got it in within 15 mins but when i looked at it, they were a bit off center on the drivers side so i adjusted it. i took off the plug thing and wiggled that little paperclip thing...the paperclip thing popped out and went somewhere into the engine bay. i used some masking tape on a little rod to get it back and eventually fished it back up but it took me about 2 hrs trying to figure out how that stupid paperclip thing went back into the assembly..that little space is hard to reach by the coolant tank lol it doesnt help that i got big hands either ><

uhh when i added on another horn, i had to take the top grill off right. ok i did that and followed the directions on a thread i read. a few little pop rivet things flew up and rolled down my driveway..(my driveway is at an incline and it doesnt help that the street i live on has 4 lane traffic ><) had a very "fun" time trying to find the stupid rivet things while trying to dodge cars...

xD subbing to read other peoples mistakes and misfortunes in the future

Hahaha classic...I think i need to invest in one of those magnetic extender deals...I cant even count how many screws and bolts ive dropped in my engine bay, its a black hole i swear...Till this day there is spark plug spacer somewhere down there, havent found it...

 

[kura808]

lol theres got to be a way to get it back out. if theres a way in, there should be a way out haha i got a magnetic extender but it wasnt long enough lol. gotta get a new one heh

Hahaha classic...I think i need to invest in one of those magnetic extender deals...I cant even count how many screws and bolts ive dropped in my engine bay, its a black hole i swear...Till this day there is spark plug spacer somewhere down there, havent found it...

 

[TreFlip999]

lol theres got to be a way to get it back out. if theres a way in, there should be a way out haha i got a magnetic extender but it wasnt long enough lol. gotta get a new one heh

yah, most of the time, like 5 times, when i was putting on my intake i would have to crawl underneath my car because atleast those bolts had the courtesy to fall out the bottom of the engine bay...but some have yet to return..little bastards..I'll let you know if i find my spacer (sad2) How long is the extender you got now? I have a pair of mehcanix gloves that have magnetic fingertips...saved my life

 

[redpr5]

I have a pair of mehcanix gloves that have magnetic fingertips...saved my life

thats badass! i need those! lol. where did you get them and how much were they?

 

[kura808]

lol haha i think its about 10 in. i actually used to use it as a pointer for my school presentations so its a bit misplaced lol. all i know is that when i dropped a nut, it went all the way down to where the foglight assembly was. had to get a meter stick to get it back lol. awesome mechanic gloves xD

yah, most of the time, like 5 times, when i was putting on my intake i would have to crawl underneath my car because atleast those bolts had the courtesy to fall out the bottom of the engine bay...but some have yet to return..little bastards..I'll let you know if i find my spacer (sad2) How long is the extender you got now? I have a pair of mehcanix gloves that have magnetic fingertips...saved my life

 

[cable43]

some days i feel like EVERY mod was a mistake

 

[Sveivo]

some days i feel like EVERY mod was a mistake

I'm with you man Sad but true.

 

[whitemp5seattle]

not the rear wiper mod I hope!

 

[cable43]

not the rear wiper mod I hope!

no that was divinity!!!!!!

 

[gone_fishin]

some days i feel like EVERY mod was a mistake

You are absolutely correct my friend. Expect to kiss at least two things goodbye when you start modifying your car: your money-- you'll never see it back again, and reliability/driveability.

A genius man once said, if you want a fast car, buy a fast car.

 

[TreFlip999]

thats badass! i need those! lol. where did you get them and how much were they?

made them myself..it was pretty simple..machanix make gloves with flashlights on them...http://garage.mechanix.com/detail.aspx?ID=8 wish i would have had these sooner, magnetic fingertips, mini flashlight= one bad ass pair of gloves

 

[whitemp5seattle]

You are absolutely correct my friend. Expect to kiss at least two things goodbye when you start modifying your car: your money-- you'll never see it back again, and reliability/driveability.

I think this is a rash generalization. It really depends on what mods you're doing to your car. All my mods so far have given me very little trouble. (except for perhaps installation and the initial troubleshooting phase if something wasn't installed properly)

For instance, exhaust, CAI, and JDM tails are all PNP (just have to clean the CAI filter every now and then) and great mods that are all easy. I think it's once people start tuning their engines is when reliability/driveability become an issue. Seems a lot of issues stem from AF ratios or various pressures after turboing, etc.

I guess what it all really comes down to is modding wisely and being aware of when reliability/driveability come into play and being aware of that risk. I think once we get past the basic mods we all accept the fact that one morning you may wake up and your car won't be running as smoothly as yesterday (but hopefully the days of happy zoomzooming outnumber those days)

 

[Demoniam]

{the Gloves} Sounds like a how-to in the works!!!!

When I got my wife's Accord a loooong time ago, I removed the front bumper to remove a bushed turn signal housing. messed up some of the pop rivets, and to this day it is only being held on by 6 of the 10 pop rivets I started out with. Some of the missing rivets belonged to the drivers side wheel well slpash guard. About 2 months later, I'm rolling down hwy 40 (racing a punk in a black mustang [young and dumb]) and the whole thing just rips off and goes under the car. By the time I pull over to get it, it was completely destroyed.

Funny sidenote: We get back in the car and 3 miles down the road is Mr Black Mustang and 2 cop cars!!! I guess it was a blessing in disguise!

 

[dimeadozen]

Botched Paint job

K My friend and i fixed his old toyota camry up. it was an 87 model. it had about 30 rust holes everywhere. I know how to do body work and am really good at it. we spent three days stripping the car, patching it, smoothing it and priming it. We bought this really kool paint in cans ( first alarm) I wanted to do it gloss black cus I rock at that, but my friend wanted blue and cus it was his car i coudln't argue. So we buy this electric blue paint but it only comes up electric when sparyed on chrome cus its a translucent paint- we didn't realise this. So like 16 cans later and his car still looked like we drew the paint on with magic markers. (lick) It was a nightmare.(nailbyt) All our hard work and it looked soo bad. needles to say my friend drove around like that for a good 6 moths until he bought a honda civic later on alst year ne ways its a learning experience. from now on, i only paint black cars.(mspblack)

 

[TreFlip999]

{the Gloves} Sounds like a how-to in the works!!!!

When I got my wife's Accord a loooong time ago, I removed the front bumper to remove a bushed turn signal housing. messed up some of the pop rivets, and to this day it is only being held on by 6 of the 10 pop rivets I started out with. Some of the missing rivets belonged to the drivers side wheel well slpash guard. About 2 months later, I'm rolling down hwy 40 (racing a punk in a black mustang [young and dumb]) and the whole thing just rips off and goes under the car. By the time I pull over to get it, it was completely destroyed.

Funny sidenote: We get back in the car and 3 miles down the road is Mr Black Mustang and 2 cop cars!!! I guess it was a blessing in disguise!

Sounds like a plan! When I get back in nov. I'll be sure to write one up! i got the little magnets from wal-mart

 

[DeadGeneration]

I say modify your car, mess up, learn from it, and never do it again - lol. I like to say I spent my first grand messing the car up and the next 2 grand making it right.