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[quote name='gryphon' post='62843' date='Nov 8 2008, 01:58 PM']This reminds me of the time my now deceased father, not by any means a mechanical person, decided to save money and do his own oil change. I was young and was "watching and learning." He managed to get the oil drained and the filter R&R'd but when he added his 5 quarts of new oil they went directly onto the ground because he had failed to replace the drain plug.
And then Mom rubbed it in as only a wife can do.
Tom[/quote]
Tom beat me to this one...but I did the same thing just recently on my truck. Drained the oil, got sidetracked/interrupted and began adding the new oil. Luckily, I realized it after only about 1 quart was in so I didn't have a super big mess to clean up. I'm sure I'll think of others, this will be fun.
- Darryl
1992 Slate Gray Coupe over Carrera Gray Full Leather interior....1 of 1
2006 Cayenne S Icelandic Silver Titanium Edition
2006 Cayman S Seal Gray over Black
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I had a 1986 944 and decided to change my own wiper blades. While the drivers side one was in the "up" position with the blade off (now I do one entire side at a time, it is a characteristic of the enormous cephalisation of humans that we can learn) it touched it with my arm while raising the other one and down it came on the window, smashing a hole in it. So I bought a new wind screen and the next day a truck threw a rock and broke that one.
I also tried to change the spark plugs and the first one got stuck. I tugged harder and harder and it wouldn't come loose. I leaned into it with all I had and then, of course, discovered that it came off in the other direction. It's a wonder I didn't tear the head right off the car.
Now, with three Porsches, I am so much better at this. I just discharge the odd fire extinguisher into the back seat once and a while. And go to work to earn money to have others do stuff for me.
Kim Strong, Nova Scotia
Baron of Bugtussle and Lord of Wigtownshire, Scotland
2022 Mustang Mach-E
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Before going on a roadtrip, it is always a good idea checking oil level and top up if necessary... A few years back, I was doing just that to my old E30 BMW when the phone rang, rushed to get it, 15 minutes later got back to the car. Where was I, oh yes, I had just topped it up, so I slammed the bonnet, and off we went. After about 45 minutes driving, stopped to fill petrol. Getting back to the car I stopped and looked, there seemed to be oil on the ground, so opened the bonnet and had oil everywhere, and looked at the hole where the oil filler cap should have been, and felt very stupid... I still have that car today, and even if I tried to clean it up, it still has oil in the strangest places up front.. Since then, whenever I top up oil, I always put the cap in a place where it will not allow the bonnet to close, should I forget again..
Nacht Blau 968 cab, Wimbledon Green 993 coupe
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Ok, this is not a DIY experience but it involves a car!
At the end of my sophomore year in college, my friend borrowed another friend's truck so that we could put our possessions in storage. As we were loading the pickup, she noticed that we might not make it to the storage unit before it closed so we hastily loaded the remainder of our possessions in the pick-up and the back of my 944. The last two items to go on were her mattress and box springs -- which were really just a hollow box, no springs, lol. I tied the box springs down, got distracted by something she needed help with, and forgot to tie the mattress on top.
Fast forward to the freeway...
I'm in front and hit an overpass where there is a slight crease and bump. Immediately, I remember not tying the mattress down. I look in the RVM only to see the mattress take flight!
I pull off to the shoulder with my friend behind me in tears. I take off to get the mattress out of the highway. I exit the freeway, go back in the opposite direction one exit to get back on in my original direction but can't find the mattress.
As I pull back to my friend in the pickup a woman behind her has pulled over with a smashed windshield and another woman has pulled over with a smoking engine. She's on her cell phone -- which was rare in that day -- and I go up to knock on her door. She won't open it claiming she has engine problems. I try to explain there is no problem that our mattress is under her car!
The mattress caught fire and caused quite a stir on the 101. I was able to get the springs of the mattress unstuck from the woman's Jeep and throw it off to the side.
Later that month I received a call from the insurance agent asking if I indeed failed to tie the mattress down and if this incident ACTUALLY occurred.
