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Things not to do in your garage
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GFritsch said:
Shocked by a coil you say
My friend had a 70 mustang and one of the wires looked loose so I tried to put it back on, who thought to shut the engine down... not me :{ That was almost as good as getting nailed with a 230 volt line :--) That will get your heart moving or get it stopped :-laf
This didnt happen in the garage but was still a bonehead move on my part... A couple of yrs ago I had alot of time on my hands and one of my friends who owns a general handyman service had a serious run of bad luck and ended up with a truck that wouldnt run and no $$ to fix it... So I started helping him out by driving him around to different jobs... One job we had was to install new light switches and poweroutlets in one of his customers houses. . We got to the job only to find that she had to go off on an emergency call to the office and for some reason... there was a pad lock on the circuit breaker box and we had promised that the job would be done that day (we had cancled on her a couple of times due to being stuck at my friends house thx to a foot and a half of clay mud my truck was parked in) as we ended up replacing 22 power outlets and 10 light switches with the power still on using only 2 screw drivers and a pair of needle nose... didnt had the time or $$ to obtain a pair of gloves... an enlightening experience to say the least...
Last month I had to pull the engine and torque converter out of a caterpillar 615 scraper so it could be updated and dyno tested... to get the torque converter out I had to take off 2 9inch diameter supply lines running from the bottom of the hydraulic tank to the hyd pumps... So i loosened a fitting in the side of one of the supply lines and let it drain for a while... after 30 min it had slowed to a drip so i proceeded to take the line off the rest of the way not bothering to notice that the drain tub only had about 5 gallons of fluid in it... next thing i remember I get hit in the face with 45 gallons of 110 degree hydraulic oil... and this was at 6:30 in the morning. . I still had another 10 and a half hours till quitting time and no clothes to change in to... At least i didnt get wet when it started raining later that day
Moose
Last month I had to pull the engine and torque converter out of a caterpillar 615 scraper so it could be updated and dyno tested... to get the torque converter out I had to take off 2 9inch diameter supply lines running from the bottom of the hydraulic tank to the hyd pumps... So i loosened a fitting in the side of one of the supply lines and let it drain for a while... after 30 min it had slowed to a drip so i proceeded to take the line off the rest of the way not bothering to notice that the drain tub only had about 5 gallons of fluid in it... next thing i remember I get hit in the face with 45 gallons of 110 degree hydraulic oil... and this was at 6:30 in the morning. . I still had another 10 and a half hours till quitting time and no clothes to change in to... At least i didnt get wet when it started raining later that day
Moose
I did that with a HEI distributor... I've been zapped by 220V many times. This was FAR FAR more painful
HOBrian said:Shocked by a coil you say
I was wiggling the plug wire on an old JD 2 cylinder, when my coworker spun the flywheel. He could tell it was getting spark by the way I stood on my tipee toes with a funny look on my face. Them old magnetos hit pretty hard. 
One time I had a buddy dump some gas into the carb of my old 440 to help it start. The 440 backfired, lit the plastic container of gas on fire, he then threw the burning container of gas right on the tops of several 5 gallon buckets of waste oil!!! Luckily I had a fire extengisher in the truck. Got the fire out. We were trying to get the old dodge started and out of the garage, because my G/F and I were moving to a differnt house!! Almost burned down the garage of a house we were moving out of.
I had a pan of 80W90 in the garage on the floor after fixing a broken dana 60 rear diff. Rolled the truck out and left the pan set there while finishing the truck and picking up tools. My three year old son was running in and out of the garage in some little cowboy boots and wrangler pants. In his running for some reason he stepped right in the middle of the pan. 80W90 makes a quick mess of wrangler pants, boots and a garage floor. :-laf
Michael
He could tell it was getting spark by the way I stood on my tipee toes with a funny look on my face. Them old magnetos hit pretty hard. One time I had a buddy dump some gas into the carb of my old 440 to help it start. The 440 backfired, lit the plastic container of gas on fire, he then threw the burning container of gas right on the tops of several 5 gallon buckets of waste oil!!! Luckily I had a fire extengisher in the truck. Got the fire out. We were trying to get the old dodge started and out of the garage, because my G/F and I were moving to a differnt house!! Almost burned down the garage of a house we were moving out of.
