If you've been wrenching your vehicle on your own, chances

cross threaded a brake line when i was 16. a few years ago i snapped a bolt off. I have actually done that twice though.

As of late though, I have found mechanics fucking up more shit than I ever have. I had a mechanic break a pvc pipe and not tell me about it. Found the shitty glue job next time i popped the hood.

Tire techs seem to be nearly unable to balance a tire, also had a tire tech strip two hub threads on a wheel.

>>15176118
took my bike to a mech recommended through a friend "ex moto gp rider top mechanic blah blah"
this guy installs a new fan on my new radiator and a month later i have holes cut in the coils by my fan. also have electrical issues after getting it back too

>>15176012
I spent three hours and bent two scewdrivers turning the oil filter 1/4 turn the wrong way.

>>15176012
Tried to use a lighted 4 pole rocker switch on a three pole harness for my new offroad lights. It started to get really hot immediately and I had to pull it apart live with my bare hands before the insulation melted or caught fire. This is on blade connections so I could have zapped the hell out out of myself. Worked fine with the 3 pole of course.

I suppose that's what I get for going "Well gee, all you need is the normal dead switch to complete the circuit and then use the spare 12V out to ground the switch." Apparently the two circuits were not completely separate in the switch.

Also got a couple of drops of brake fluid that dripped into the engine bay when I was flushing my brakes the other week. Didn't matter that I wiped it off within a couple of seconds, still stripped those spots down to primer. Lesson learned. Always pack some paper towels under the master cylinder when you're doing that job.

>>15176012
I'm not an idiot so I haven't fucked up.

So many broken and stripped bolts. Aluminum parts suck for wrenching sometimes. Other than that and cosmetic damage while doing interior work I've been pretty lucky that my mechanical screwups havent cost me too much. Also I've fried an interior light assembly trying to tap into it for additional interior lights and accidentally hooking one up backwards. Thats why i dont smoke and do electrical mods at the same time anymore.

rebuilt a 1ZZ-FE block out of a 2003 Pontiac Vibe, did everything perfectly EXCEPT did not tighten the crank pulley bolt to the specified torque

It came out about a week later and the valves were immediately destroyed

Changing the battery on an E39 with those stupid little wrenches that BMW provide at the side of the road. Didn't remove the bracket across the top before undoing the live lead FIRST. Shorted the wrench out and it started welding itself to the bracket.

Had to wrap my hand in paper towels and yank that shit out before it got worse. Spanner was cherry red and sizzled in a puddle for ages.

Not my finest hour :\

>>15176012
I installed a new ball joint without injecting it full of grease. I didn't know it was a normal thing for suspension items with a grease service port to come dry.

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>>15176012
This one time, when I was cleaning my Bedford Rascal, I locked myself inside.

>>15177513
Needless to say it started creaking and squeaking two months later. I replaced it with a sealed dummylast lifetime unit from autozone. They may be shit, but they're lifetime warranty shit.

>>15177531
(You)

>>15176012
Of course I've fucked up.

07 Yaris, Alternator bracket position sets belt tension, no tensioner.
Issue : Alternator is in an awkward spot to pull on to set tension, so I used a short pry bar.

Pry bar slipped, crushed the cam adjuster solenoid.

$100 mistake, no big deal, just delayed my drive home by an hour.

>>15176012
I once tries to install a 95 f150 cab on a 93 f250. Wiring harnesses didnt match up, got no.juice from alternator, bought 3 different alternators thinking they were the problem before I figured it out.

>>15177513
>>15177534
>>15177542
OH YOU

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Put heads and cam on a LS6 block I pulled from a 2002 Z28. Cam bearings looked a little worse for the wear. I said fuck it and put it back together anyway. Surprise surprise oil pressure wont go above 30psi. Now its just sitting on the side of my house cause im lazy to tear it back apart again. pic related

>>15176012
>implying my broke ass can afford to call a mechanic when my junk breaks