mcconahay37

iTrader: (3)

This last 2 weeks have been a huge PITA as far as my car is concerned. I just figured I would post some of what I have learned this week. Some of it is probably common sense but hopefully will save someone some trouble.
1. When you break something and aren't sure of whether something related might be ok. REPLACE it. It'll save you work and money down the road.
2. When you pull the distributor out, mark the position of the shaft AND the rotor. Don't do just one.
3. When you have the intake manifold off, cover all THREE holes in the back. I only covered the distributor hole for some reason, which leads me to my next point...
4. Don't drop a bolt down one of the oil holes at the back of the block underneath the intake manifold.
5. If you drop the bolt into the oil pan, take the time to get it out. Might not cause a problem, but my not doing that might be why the oil pump pickup fell off the pump. That means....
6. Weld the pickup to the pump. Apparently the guy who built my engine did not feel that was necessary. When I started my engine to set the rocker arms, I had no oil pressure. Time to pull the engine.
7. Buy the engine hoist instead of renting over a weekend. Fortunately I did this. $90 for 3 days or $150 for forever. Hmmmm.
8. Remember to remove ALL the grounds and hoses attached to the engine before you pull it. I snapped a ground wire attached to the back of the block. No big deal, but one more aggravating thing to deal with.
9. If you need to get your car running NOW, don't say might as well do _________ while we have the engine out even though we can do it later with the engine in without that much more difficulty. Messed that one up. I don't know when I'll get it running again.
10. Make sure you have enough shop toweles before you start work. Otherwise you'll run out when you need them most and your mom or wife won't let you back in the house.
11. This brings us to .....drumroll please.... don't let you landlord see the driveway covered with, oil, tranny fluid, coolant, and oil dry. It does not make them happy.

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82 Camaro:350, Erson cam, ported heads,Comp Cams 1.6:1 rocker arms, Edelbrock Performer RPM intake, Holley 600cfm, Crane Hi-6 ignition,
TH350 tranny with 2500 stall, Eibach Pro Kit, SLP 1 3/4" headers with 3" Flowmaster exhaust

firbird

lol, i like the last one seems like you had a fun time

jcb999

Oh I got a better one on the hoist. Borrow a truck and hoist from two seperate people. Then on the way to taking hoist back, let it go trough the back glass of the borrowed truck. Boom.. .

Saved all of 35 bucks on a hoist to spend 88 on a back window.


PS, gigem aggies.. man nd had it tough on saturday .

ViciousZ

iTrader: (1)

#11 And if it's not the landlord then it's the neighbors. The bastards actually called the Home Owners Assoc. on me about the engineless firebird parked in front of my house!

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91 Z28
Come see The Vicious...

mcconahay37

iTrader: (3)

The game was the only thing that went right all weekend. Hopefully, I can get my car going again by this weekend so I can autocross it. After I get it going, you'll have to come out to Kroger on a Wednesday so I can check out your car.

jcb999

I am about in the same boat. Mine is running but I have some hot wire going to ground bc my brand new battery got drained last week. I hope to be out there next wednesday if not this one.. yall get there a little late for me..but i will rumble by probably.

[This message has been edited by jcb999 (edited October 01, 2001).]

brharris27370

I am glad I am not the only one that Murphy's law applies to.

84camaro

Here's mine:

1) Don't attempt to do car repair with nothing but the haynes manual and the will to succeed

2) when you take off your nuts and bolts, make sure you catalog them - same goes for wires (doh, these two look the same!)

3) When you got to get your car running, don't go to replace another component just because it'll be easier while the coolant is out (DOH broken gooseneck bolt, car undrivable)


its been nearly a month, and every time I get close, I manage to do something else moronic. =( now, after all this work I gotta find a tow truck and a shop that can drill it for me.

[This message has been edited by 84camaro (edited October 02, 2001).]

redbird_400

Hey I just pulled a engine and put in used one. I think I violated one of your rules, got oil all over the parking lot. Yeah even the storage shed I rented from u-store, oil all over thire drive way trany fluid leaking like a blood stain. Inside the shed there is just oil everywhere. We tried to use that oil spill absorbant, it did half the job.

Lets just hope it rains alot.

------------------
89 Formula Firebird
Red with T-tops
5.0 305 FI
Soon to be a 400sb.

lineb

I got one to, dont take something off just because you dont know what it is and your curious........that one got me good.

Hype

Oh yeah....

DISCONNECT the battery when replacing fuel lines. <turning red>.

91DropTopTA

Ok, here's one. When you are pulling on the bolt that holds the harmonic balancer, and you just happen to be under the car at the time, try to remember not to pull the wrench directly at your face. I almost blacked my eye when my hand came off the wrench and I punched myself in the face. When you get pissed you tend to forget the whole "safety" thing.

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91 305 TA Convertible
79 Camaro Z-28 (Hibernating)

If speed kills I would've been dead a long time ago.

burnoutrpm

oh yeah well a freind of mine when he was intsalling a choke cable remember to hook up the fuel line after you finished he didnt......... big fire ....fire dept even came!!!! now has paint missing on his hood!!!


