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#1
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So give ME the stupid award!
I consider myself a pretty good mechanic... I've done engine rebuilds/swaps, clutches, tranny swaps, differentials, etc., all with a fair degree success. However, every once in a while I do something that makes me question whether I ought to quit tinkering with cars and take up knitting or something.
I was poking around outside last Saturday (the first warm day of the year!) with my '95 LSi and decided I'd tackle a slight problem with the antenna retracting. It went up and down fine, but stopped going down with about 3" of antenna sticking out. I looked at it closely and noticed that there was a slight kink in the bottom of a segment which prevented the inner segments from retracting all the way. I figured if I pulled the shaft out, took it apart, and shoved a rod or dowel of some kind inside the kinked segment, I could re-expand it to proper shape and the antenna would work properly. Why go to all of the trouble? Well, a new antenna shaft is expen$ive, I had the time, the weather was nice, and I thought it would be a moderate challenge with a good chance of success. So I got the antenna shaft out and apart and started looking around the garage for a long-ish steel rod with a slightly larger diameter than the antenna that I could insert and push the kink out of the shaft with. Finally, I picked up what I thought was a discarded worn-out trunk strut (which I had replaced with a new one) from my old Honda Accord. The shaft looked to be just the right size, so I took my hacksaw to the strut. It turned out to be too big, so I ground down the strut shaft segment until it fit. Well after a few hours (!) of work, grinding, hammering, etc., I got the kink out of the antenna shaft, but it's not really designed to be disassembled and put back together, and it still didn't extend/retract very smoothly. After that, I found I couldn't get the plastic antenna leader to catch and retract into the motor. After much trying, I think I killed the motor itself because all I could hear was the motor relays clicking-- no whirring sound. Then, the car battery died from the trunk light being on. Finally, it got to be 11 p.m. and I gave up on the whole thing. The next day, I was reading the board here, and got to thinking about hood struts. I remembered I'd pulled a good set from a junkyard SVX a month or so ago, and hadn't seen them with my other SVX parts in the garage the day before. My heart sank as I realized what might have happened, and a quick visit to the garage confirmed it. The "WORN-OUT HONDA TRUNK STRUT" I'd cut up to fix my antenna with, was NOT a Honda strut, It was one of my GOOD SVX HOOD STRUTS! I felt so stupid I laughed aloud. So, I'm out a mostly-working power antenna, possibly the motor, and a good SVX hood strut I was saving for some future occasion. Is there a moral here? Yeah, don't do what I did! Keep your GOOD parts WELL AWAY from your scrap pile. Oh, and laugh at me if you must, but LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES! |
#2
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Where do you want that award sent?
It's funny how sometimes the little things can bring you down.
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Used to have: 1994 Pearlie, 40,945 miles, PWR Radiator, Motorsports Aluminum Crank Pulley, Raceconcepts Stainless Brake Lines, Axxis Ceramic Brake Pads, ATE Super Blue Racing Brake Fluid, Dimpled/Slotted Rotors, BBS STi 17 Silver Wheels, Toyo Proxe4 225/45/17 tires, New Dekka Battery, Unauthordox Racing Oil Cap -- adds 3.14 hp, OEM Coin Holder FFTDS aka Force Field Theft Deterent System. Magnetic oil drain plug, Purolator larger oil filter. Now she's in good caring hands at Earls place. |
#3
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Here ya go!
What are buddies for?
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ASE Certified Master Automotive Technician w/L1. ASE Certified Master Medium/Heavy Truck Technician. Certified EVT (Emergency Vehicle Technician) |
#4
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Hey thanks! I like that! Maybe I'll get it framed...
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#5
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I commiserate having been down that road too often.
However you do deserve a medal for spending a lot of time sharing. The fun you have added, be sure has made it all worthwhile. Thanks.
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Trevor, New Zealand. As a child, on cold mornings I gladly stood in cowpats to warm my bare feet, but I detest bull$hit! |
#6
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ouch! you'll laugh about this sometime......just not anytime soon!
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Alan 1987 928 S4 (Black) SOLD! 1997 SVX LSi (Ebony) SOLD! 2005 Legacy GT (Silver) [Cobb Stg 2+] SOLD! 1987 928 S4 (Black) SOLD! 2005 Forester XT Premium (Crystal Gray Metallic) SOLD! 2008 Lancer Evolution X MR (Apex Silver) [Cobb Stg 1+] 2015 Outlander Sport 2.4GT AWD (Mercury Gray) 2013 G37xS (Obsidian Black) |
#7
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I am sure that I am not the only one around who has done something just as good as that.
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. Earl .... ... .... ><SVX(*> Subaru Ambassador [COLOR=”silver”]1992 Tri Color L[/COLOR] ~45K (06/91) #2430 1992 Dark Teal LS-L ~184K (05/91) #0739 1992 Claret LS-L ~196K (05/91) #0831 1992 Pearl LS-L ~103K (06/91) #1680 1992 Pearl LS-L ~151K (06/91) #2229 1992 Dark Teal LS ~150K (07/91) #3098 (parts car) 1992 White LS-L ~139K (08/92) #6913 1993 25th AE ~98K (02/93) #164 1993 25th AE ~58K (02/93) #176 1993 25th AE ~107K (02/93) #215 1993 25th AE ~162K (02/93) #223 1994 Laguna Blue Pearl LSi ~124K (1/94) #2408 1994 Laguna Blue Pearl LSi ~144K (10/93) #1484 1994 Laguna Blue Pearl LSi ~68K (10/93) #1525 1994 Barcelona Red LSi ~46K (02/94) #2624 1994 Pearl LSi ~41K (12/93) #1961 1995 Bordeaux Pearl LSi ~70K (02/95) #855 1996 Polo Green LSi ~95K (03/96) #872 1997 Bordeaux Pearl LSi ~55K (08/96) #097 2003 Brilliant Red LS1 Convertible ~29K (04/03) #8951 1999 Magnetic Red LS1 Coupe ~33K (04/99) #6420 My Email | Old Locker | New Locker | Picture of 15 of the 19 |
#8
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Not so bad at all
If that's the worst you've done in the course of a month, it hasn't been a bad month I say.
