For me, it is a toss up between doing a head gasket on a '02 Altima (4 cylinder, but there's no room to work), removing the head on my sisters old 1965 Rambler American (had plenty of room to work, but several studs had rust welded themselves into the head. It took several days of prying, heat, and hammering to pull that head off. I lifted the car off the ground with an engine hoist by the head, with nothing but the awesome power of rust holding it up), and the water pump on my 1981 Volvo 264.

__________________
Milan Brown 1979 240D, rebuilt OM617.952 turbo diesel, rebuilt 722.315 transmission (my only daily driver)

Instagram: @maximed93

Since most of my experience has been on older Ford pick-up trucks, and can't say that anything has been difficult. Challenging, yes...but not difficult.

Most of the challenging work has been tracking down the problem, or having the physical abilities to perform the work.

__________________
1987 560SL
85,000 miles

Injection pump on humvee is up there, but top of the list for me has been cracked exhaust manifolds ford V10, f350 rusty plow truck. Every single rusted away stud and nut requiring the torch, and next to no room to do it, even with the benefit of a lift.

__________________
This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Jeeze ~ it's been so many years since I left the rust belt I'd forgotten how much fun rusted to nothing fragile exhaust fasteners can be....

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

are you speaking of the QR25DE engine? - its very easy if you leave the timing case and chain in place.

__________________
2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

rear timing chain on a Ford 4.0. Was not a successful repair and I shot a valve out the top...

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

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

Oh man, i had wondered what came of that job. Did you end up getting another engine or just ditch the truck all together?

__________________
This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Deng, what sort of tools and/or witchcraft do you use to get this done?

__________________
-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

Here's one that "builds character"*.

Changing the main block cable on a SeaTrax crane, in February, Cook inlet Alaska.

Takes 4 people, one in the cab operating the hoist, one on either side of the hoist armed with sedge hammers and crow bars to get the cable laid in tight, and one on deck operating the cable spooler.

I was the one on deck running the spooler. Nice balmy day, 15* or so with a 15mph north wind. Nothing to break the wind, in fact the drill rig kind of creates a wind tunnel effect. It takes quite awhile to wind 1,400 feet of 7/8" cable on to the hoist drum.


* Any time someone say a job "builds character" what the really mean is the job sucks.

Changing the track on a Cat D9, in the rain, in about six inches of mud, in a field over a quarter of a mile from the nearest road. I have hated that yellow color ever since.

Right on the heels of this I would say changing the spool on an old donkey engine at a logging site.

__________________
“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

Watching an Old Man do the belly blade in the dirt and hoping he didn't get cut in 1/2 when the leaky hydraulics allowed the open blade to slowly drift closed .... .

I've done field repair works since the 1960's, it's rarely fun but part of the job for many Journeyman mechanics .

WORK SAFELY ! .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Since it was before my time at Trading Bay, it does not count for my personal character building experiences.

The dozer threw a track on the beach at low tide.
Watching the tide come in is a real motivator.


I agree, anything painted Cat yellow is going to be hard, heavy, dirty work.

I ditched that truck for scrap. I have another explorer that's running well and drives great (albeit rusty), but need to get rid of. Luckily very little money into them, I'll chalk it up as worth it for the learning experiences. Since I got the Delica, havent touched the explorer.

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

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

After not twisting nuts and bolts for 25 years my 1985 380SE jumped time. I tore it down, did a valve job, removed the front off the engine and replaced the timing chain, pulled the lower pan and replaced a piston, had to buy a parts car with a complete engine to figure out where and how alternator and other pieces fit back together. I reused the rod and bearing and replaced only the piston and rings.

I did it all for 900 bucks and nine months working part time as money and parts became available. After having it run for a few years I parked it for an 84 SD. After driving the SD a few years I swapped the diesel in the SE body.

I'm still whittling that one down but the interior has been removed, restored and replaced along with the engine, trans, differential yoke and most systems and controls rebuilt or restored including steering box, cruse control amp and climate control mod. Of course flex disk and other potentially problem parts have been replaced.

If you want a perfect 33 year old car it's going to take some sweat and blood if you aren't rich.

__________________
84 300SD
85 380SE
83 528e
95 318ic

Holy Shiite Bat People. It's hard enough just getting garden hose neatly on a reel. Does that sort of cable ever have a memory, a serious desire to kink off sideways?

__________________
1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K