I had a pan of 80W90 in the garage on the floor after fixing a broken dana 60 rear diff. Rolled the truck out and left the pan set there while finishing the truck and picking up tools. My three year old son was running in and out of the garage in some little cowboy boots and wrangler pants. In his running for some reason he stepped right in the middle of the pan. 80W90 makes a quick mess of wrangler pants, boots and a garage floor. :-laf
Michael
GFritsch said:
I was young enough, 7 or 8, that I wasn't of tractor drivin' age in Grandpa's eyes. That didn't stop me from climbin' around the tractors when they were in the shed, to pretend I was drivin' em.
Climbed up on his old Farmall H one afternoon. Knew just enough not to pull out the silver button, but had no idea what a clutch pedal might do. I pushed real authoritatively, leadin' with my palm, on the starter button. The old girl rocked forward out of the ruts in the dirt floor and smack into the front of the old safe where he kept his blasting caps.
I'd gotten away (or, as I learned later, thought I had) with a lot of stunts around the farm, but I got this picture in my mind of some kind of spark blowin' Grandpa to flinders the next time he went to start the H, so I told him about what I'd done.
Couldn't understand at the time why he laughed, but the next day he started teachin' me how to drive.
Climbed up on his old Farmall H one afternoon. Knew just enough not to pull out the silver button, but had no idea what a clutch pedal might do. I pushed real authoritatively, leadin' with my palm, on the starter button. The old girl rocked forward out of the ruts in the dirt floor and smack into the front of the old safe where he kept his blasting caps.
I'd gotten away (or, as I learned later, thought I had) with a lot of stunts around the farm, but I got this picture in my mind of some kind of spark blowin' Grandpa to flinders the next time he went to start the H, so I told him about what I'd done.
Couldn't understand at the time why he laughed, but the next day he started teachin' me how to drive.
Changing ignitor plug on L-13
Never let your (so-called) friend be the go between you and pilot ready to run up helicopter! :-laf
Never let your (so-called) friend be the go between you and pilot ready to run up helicopter! :-laf
Back when I worked at the ambulance shop I parked a 3/4 ton Dodge Ram van but needed to push it back a few inches... so I figured I'd just slap it in neutral and give it a quick push.
I stood on the driver's side with the door open and gave it a shove. Those that have ever payed attention to these vans will see that the front wheels/tires are dreadfully close to the front doors. Yeah, you guessed it... I rolled the van onto my own foot. I hollered real quick in pain and then came to my senses enough to push it off my foot. :-laf
Or... the time I was there at the shop and decided to make my own oil filter crusher. The very first filter I attempted to crush was a big suckah out of a 7. 3L PSD. I neglected to take the filter o-ring off and it built up a HUGE head of pressure. When it let loose... there was waste engine oil RAINING down from the high ceilings. I found out later that Dad had done something similar 30 years before in the same shop back when it was a Chrysler dealership... but he did it with a bearing packer - which sent a big slug of grease towards the ceiling. :-laf
Matt
I stood on the driver's side with the door open and gave it a shove. Those that have ever payed attention to these vans will see that the front wheels/tires are dreadfully close to the front doors. Yeah, you guessed it... I rolled the van onto my own foot. I hollered real quick in pain and then came to my senses enough to push it off my foot. :-laf
Or... the time I was there at the shop and decided to make my own oil filter crusher. The very first filter I attempted to crush was a big suckah out of a 7. 3L PSD. I neglected to take the filter o-ring off and it built up a HUGE head of pressure. When it let loose... there was waste engine oil RAINING down from the high ceilings. I found out later that Dad had done something similar 30 years before in the same shop back when it was a Chrysler dealership... but he did it with a bearing packer - which sent a big slug of grease towards the ceiling. :-laf
Matt
PToombs
TDR MEMBER
Know those old Cub Cadet lawn garden tractors? The ones that the drive belt goes down thru the frame? I was 16 and putting belt dressing on the drive belt,the solid kind that looks like a tube of grease. With the engine running, getting the picture? Then I thought I'd check to see if it was sticky, IT WAS!
