What is the most expensive thing you ever broke while trying to fix it?

[Texas Diesel]

What is the most expensive thing you ever broke while trying to fix it?



I cross threaded the water pump bolts while putting on a new water pump on a 5. 2L V8

 

[klenger]

While I was working as an avionics tech many many years ago, I was carrying a couple of black boxes across the hanger. The system was a Global Navigation VLF/Omega. One of the boxes has a rubidium (sp) standard clock in it. The unit slipped out of my had and dropped about 18" to the floor. I think the rubidium standard was about $6000 or so. As I remember, we got it fixed under warranty. "Honest, it just quit. " It's easy to **** up big time in the aviation business.

 

[JSmith]

Worked in the oil fields and was working the treaters. I did not screw up but I recovered the system. Inlet 45,000 bbl`s oil and water per day. Filled four tanks, six tanker trucks, the water trucks, and had to hault oil production for hours to get the water to drop out of the shipping oil. I guess the Company lost over $ 50,000 in 24 hrs. Count my O/T in on that one.

 

[EMD Diesel Power]

Broke a cylinder test valve tube off inside a head on a 645 EMD. Only wanted to get the tube out so I could change the seal... (50 cents). Ended up pulling the head and changing that out instead. (900 some bucks for a new head plus a new valve tube). I got lucky and had it break off inside the head instead of the other way around... .



Jeff

 

[Sticks]

No damage, but while doing contract auto repair for a small garage, my boss and I were doing a timing belt change on a '01 Subaru. I had the timing set right (TDC on all 5 wheels) and the boss came took over as I was getting ready to go home, moved three of them, assembled and tried to fire it up. Sounded awful and obviously did not start.



Did not break or bend any valves (thank the gods). He did manage to loose the crank shaft bolt after resetting the timing... the biggest bolt on the whole darn car. Looked for two hours, decided it was under the hood of the other car he was working on, and bought a new one ($3. 19 at the dealer).



The biggest time delay to completion was changing out the shock rubber grommets for my Valkyrie. The last bolt to go on, sheered off during re-assembly torquing. Broke my puller, and refused to be drilled. $26 dollar part and two weeks to get the new shock mount in.

 

[nickleinonen]

Originally posted by EMD Diesel Power

Broke a cylinder test valve tube off inside a head on a 645 EMD. Only wanted to get the tube out so I could change the seal... (50 cents). Ended up pulling the head and changing that out instead. (900 some bucks for a new head plus a new valve tube). I got lucky and had it break off inside the head instead of the other way around... .



Jeff

done that change out several times, but haven't broken one off in a head yet... i've had to fix a few stripped testcock holes too... i did however tear off a upper nose wear plate off of a d78 traction motor while putting it back into a unit didn't notice the nose caught the spring pack while lifting the motor in, until i hear a large bang, and the unit bounced up&down ±2" and looked and the wear plate was in the bottom of the pit... just quitely lowered the motor down, got a new wear plate and got the welder out, and just quickly welded it up in place and real quickly got that motor back into place...

 

[Texas Diesel]

My neighbor is a Union Welder and they were working on a hopsital A/C system. He was in the same room as a MRI machine, he didnt think that he was close enough to worry about it, they fired it up and his welding tanks became projectile, WRONG, the companies insurance got to buy a new $600k part

 

[EMD Diesel Power]

Forgotten that I had the broken tube in my toolbox. Was one of those deals where I was rocking the air gun back and forth gently and it seemed to be coming out..... well it was... . but she twisted off. Got the twisted end out and found out the end had welded itself into the head and broke off there too Thus the head changeout.



My partner was on the other side of the diesel when he heard me say just one word... ... came around to me and said *you broke the dam thing off in there didnt ya* We had a good laugh over it and then we both did the head changeout quick.



nickleinonen---- now I've never broke the upper nose wear plate off a TM. Have welded a few in though to bring back to spec.



Deezul--- That MRI/Weld tank incident had to be a sight to see... . yikes.

 

[guns101]

What i did on my summer vacation...

I know this guy... he's a firefighter,like myself. well one time at this fire... He tried to raise the stick(Ladder) ,well one of the side safetey locks stuck,unbeknownst to him and he raised it anyway,putting a really cool twist in the ladder,bedded it released the lock,raised the stick again. no problem,right?Well the next inspection was a week away and the ladder flunked due to a twist(gasp of horror) in the main ladder:--) $70,000 later and lots of finger pointing,it was all better:-{}

 

[JSmith]

I was single and got married.

