Job gone wrong.

G_YamTech_314

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Today I finally got around to changing the oil on the lady's 05' Corolla. Great car, well maintained, 207,000 miles on it, and doesn't drive like it at all

Everything went smoothly until the damn oil filter... Tried every. Single. Trick in the book, and this thing would not move.

Took just about three and a half hours for an oil change... I sat back, and brainstormed, and came to the conclusion that a screwdriver jammed straight through it just didn't give me enough leverage, so I needed something longer... My solution was to drive five screws through a 2x3 and screw the end of it to the face of the filter. This BARELY worked. It was enough leverage to coax a 1/4 turn out of it. I removed the screws, grabbed a shorter piece of wood, and tried again. Finally got it off...



I'm posting this thread because I'm really curious to see what kind of problems you've all faced when trying to just do one "simple" job. Let's hear it.
 

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Haven't had that problem...yet. I use the contracting band style filter wrench in a couple sizes. Worst I've had to do is put a rag under it.

Now, replacing the filter with the gasket from the old filter still stuck to the engine can produce some interesting results when you start it...
 
Yeah been there (more than a few) times. The BMW K1200 motors use a spin on filter that sits INSIDE the crankcase. with a round bolt on cover on the bottom of the motor the only tight access. A PO had installed one with TWO rubber seals, It's such a clean job once you start punching holes........ It took a special tool with sharpened bolts welded on a chunk of steel bent to clear everything in the way as a handle driven into the filter before it came out.

Hate those days when I've ended up three repaIr jobs away from the original project as 10PM rolls around and all the stores have closed.
Wisconsin brake and exhaust work (salt, rust) nearly always goes this way. Throw in 15 degrees on my back in the shed as snow swirls in, fingers are numbed, wet, and hurting and rust rains down from above as severely eroded bolts, brake line fittings, round or break off.
Damn I'm getting depressed just thinking about it.
 
These are all more reasons why s#*t is so expensive to have the shop do it. :cussing: Poor design? Maybe. (It looks cool, but it's a b*#@h to work on) Maybe the PO put the damned thing on too tight? (thinking it's holding the earth together?) Whatever. Having all the proper tools, and a good work space is essential. We seldom have either, so everything takes three times longer than it should, with at least three trips to the parts store... :doh:
 
Think yam techs point here was about having a one step forward, three backward kind of day.
Like I have truck on jackstands to do rear brakes when it seems like its sitting lower. Thats when I noticed the frame smooshing in where the jack stand was pressing on it, cuz it's rusted out. Thats a depressing moment.
 
Think yam techs point here was about having a one step forward, three backward kind of day.

Pretty much, Yeah.

Just got to me when I realized the ONLY option for me was to get it off... There was no "save it for another day" because it's our only vehicle at the moment.

Just kinda wanted to hear stories similar to mine and perhaps we could all learn from each other, I was quite proud of my 2x3 and screw fix. That's ALL I had laying around that I hadn't tried yet. Makes me feel like a bit of a survivalist... Working with what I have.
 
Ok...here’s a real job that went off the rails for me. Many years ago on a Sunday afternoon, I came home from Home Depot with a new shop sink, faucet, copper pipe and connectors. I had the bright idea to start this job at about 3:00 pm on Sunday. I turned off the water to the house, pulled the washer and dryer out of the laundry room , cut the wall open behind the machines to access the plumbing, and proceeded to cut the water lines to tap into for my new shop sink. Now , I was a welder by trade for a decade before this and I was confident in my soldering abilities, so that wasn’t a worry. I cut all my copper pipe and pieced in all my connectors and ran pipes through the wall out into my shop. Everything is going great. That’s when the wheels came off.

I went to grab my propane torch and my soldering supplies and realized my flux ( that I hadn’t looked at in years ) had dried out and was no good. I tried to solder without it but of course, no go. By now the stores had closed up and I was not able to replace it. So here I sat on a Sunday night with the water shut off and my wife was hopping mad. She had tried to discourage me from starting this project so late in the day, but I was not to be dissuaded. This little job? C’mon....I’ll be done before dinner. :D
NOT.....
She couldn’t clean up the dishes from dinner, we couldn’t flush toilets, and how the hell was she supposed to get ready for work in the morning! We can’t even brush our teeth! We had three kids in the house and everybody had to get ready in the morning.
With no other alternative I had to call a plumber that did 24 hr emergency calls. The guy came out, looked at all my work and said “ nice work “ . Gee thanks. Took him about 15 minutes to solder up all the joints I already had prepared.
That’ll be $300 please!!! :mad:
I have never lived that one down, but I learned a valuable lesson. Start any big job early in the day, and not on Sundays when the stores close early. :er:
 
OK.... main tire change on a Boeing 737.. 'bout 20 min. Got the tire off and found the false axle was cracked. About a day for parts and 4hrs to change. Cut the false axle off and found severe corrosion on the main axles. Yeah... main landing gear change... about 3 days. Got the gear removed and found the gear beam attach fitting loose with the holes wallered out. That requires going into the wing fuel tank to replace. 3 weeks later she rolled out of the hanger and left. I gave her a kick when she taxi'd by.
 
OK.... main tire change on a Boeing 737.. 'bout 20 min. Got the tire off and found the false axle was cracked. About a day for parts and 4hrs to change. Cut the false axle off and found severe corrosion on the main axles. Yeah... main landing gear change... about 3 days. Got the gear removed and found the gear beam attach fitting loose with the holes wallered out. That requires going into the wing fuel tank to replace. 3 weeks later she rolled out of the hanger and left. I gave her a kick when she taxi'd by.

Like a snowball rolling downhill :D
 
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