Let me count the ways........

1) Failing to tighten the bolts holding the rotor to the hub.


2) Shutting hood (bonnet) while tools/etc. are on top of the engine, thereby making protruding convex bumps in the paint-finish of the hood.







.

Um...what?


Sent from an abacus

__________________
TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

WTH?

#badmechanic

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Lemmie guess, you thought that was accidental

Oh, now I get it! I thought maybe the thread title got eaten by the big hashtag machine.


Sent from an abacus

__________________
TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

I had a certain dealer in Carson City replace the rear tire on my Ninja 250. In putting it back together, they forgot one of the rear brake pads. I didn't notice until the steel rotor wore into the aluminum caliper enough that the pistons were nearly out. I didn't have to pay for the fix.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Shop replaced half axles with (?) flanged units on diff. forgot to tighten hex bolts attaching axles to flange. took about 20 miles for all bolts to back out, (just one side, left), didnt lose any, tho, , , ,

-c-

__________________
"I applaud your elaborate system of denial"

A number of years ago I had a 1979 Seville which had a positive battery cable that had a degradation issue with the insulation. I took it to a local GM dealership to have the cable replaced. A few days later the car would not start. It seemed as if the started had gone bad. I got underneath to find that the nut on the stud to hold the cable was just barely on. The cable was in no way fastened tight. It was just arching enough to get started. Just plain laziness/lack of concern. I have not been back to that place since.

__________________
Current:
1985 300D aka Miss Margaret
1991 300SE aka Alarice
1995 SL320 aka Samantha
1997 K1500 Silverado
Past:
1999 E300 ex-wife got it and let her son ruin it
1984 190 2.3 ex-wife got it and let her son destroy a great car
1985 300D (CA version) aka Maybelline lost to deer at high speed.
1981 300D aka Madeline (went to salvage at near 400k) rusty, yet best car I ever drove
Wishlist:
McFarlan TV6 (only a few privately owned)
ReVere with Rochester engine
1917 Premier (only one left)

Had a tire shop tighten left handed lug nuts on an International as if they were right handed, which seems impossible to me. Got about a hundred yards down the road before I stopped to check the wobble.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Holy cow, that's crazy. Did they just apply a lot of pressure with an impact socket and somehow force it in? I assume that the threads were completely stripped...

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

The thermostat in my trucks engine failed one night when I was still a long way from home. It of course was a bitter cold night.

I saw a service station open that had service bays. Had a coffee while the guy changed it to warm up and hit the road. Ride home was pure misery. Back in those days service stations carried common parts.

Next morning I found he had put the thermostat in backwards and it got crushed open. I should have tried something in front of the radiator. I was too cold to think though.

Had a mechanic leave a box wrench in my 300CE engine compartment. Behind the battery iirc. left a small rag there too. Took me a while to discover it too. No harm. No foul.
"Where'd I leave that wrench?"

A long time ago I changed the right rear wire wheel on my 1962 MGA 1600MKII. Problem was I removed the jack before I tightened the cap. Riding down the highway that night I first heard a clank, clank - cap came off. One second later off goes the wheel.. & disappears into the woods. Searched the next day and found only the cap.
My grandmother calls the State Highway Department and reports the incident.
The following spring she gets a call that the road crew discovered the tire and wire wheel. What dumb luck.

Two really stupid incidents come to mind here.

1. Years ago, I wanted better sound in the SDL and asked around the office to see who was recommended for this. I was referred to a car audio shop that supposedly was known for custom work they do on high end cars. Dropped the car off for what should have been a routine task for such a shop. Changed out the head unit and speakers then had them install a cd changer, 2 amplifiers, and a concealed subwoofer. Picked it up and started my hour long commute home. The car reeked of fuel really bad. Got home and didnt see anything amiss under the hood then went to the trunk. There was diesel fuel standing in the bottom of the trunk. They mounted the amps to a piece of acoustical material...and the sheet of material to what they thought was the back of the rear seat. What they actually mounted to (drilled into) was the fuel tank. 16 nicely spaced holes in the tank. Ended up putting a new tank in on their dime.

2. Tire shop incorrectly set the lift points of their floor lift and one of the posts came up and through the back floor on my VW Jetta TDI. Had to take the interior out and creatively patch the hole and pound the floor flat. Shop denied doing this and since I technically wasnt out actual money I let it slide.

Runner up: Just last month I had tires rotated and balanced as I do every other oil change. (Directional tires) The next time I washed the car, I noticed the rotation markings on the tire sidewalls were backwards. Apparently the 2 arrows showing the rotation direction on each sidewall got overlooked. Took it back and told them i wanted them rotated correctly. The guy making the service order looked at me like I had 6 heads when mentioning having directional tires. They did the job correctly the second time.

__________________
Lance Allison
Lance@LanceAllison.com

Current:
11 MB S550 4Matic, 55k miles, Designo Black/Black
14 Ford F150 XLT Lariat Crew, 73k miles, 5.0
Coyote V8 4x4. Black/tan.
09 GMC Envoy Denali, 5.3 V8, 4x4 SWB. 38k miles,
Jewel Red/Med Gray.

Gone:
87 MB 300SDL, 320k miles, Astral Silver/Blue.
98 VW Jetta TDI, 488k miles, Classic Green/Gray.
85 Olds 98 Brougham FWD, 4.3 DIESEL V6, 80k
miles, 3x Gray.

MBCA Member, Chicago Region