 

[nickleinonen]

now I've never broke the upper nose wear plate off a TM. Have welded a few in though to bring back to spec

we did fish that old wear plate out of the pit. from the weld seam that was visiable, it was welded in wrong [the wear plate stuck out about 1/2" out further than the nose] but that was my fault for not looking too closely [and having a NFG cnr special flashlight #@$%! #@$%! #@$%! to not see properly] oh well... live & learn. lots of time to break stuff [can't retire until 2036 june 30 if i stay with cn till then ]

 

[EMD Diesel Power]

Originally posted by nickleinonen

we did fish that old wear plate out of the pit. from the weld seam that was visiable, it was welded in wrong [the wear plate stuck out about 1/2" out further than the nose] but that was my fault for not looking too closely [and having a NFG cnr special flashlight #@$%! #@$%! #@$%! to not see properly] oh well... live & learn. lots of time to break stuff [can't retire until 2036 june 30 if i stay with cn till then ]

No wonder you caught the pack going back in... . jeez. I can also identify with the NFG special flashlights (when I was with WC). Although, they worked pretty darn well... . just had to steal a clear lens every month or so from the reject/broken pile.



Is canadian railroad retirement different from the US RRB? If I had been able to stay in RR service, I could have retired after 30 yrs (2030). (Still can do that after 30 yrs service... just need to get back in with another RR and it will be later than 2030)

 

[Morphious]

Quite a few years ago, I wrote mastering software for the CD/DVD industry, basically our machine controlled these humongous machines via commands over rs232 or other busses. These recorders were all made by different companies, some our competitors (who also sold our stuff if customers requested it), but they weren't always free with thier new commands for a new version of machine. So we would have to go out where a new one was installed and sit and play with it, recording the different commands thier thier equipment used, and reverse engineer thier command protocols, now these machines are huge optical beds with the water cooled coherent lasers, some tables use two different lasers, red/blue or ultraviolet. these beams were routed down to a fine beam and ran through a shutter, which we controlled to write the bits on a glass master that contained a photo resist that the laser burned off to make the pits on a cd. The glass master is about 8" in diameter with a metal hub on it that the machine clamps too. This glass master can spin in upwards of 10k rpm. These glass masters are loaded on the front of the machine and then robotics load the glass from a sealed case (class 1000 clean room environment where the machines were), and loads them. Well something went wrong on one of our tests, with the spindle at the max spin speed, the command to release the glass disc was somehow issued on a glitch and talk about heading for the hills when we heard it shattering inside the machine. Needless to say, not much damage happened, but all the optics had to be rechecked for alignment and the machine was down for several hours while all this was accomplished.



Morph.

 

[nickleinonen]

Originally posted by EMD Diesel Power

No wonder you caught the pack going back in... . jeez. I can also identify with the NFG special flashlights (when I was with WC). Although, they worked pretty darn well... . just had to steal a clear lens every month or so from the reject/broken pile.



Is canadian railroad retirement different from the US RRB? If I had been able to stay in RR service, I could have retired after 30 yrs (2030). (Still can do that after 30 yrs service... just need to get back in with another RR and it will be later than 2030)

over here at least with cn, they work on a 85 point system. so when your years of service plus your age equal 85, you can retire. i've been working there for a year now [managment is going all to hell now too -11 supervisors retired/fired/bought out/back on tools in the last week] and if i can put up with the BS and stay there till i am 55 years old [can't get early retirement before then] then i will have 34 years of service and 55 years of age giving me 89 points [if i did the math right -too tired right now]

 

[loncray]

Had a buddy of mine come back from the Gulf War in '91 who'd apparently cross-wired a very large trailer full of the Army's very most-expensive electronics. I'm told it was the single most expensive loss of equipment not due to hostile fire in the entire Gulf War.

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

$30,000 Switch gear when we were building the Sports Authority. Lets just say Scissor Lift , piece of chain link fence , One Rippin Pizzed Foreman , One scared to death fenceman , and me.

 

[Mtngoat]

My first marriage, MAN did that get expensive. My toys are a lot cheeper and I have an understanding wife now!!



Robin

 

[kiwi bird]

I accidently drilled through the outer hull on a new $150K+ pleasure boat while installing an extra battery.



The new owner threw such a fit about it after discovering water in the bouyancy chamber that the shop had to give him a NEW boat.

 

[Texas Diesel]

Did you get to find a new job too Should of told him the bilge pump could handle that little leak :-laf

 

[Scot]

Boss hires this doofus to help out at the shop. We get a job replacing a bunch of fire supression equipment at a gas fired power plant. We are almost finished working on one unit (which was shut down) when doofus decides to walk over to the running unit and remove the manual pull we had just put on the previous day. That releases several hundred pounds of halon (~$20/pound) as it emergency stops the unit. Luckily doofus does get a ride back 100 miles to his truck.