Great thread, but this has to be one of the oldest and wisest, MEASURE TWICE and CUT- { drill, ream, hone, bore, final weld, etc., etc... } ONCE. BDM {we are all guilty of that one}
During engine assembly, always check to make sure that you have the correct head gasket, so that you don't fill the cylinders and crankcase of your freshly rebuilt 1934 Chevy engine with coolant, when you only wanted to fill the radiator.
When re-building a master cylinder check the piston you just bought against the one you just took out. I don't know where they looked it up but the parts store sold me one that was about a 1/4" too short. Makes sure when you buy a replacement ignition coil they don't give you "the one we give guys when we can't find the one you were supposed to have". The wrong one can be really hard on the points and cap.
i make a list , then forget where i put it . shit happens , what i want to know is , when does it stop .
when you have calipers on each side that are identical remember to mount em with the bleeders pointed up. when building brake hard lines. Triple check which flare you need and leave a bit extra. when running a one wire alt remember to install a diode in the signal circuit or it'll keep the car running with the Ign. off.
I used to work in a parts store so always bring in your old part first to match up to the replacement one or otherwise you will just end up coming back to get the right one 50% of the time. Parts stores computers are notorious for being wrong......garbage in,garbage out.Save a trip, bring in the old part first.
"don't be lazy, change your own oil. the morons at the quickie lube will strip your oil pan threads and put in the wrong oil." Also the kids like to use anti seize on the plug....mmm aluminum flakes in the oil no extra charge
Making cardboard templates to use when making brackets for alternator .Tried to wing it and hold steel and mark the holes 3 brackets later I got it right with template ....And Dont rush things .......................
Even when you get super excited because your buddy finally got his truck together;and hes running around like a 5 year old at Christmas. Always stop and ask him " Are the rear U-bolts more than one wrench turn tight?"
As a 17 year old tire "technician" (we called 'em Chimps in MD too!) in 1975, I personally sheered 2 off of somebody's Dart before the manager saw me doin' it and quickly educated me as to what the little L in the center of the stud meant...! Damned Mopars anyway. Never heard a such a thing... H.
Happened to me... and the cause of the low battery was poor ground at the alternator. Ran a direct wire from alternator frame to battery negative, problem solved.
Make sure when you install lights on a car for the first time that the bulbs are the correct voltage. Some aftermarket suppliers still sell lights w/ 6 volt bulbs thinking they will be used in antiques. These will work a few times with 12 volts but not for long.....
This happened to me too after helping a friend wire his car and nothing would work.After two hours of useless troubleshooting,we checked the battery output. Yup, dead battery !!!
FWD cars with automatics with 2 dipsticks...don't pull them both out at the same time... tranny fluid does not make a good oil additive... and automatic transmissions don't work well empty
I just got slapped with another scenario last night that I should have know better. I've been fighting a no-start issue with my Fairlane, sometimes it will crank right up and sometimes it just flatlines for no reason, i replaced the solenoid, and sometimes i can fiddle with the battery cables and solenoid cables and it will crank up. yesterday after fussing with it for over an hour and a half and leaving it on the battery charger all day and it STILL not showing a full charge, i decided to take a look at the terminals. the positive terminal had some sort of film over it that was keeping the cable from making a good clean contact, two minutes worth of cleaning the terminal and cable, she fired right up no problem.
Drum brakes got a big shoe and a little shoe. Just did rears on my brother in laws Dodge and was wondering why the brake drum wasnt wanting to go back on...Had the two big shoes on same drum. Duh.
One of my friends rebuilt his starter and had just finished reinstalling it when I walked in his garage. He hit the key, only to hear a "click", and I saw a wisp of smoke rise from the battery terminal. I ground the cable back and forth and said, "Now, try it". Guess what? Don't start with the most complicated thing.
Connected a battery without checking the manual first. Turned out it was a positive ground. Also had an rotation and alignment done on the wife's mini van (yeah thats it) where the guy left the lugnuts finger tight on the passenger side. That was a nice ride for 30 ft.
Get into the habit of laying tools on something OUTSIDE the car (a table, a stool, etc.) instead of putting them all over the engine compartment. Cuts down on the rattling noises as you pull out of your driveway and your sockets, screwdriver, etc. roll off of your motor onto the road. I've been working on my own cars for 30 years and only in the past year or two have I started to catch myself laying tools all over the engine compartment and place them on a rolling table instead.
Tuck your shoe strings in your shoes when riding a motorcycle. I had a shoe string get caught on my foot peg, me and the bike fell flat. I bet it looked crazy.
The Jalopy Journal