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#9
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not so bad.... I had finished a record breaking engine swap... about 5hrs or so. I got everything all done and then I hooked up my battery backwards and fried my fuse box... That took another 20hrs to completely figure out... so yeah... I have been there Don't beat urself up
Tom |
#10
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i think we have all been there...
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- John ASE certified Master Tech W/ X1 Twin City Fleet repair, St. Paul, MN need work done? Have tools will travel
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#11
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I got my award today....
Afer disassembling and reassembling a mazda tribute door, I realized I was missing a rather arge plastic cover for the mirror bolts (interior side) The car has been shuffled around the shop a bit, with me looking throught it inside and out for the part for almost a week now. Finally I tell the boss it must've gotten thrown away at some point, and to order a new one. He told me to wash the car up, and to have a look into a clunking noise coming from the door. I took the door apart, and gave it the once over. Couldnt find anything, so I put it back together. D'oh! I forgot a peice of sound proofing...So I took it apart again...I saw something strange at the bottom of the door...Reached in, and pulled out the missing mirror bolt cover. Couldnt help but burst out in laughter, especially because where t was, it got overspray all over the only part you DONT see. Whew! Got off that one easy
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R.I.P Cool Signature. You're gone but not forgotten. I mean, sure, I kindof don't remember some of the finer details..but I remember you were funny, and at one point you said spaghetti in Dutch....but definantly not forgotten |
#12
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Ya, at least it wasn't something mega expensive, like buddy at the Honda dealer forgetting to tighten the oil drain plug in my friend's '06 Civic.
Oh well, it was only a Civic
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Chris 92 Ebony Mica LS-L "A Rolling Restoration": 223,250 KM - Sleeping 2007 STi 6MT, Stance GR+ coilovers, PWR Rad, JDM hood badge, svxfiles 6000K HIDs, JDM Clear Corners, $15/15 min mod, $20/20 min mod, Energy Swaybar Bushings, Hella Supertones horns, Gold STi BBS rims, Group A lightweight crank pulley, A/C system removed, Custom header-back exhaust, Hybrid carbon/metal rear sway bar, restored headlights with CCFL halos 2008 Subaru Legacy Spec B - Diamond Grey Metallic - Sold 2020 Ram 1500 Longhorn - Red Pearl |
#13
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Quote:
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. Earl .... ... .... ><SVX(*> Subaru Ambassador [COLOR=”silver”]1992 Tri Color L[/COLOR] ~45K (06/91) #2430 1992 Dark Teal LS-L ~184K (05/91) #0739 1992 Claret LS-L ~196K (05/91) #0831 1992 Pearl LS-L ~103K (06/91) #1680 1992 Pearl LS-L ~151K (06/91) #2229 1992 Dark Teal LS ~150K (07/91) #3098 (parts car) 1992 White LS-L ~139K (08/92) #6913 1993 25th AE ~98K (02/93) #164 1993 25th AE ~58K (02/93) #176 1993 25th AE ~107K (02/93) #215 1993 25th AE ~162K (02/93) #223 1994 Laguna Blue Pearl LSi ~124K (1/94) #2408 1994 Laguna Blue Pearl LSi ~144K (10/93) #1484 1994 Laguna Blue Pearl LSi ~68K (10/93) #1525 1994 Barcelona Red LSi ~46K (02/94) #2624 1994 Pearl LSi ~41K (12/93) #1961 1995 Bordeaux Pearl LSi ~70K (02/95) #855 1996 Polo Green LSi ~95K (03/96) #872 1997 Bordeaux Pearl LSi ~55K (08/96) #097 2003 Brilliant Red LS1 Convertible ~29K (04/03) #8951 1999 Magnetic Red LS1 Coupe ~33K (04/99) #6420 My Email | Old Locker | New Locker | Picture of 15 of the 19 |
#14
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After breaking it off with an ex-girlfriend, she asked me to remove her aftermarket air intake and put the OEM one back on her fairly new eclipse so she could trade it in. There was a washer in the air box that got sucked into the engine. I had to pay $1k to get it out and it was still messed up! When she explained it to the dealer they said it was still under warranty So that money went right down the crapper.
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"The things you own end up owning you. It's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything." 92 Pearl White Ls-l (138k) Euro Headlights & Blinkers, 97 Grill, Euro Tail Lights, SS Brake Lines, Stebro Exhaust, Slotted Rotors, Classic Registration 96 Legacy Outback (206k) 5-speed 2.2 Lightweight Crank Pulley, Group N Trans & Motor Mounts SOLD Wanted: Steering Wheel |
#15
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Quote:
Tom |
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