I was lucky enough that I only lost the tips of the 1st 2 fingers, it's barely noticeable now. Did I mention that I don't like belts anymore?
By the way, don't take the oil drain plug out of a Samsung 450 excavator(which holds 7 gallons) with an air wrench, the oil don't taste good.
Be careful when you work with stoners, guy was grinding on the bench grinder,under the bench was a plastic pan of lacquer thinner, when I looked over, the flames were 3 feet and climbing. Thank goodness the cheap boss had finally got the fire extinguishers filled the week before!
I was lucky enough that I only lost the tips of the 1st 2 fingers, it's barely noticeable now. Did I mention that I don't like belts anymore?
By the way, don't take the oil drain plug out of a Samsung 450 excavator(which holds 7 gallons) with an air wrench, the oil don't taste good.
Be careful when you work with stoners, guy was grinding on the bench grinder,under the bench was a plastic pan of lacquer thinner, when I looked over, the flames were 3 feet and climbing. Thank goodness the cheap boss had finally got the fire extinguishers filled the week before!
Andy Perreault
TDR MEMBER
Well, let's see, there's so many times I've done something stupid in the garage!
One time I was under my '79 F250 changing the lube in the rear differential. I remember I was wearing a brand new pair of shoes, and I tried to push the drain pan out of the way with my foot as I was laying on my back. The pan wouldn't move, so I pushed a little harder. Suddenly, it moved faster than I had planned, and I sloshed stinky gear lube all over my shoe, sock, and pant leg. You know how bad that stuff smells! So much for that pair of shoes, at least the right one!
Lesson learned: wear old shoes when working on vehicles.
Andy
One time I was under my '79 F250 changing the lube in the rear differential. I remember I was wearing a brand new pair of shoes, and I tried to push the drain pan out of the way with my foot as I was laying on my back. The pan wouldn't move, so I pushed a little harder. Suddenly, it moved faster than I had planned, and I sloshed stinky gear lube all over my shoe, sock, and pant leg. You know how bad that stuff smells! So much for that pair of shoes, at least the right one!
Lesson learned: wear old shoes when working on vehicles.
Andy
a few months ago when i was working at a kenworth dealership, i had to take off the rear 4 outside tires of 5 cement mixers for my boss to paint them. well all goes well with painting, and reinstallation of the tires of 4 trucks, the fifth is done last, then after distractions, and miscommunication with a co-worker :-{} , i went park the truck. the following monday i was told that the fifth truck had had a bad accident at 2am on the interstate, and lost 2 tires (these tires weigh around 275-300 lbs w/ rim) thank God no one was injured or killed. tires fell off, truck nearly flipped, and driver needed a few pairs of underwear. one tire was found somehow in the top of a tree 300 yards from the interstate, the other was never found, and truck was only going 50.
well truck had no damage except, needed new: rims,tires,hub,axle, and studs. also the ones behind that were very loose!
well no one was hurt. did i mention thats how i got fired? :{
well truck had no damage except, needed new: rims,tires,hub,axle, and studs. also the ones behind that were very loose!