07 Honda Civic Hybrid - silver with 07 EX rims
93 968 Coupe - cobalt blue, cobalt/white leather, 6-speed, factory C2 Turbos, 43k miles
70 Mustang Boss 302 - grabber blue/black, all original, matching numbers, shaker hood, Magnum 500 wheels, rear spoiler, tachometer, sport slats, wide ratio transmission -- a true time capsule
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Ok, not exactly a car thing.
We launched our boat at the ramp, and left my Uncle (visiting from Germany, not a boat guy) there to watch it while we parked the car/trailer.
We come back and he is standing in the boat with water half way up to his knees and says "I think something is wrong". We forgot to put in the drain plug.
If you are ever bored, just go sit by any boat launch and watch the various people entertain you with the challenges (newbies), arguments (husband/wife), and mistakes (usually the cocky ones).
Roland
Roland
'93 Coupe Tip Silver on Grey, '02 911 C4S, '89 Vanagon Syncro -- (RIP: 944, 911SC, 931, MGB, VW Bug, GTO, Sprite.)
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This one's horribly embarrassing, but since others have shared...
I was at a meeting with my 914-4. There was plenty of wine consumed before and with dinner, then the meeting was held. Afterwards one of the other attendees walks out with me, and talks to me as I'm putting the top on the teener. I'm pausing at various points as I put the top on the car because this person is still talking and asking questions... Finally, after we've been standing in the suburban semi-darkness for an hour <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/glare.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> the conversation ends and I drive off.
Now picture our intrepid traveller heading North on the freeway some minutes later. What's that odd noise? I look up and around to see where the noise is coming from, and suddenly the whole targa top lifts off spinning to at least 30 feet in the air before it sheds enough speed to drop out of sight behind me. I gaped at the empty sky for a few seconds before deciding that flaming panic was my best option...
I wanted to die, but first I had to see if I'd sent anybody into the afterlife ahead of me. I pulled over onto the shoulder and started backup up, looking for the accident I was certain I must have caused. Eventually I found the top lying right-side-up on the shoulder behind me -- and somehow, I failed to find the smoking wreckage of an X car pile-up. The paint had been ruined on a corner and you could see the fiberglass through some cracks in the paint, but overall the top was in pretty good shape -- in fact it's out there on the car now. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/unsure.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />
I spent the 30 minute drive home cursing the idea of having wine at the dinner meeting, the stupidity of letting somebody distract me from a safety issue, and about 50% of the time trying to figure out what kind of supernatural forces I owed for the benign outcome and how much they were likely to charge when I found them.
Steve Jones -- Diablo region, PCA
'95 968 nachtblau/grey (replaces 944S) ................. '70 914-6 3.0 black/black (new project)
'98 Audi Avant 2.8 wagon (snow buggy) ................. '97 Kawasaki EX-500
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I barely admit this to myself and shudder when I think what might have gone wrong.....
While preparing to give the 944 its first big engine wash, I closed the inspection hole on the flywheel with a scrunched up plastic shopping bag. Cleaned the engine to a gleaming piece of engineering and patted myself on the back when the car stared up without any complaints.
time passes...
2 weeks later I decide give the engine a quick once over wipedown, I lean over and to my horror see the packet, I pull it out. Luckily the teeth on the flywheel had just nicked the bag. If I had pushed it in a bit deeper.... well....
89 944 S2 - Promax Chip - sold
92 968 Cab - Airbox Mod, RS stage I chip.
18 Jaguar V6 P380
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so my sparkplug jumped out of the engine while I was driing down 280. So I pulled over, looked around, put the sparkplug back in. Tweaked the tool too hard and STRIPPED OUT THE F***KING SPARKPLUG THREADS.
*sniff*
5 seconds of my life I sure wish I could get back.
Sean - San Francisco
'92 coupe, white / tan, clutch LSD, early production car (#56)
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well if you use a torque wrench you should be ok. . .
Sean - San Francisco
'92 coupe, white / tan, clutch LSD, early production car (#56)
