Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

[TheSilverBuick]

I nominate myself :'(

So where's the worse place you can get a non-reversable gear wrench stuck? I have found right behind the power steering pulley pretty high up on that list :P My routine fuel pump job got a bit bigger than I had anticipated today. I noticed it would be a piece of cake to get at the fuel pump on the T-bird (FE engine w/AC) if I popped off the adjustment bracket from the power steering pump, four easy to get to bolts.... So I grab my handy dandy non-reversable gear wrench and start backing off the bolt behind the pulley, D'oh! I have reversable ones, but the heads are slightly angled and this one is straight, which made it appear ideal. So, out comes the power steering pump pulley puller/installer, and it doesn't fit between the pump and radiator. Ok, remove the bolt that holds the pump to the block, hey how about that, it's a stud, :-\ ok find another nut, back the stud out, get the pulley off enough to remove my wrench. From there it went smoother. I changed out the fuel pump, put the power steering pump back in place (after checking the pulley installer would fit between it and the radiator), installed the belt and tightened it up, then put the installer on the pump and nudged the pulley back into alignment.

So the lessen of the day is: Watch were you are using non-reversable gear wrenches!!!

[squirrel]

Re: Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

thanks for the warning. I actually have a non-adjustable gear wrench, it's about 30 years old so it's huge and won't fit anywhere so I never use it

[TC]

Re: Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

Doh.......

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

I got that beat.

When I had Hooker headers, #6 spark plug was literally behind it's exhaust tube. So a 5/8 box wrench was the only way to get the plug out. It's also directly above the starter. You know where this is going, right? Yes, I dropped the wrench and it fell between the block and the starter, landing on top of the positive battery cable, arching everywhere. I wasn't about to reach down there to get it off. I spent the next 90 seconds of sheer stress trying to find the 1/2 to get the battery cable off the battery before I had a total meltdown.

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

:o Whoa, that does suck royally.

[Schtauffer]

Re: Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

About 10 years ago I had a '76 Chevy shortbed, beautiful truck. Some friends and I took it to Sand Lake on the Oregon coast and were running the dunes. After a bit my buddy says, "Hey, where's the smoke coming from?" My bungee strap battery hold-down came off, and the postive terminal was against the inner fender. Melted a hole about the size of a nickel right through the sheetmetal.

[jays67]

Re: Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

I got that beat.

When I had Hooker headers, #6 spark plug was literally behind it's exhaust tube. So a 5/8 box wrench was the only way to get the plug out. It's also directly above the starter. You know where this is going, right? Yes, I dropped the wrench and it fell between the block and the starter, landing on top of the positive battery cable, arching everywhere. I wasn't about to reach down there to get it off. I spent the next 90 seconds of sheer stress trying to find the 1/2 to get the battery cable off the battery before I had a total meltdown.

year after I got out of school I came rolling up in my truck to my buddys house to see them all running around aimlesly,
turns out right before I got there they did the same thing to another buddys chevelle but they were not smart enough to unhook the battery and cooked a bunch of harness :o
just glad it was not me or my car lol

[antmnte]

Re: Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

I know that tube that spark plug ,the whole thing,it sucks.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

I know that tube that spark plug ,the whole thing,it sucks.

My Hedman's and Edelbrock angle plug heads I can use a socket on all of the plugs on that side.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

I got a new today.

I was moving right along on Bill's Monte today. I got the whole front of the engine put together including the fan. I needed to rotate the engine about 60* to get it TDC and I thought doing it by hand would be easier than bumping with the starter. Working around his big clutch fan wasn't easy I slipped off, went straight down, and got a fan blade across the sternum. (Insert yell and swearing here.) I'm still feeling it. I got four inch long bruise that's only an 1/8 inch wide. Funny, it's exactly the same shape as the end of the fan blade.

[Caveman]

Re: Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

I got that beat.

When I had Hooker headers, #6 spark plug was literally behind it's exhaust tube. So a 5/8 box wrench was the only way to get the plug out. It's also directly above the starter. You know where this is going, right? Yes, I dropped the wrench and it fell between the block and the starter, landing on top of the positive battery cable, arching everywhere. I wasn't about to reach down there to get it off. I spent the next 90 seconds of sheer stress trying to find the 1/2 to get the battery cable off the battery before I had a total meltdown.

Dude, electricity doesn't hurt.

The burn usually kills the nerve endings!! HA!!



Seriously, it doesn't hurt... I nearly burned down my old impala and the tranny shop I was working on it in... I was messing with the alternator wiring.... forgot to disconnect the battery--accidentally touched the wrench from the alternator charging post nut TO THE F'ING FUEL LINE. The sparks got my attention, if the smoking wires didn't immediately. Boy am I glad I was able to yank the wrench out of that spot after about 2.5 seconds of 'SHOULD I CHANGE MY UNDERWEAR NOW, OR WAIT TILL LATER?' thoughts.

It didn't hurt (my hand was on the wrench the whole time), except my pride..... 'cause half the damn shop saw it happen. The rest of THAT day SUCKED.

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

I was smart enough yesterday when I pulled the valve cover on the Skylark to unhook the battery because the Alt terminal sits right above the valve cover.

[Scott Liggett]

Re: Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

I'll never forget my high school car buddy, Bob Leach, put together a 11.0:1, solid cammed, 289 into his 76 Ford Elite. When we fired it. We had to keep running to the key to shut it off because it was springing leaks everywhere. Bob got tired of running around that big door to the key, so he planted one on the fender and grabbed the coil wire with the other. He got zapped good that he hit his head on the hood four times before he could let go; then danced across the yard yelling obscenities. I think it took a week before he had full use of his right arm again.

[joebogey]

Re: Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

FYI anyone changing the battery in a 1994 Buick, the distance between the battery and core support is about 1/16" of an inch less than the thickness of a 1/4" drive ratchet and socket. Yeah, the sparks kind of let me in on that.

[SuperBuickGuy]

Re: Nominee for dumb move of the Weekend Award.

I'll never forget my high school car buddy, Bob Leach, put together a 11.0:1, solid cammed, 289 into his 76 Ford Elite. When we fired it. We had to keep running to the key to shut it off because it was springing leaks everywhere. Bob got tired of running around that big door to the key, so he planted one on the fender and grabbed the coil wire with the other. He got zapped good that he hit his head on the hood four times before he could let go; then danced across the yard yelling obscenities. I think it took a week before he had full use of his right arm again.

who cares about the arm - how long before your side stopped hurting from laughing so hard? ;)