well no one was hurt. did i mention thats how i got fired? :{
Working under a '70 Pontiac LeMans with my dad when I was a kid. We were both kicking each side of the cross member attempting to get it back under the trans when the rear end of the car, fortunately with tires mounted, hit the ground! After we started breathing again we realized that we had left the rear jacked up to the top of a bumber jack (remember those wonderful things) and had not placed the stand jacks. Fortunately the front was on proper jacks. No injuries, and I have not forgotten proper jacks since then
I had a friend
He wasn't too bright, jacked up his Caddy and put it on cinderblocks. He was going to pull transmission, so he pulls the tires and wheels off at the same time to put on nice wirespokes on. He gets the transmission out, then crawls under to pull converter. Car falls, he is caught in driveshaft/transmission tunnel for a day and half! We go over to tell him about the party he had missed the night before, and hear this pitiful voice from under the car "Help, Help"! We get him out, take him to the hospitial, no broken bones, just severe embarassment! :-laf
He wasn't too bright, jacked up his Caddy and put it on cinderblocks. He was going to pull transmission, so he pulls the tires and wheels off at the same time to put on nice wirespokes on. He gets the transmission out, then crawls under to pull converter. Car falls, he is caught in driveshaft/transmission tunnel for a day and half! We go over to tell him about the party he had missed the night before, and hear this pitiful voice from under the car "Help, Help"! We get him out, take him to the hospitial, no broken bones, just severe embarassment! :-laf
I learned from the best, My Dad and I were removing the body on my 1st car a 65 pontiac for a frame swap. We took all the body bolts loose, we could see, and started jacking up the car in the front. Then realized that there were two bolts up above the rear axle. So my Dad crawled under, the 1st bolt was nothin, the second however let the car fly about a foot in the air. I saw the look on my Dad's face for an instant and then the car came crashing down. No harm done.
And don't put new electrode's in you stick welder, bare handed leaning on the grounded item in shorts on a hot day.
Don't throw brake clean cans in the wood stove.
Brake fluid burns, especially when thrown in the wood stove.
Found a bad distributor on a bronco by holding the dist cap hooked to the coil with the Ignition on and spinning the dist, Got about 3 zaps.
And don't put new electrode's in you stick welder, bare handed leaning on the grounded item in shorts on a hot day.
Don't throw brake clean cans in the wood stove.
Brake fluid burns, especially when thrown in the wood stove.
Found a bad distributor on a bronco by holding the dist cap hooked to the coil with the Ignition on and spinning the dist, Got about 3 zaps.
Changed oil on my old Ford 6. 9 one day and got the oil splashed in my face by the wind. I used a 5 gallon bucket for the old oil. Then, after the oil stopped draining, with full bucket, the plug fell into the bucket. Fortunately it was only warm, so I dipped my arm into it and grabbed it.
Most dangerous thing I did involved a potato canon in my early teen years. I used propane and two screws for the spark to go through, with a piezo barbeque lighter for ignition. One day, filled it up, put in ammo and no go. Hmm. Maybe gap is too big. So, I take out the ammo, point the cannon at my head, business end toward me, and peer down the barrel to look at the spark/gap. I spark it and "THUMP" goes a hot punch to the eye. Seems the propane never dissapated. Did not hurt bad, and only burned my eye lashes off and half my eyebrow off. Just imagine a couple hundred degree sock with a rolled up sock in the end of it, and swinging it at someone's eye!
Most painful thing was the singed eyelash that curled up under my eyelid and scratched the snot out of it. Makes my eyes water thinking about it.
Nick
Most dangerous thing I did involved a potato canon in my early teen years. I used propane and two screws for the spark to go through, with a piezo barbeque lighter for ignition. One day, filled it up, put in ammo and no go. Hmm. Maybe gap is too big. So, I take out the ammo, point the cannon at my head, business end toward me, and peer down the barrel to look at the spark/gap. I spark it and "THUMP" goes a hot punch to the eye. Seems the propane never dissapated. Did not hurt bad, and only burned my eye lashes off and half my eyebrow off. Just imagine a couple hundred degree sock with a rolled up sock in the end of it, and swinging it at someone's eye!
Most painful thing was the singed eyelash that curled up under my eyelid and scratched the snot out of it. Makes my eyes water thinking about it.
Nick
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Issue 128 – Digital Version
Digital Magazines
FREE!
TDR Test Drive - Digital Edition
Renew
Subscribe
Gift Subscriptions
Back Issues
Subscription Status
Address Change Form
Buyer's Guides
Ram Diagnostic Trouble Codes
The Perfect Collection
The Perfect Collection Vol. II
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Dodge/Cummins Historical Overview
Cameron Collection
What Makes Us Tick?
Product Showcase
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