worst job you have done on any car

[user removed]

Originally Posted by slownugly

intake manifold in a 96 altima 4 cyl. called for 6 hours. ive never been so mad at a car in my life. id rather pull the engine next time.

If you think that was bad try replacing the seal between the block and the front timing chain cover. Early Altimas were notorious for leakage from that seal. Do you pull the head (after pulling the engine) or try to reseal the portion of the head gasket that is exposed when the front cover is removed?

regards
Mech

[user removed]

Bought a salvage 1977 280Z with 325 miles on the odometer. It had been rolled over several times. Bought a 76 280Z at the same auction. It was hit so hard in the right front wheel that it ripped the unibody apart at the cowl. The engine and transmission were sitting there, the mangled front end next to it and the rear clip next to that. Took the two and made one out of them. The only original piece of sheet metal that was used on the 77 was the hood of all things. Had it done but could not find a lower control arm (right front). I waited almost 6 months for the back ordered part to arrive and finally finished the car. Drove it from North Carolina to the Florida Keys to visit my parents and take a vacation.

When I got the two halves 77 front and 76 rear mated together I found out that the wiring harnesses were different. Spent a lot of time figuring out what wire to splice to the one harness to the other.

The car ran perfect until I got halfway to the Florida Keys. I noticed oil leaking out of the bottom from the bell housing. Dang rear seal leak. Do I keep going south or turn around and go back to NC? I kept going. It lost exactly one quart of oil and never leaked another drop, even 3 years after selling it. That remains a mystery to me today almost 40 years later.

I was following a Peterbilt just north of Jacksonville coming back to NC, doing 110 MPH (speed limit was 55) and that truck was still pulling away from me.

regards
Mech

[Superfuelgero]

#1, EDIS and Megasquirt conversion

Runners up:

-Audi 5000 waste gate

-Fiero gt spark plugs

-Anything hydraulic (my Achilles heel)

-VW ignition switch (the plastic connector, a bi-yearly ritual)

-fiberglass front end (fit, re-fit, repeat 100x's)

-lift kit on the suburban. northern truck, every bolt siezed, wouldn't air chisel, heat or kroil out, all sawzall both sides and replace all parts.

[Cobb]

Guess Ive been pretty lucky? My worse job was as a go-fir at a tire shop and i had a mid 60s dodge to remove the wheels. Turned out one side of the car had left hand wheel studs and I didnt know anything about this. Just glad I didnt strip or break them.

[SoobieOut]

1) Changing a heater core on a Geo Metro.
2) Valve cover gaskets on a 1992 Ford Aerostar.

[user removed]

Originally Posted by Cobb

Guess Ive been pretty lucky? My worse job was as a go-fir at a tire shop and i had a mid 60s dodge to remove the wheels. Turned out one side of the car had left hand wheel studs and I didnt know anything about this. Just glad I didnt strip or break them.

Or take the front hubs off and reverse them, then the lugs fall off followed closely by the wheels.

regards
Mech

[DamageX]

The computerized stuff in modern cars can be pretty maddening to deal with. Hence why I've never owned a vehicle younger than an '87. So putting that aside, my worst case scenario would be windshield replacement.

[jamesqf]

You guys make me realize my life hasn't been so bad after all :-)

Worst I can remember was doing the clutch on ex-GF's '80s Mitsubishi pickup. Maybe a small-handed Japanese guy could have gotten at the bolts, but not me. Ended up pulling engine % transmision as a unit (and even that was no picnic).

OTOH, best was anything on my old Austin-Healey Sprite. Previous owner had mounted the hood & fenders (as a unit) on hinges. Undo two clips, and it swung up & forward about 120 degrees. Pull two hinge pins and unplug an electrical connector, and you could take the whole thing away.

[brucey]

Changing the water pump on a 2.4 DOHC 2001 cavalier.

Normally, the water pump is an involved process, but not difficult. Clearly the people who designed the cavalier did not want people changing the water pump when it eventually failed.

The water pump is located underneath the exhaust manifold. And unlike every other FWD car I've worked on, the exhaust manifold is facing backwards. So you have to remove the wheel, the shields, the exhaust manifold, the upper manifold. Just to unbolt it.

THEN you have to open the engine up. Because unlike most other cars where the pump is driven by the accessory belt, the timing chain drives the water pump. Also, there is just no room to work and even less room to see. It's definitely a "Lay on the engine bay while the hood is up" type of job, and even then you're going to have a hard time.

I have nightmares about doing that job again.

[star_deceiver]

There have been some difficult and pain in the ass jobs... but the worst jobs are when the clueless owner of the vehicle or know-it-all friend who is completely mechanically uninclined is blabbing at you with their opinions of what is wrong or how to fix it.