------------------
89 firebird formula


360 10:1compression (350 .060 over)/fully balnced and blueprinted
comp cams xe262 cam
performer rpm intake/port matched to heads
#1405edlebrock 600
sportsman 2 heads 64cc 2.02/1.60 valves 200cc intake runner/cnc pocket ported
msd 6al/msd8.5 super condutor wires
h.e.i. proform 50,000 volt vac. advance ditributor
700r-4 with 3.08 first gear and 3.23 posi 7 5/8 rear end.
b trans shift kit(will kill shifts...suck dong!!)
shorty heddman hedders with custom 3" pipe y-pipe back(no damn cat!) with 40 series flowmaster!
griffin daul1" core rad.cutom fabrication to fit(but no cutting )


future mods: 406 roller REALLY REALLY REALLY RADICAL!!!!!.with lots of NOS

david roush

iTrader: (1)

Here's a good one...I had a old 65' Ford Mustang when i was young and confused...NEVER EVER ATTEMPT TO ADVANCE THE TIMING AND TIGHTEN DOWN THE DISTRIBUTOR BOLTS WHILE ENGINE IS RUNNING!!! The box end of the wrench slipped off the bolt and in went the wrench and my hand into the fan (and a metal one too). Still don't know where the wrench flew off to but luckily my paw was still on.

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92' Camaro RS/Black,T-tops/350 TBI Targetmaster Comp.engine/5 spd/march underdrive pulleys/hedman hedders/3" dynomax exaust/hyper tech stage 2 chip/3.42 gears/K&N air filter/MSD blaster GM coil.......currently setting in my garage impatiently waiting for installation....TPI !!!!!

85SportCoupeto89RS

I've got some rules of my own.

1. When you rebuild your motor do it your self if you can and dont let family frends do it.

Ive learned that hard.Its nearly been a year since I driven my 85to88SC.Friday I might get it running right.I got to adjust the rockers the one cylinder knocks like he!!.I think it activates my knock sensor retarding my motor and leaning out the fuel mixture.The car has little power. drives me crazy

rezinn

I think you're confused 85sc

Here are a few I have done:
Don't tighten intake manifold bolts(oops!?)
Rush.
Lose that plastic piece on the back of the alternator where the hot wire connects.(fire)
Forget to connect grounds.(fire#2)
Don't bother to adjust the rockers correctly the first time.
Drop the distributor hold down behind the engine.(three times)
Drop a screwdriver down the distributor shaft hole.(twice)
Left distributor in when taking engine out.
Left lower radiator hose loose.

Im sure I've left a thousand out.

92 RSS

Or how 'bout when you just open the hood to look at your priceless piece and something breaks!

eightTfourTA

iTrader: (3)

Here's another fuel line adage: When working on fuel lines, don't have an incadescent work light ANYWHERE near the fuel or lines...cost my parents their garage and kitchen, plus 8 months out of the fire-damaged house while it was being rebuilt. (^^^^^^Stupid me, 6 years ago )

------------------
D.R. Stevens
1984 Trans Am 305HO L69
all the usual external/free mods, original engine
1991 Firebird 305 L03
2 free mods and a K&N,
otherwise stock

mcconahay37

iTrader: (3)

Here are some more things to keep in mind. Fortunately they happened in the past:

When working near the starter, disconnect the battery.

If grease is caked on it because the 305 was a piece of crap and the spark starts a fire, get the fire extinguisher FAST. (No damage)

Don't drop the starter on your face, hand or any other body part. It is HEAVY.

Make sure that your throttle return spring is located so that it will not catch on something and give you a stuck throttle. (Scary as hell)

Don't clean aluminum pieces with castrol super clean (I didn't do this but a guy at work did)

Make sure your jack stands don't sink into the brand new asphalt parking lot. If they do, deny, deny, deny. I really like having a garage and a cement driveway now.

When tightening the power steering belt on a v-belt system, do not punch a hole in the resoivor and leak PS fluid all over the place.

Don't leave a flexplate bolt loose when you turn the engine over. That way it doesn't get stuck in a water jacket and require you to unbolt the bellhousing again.

When wiping the fog caused by a leaking heater core off of the inside of the windshield, do not slam your elbow into the dashboard and crack it.

Take photos or draw good pictures of the positions of your brackets. It is a VERY hard puzzle to solve without help.

If pulling an engine straight from one vehicle and putting it into yours, make sure that the flexplate and oilpan aren't different.

I'm sure I'll think of more later. They say you learn from your mistakes better than from doing it right the first time. I can vouch for that, but it sure is the hard way.

breathment

lol there is some funny stuff here, keep it up guys, ill try to remember some of my oops' tomorrow!!

------------------
- David
88' GTA 5.7L TPI MODS---&gt; air foil, K&N, Shift Kit, 180* therm, TB bypass, Gutted CAT, Flowmaster 80 Series

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Make sure you put on throttle return spring after putting carb back on. (oops, stuck at WOT in traffic)

Take off tranny lines before pulling motor so they do not get bent up.

When installing motor and tranny together, have someone guide the back of tranny so something doesn't get hooked into the back and ruin the new tranny seal.

Sleipnir

dont: let me near your car

Sleipnir

oh yeah never "start" waxing your car, and decide getting drunk with your friends is urgent enough to never finish....weee swirly hood paint wooooo....im happy the engine died on that car before i moved across the country...

irocbod

Going along with the drinking theme, don't let your clumsy friend open a beer near your engine with the hood off. Bottle opener, belt, snap, ow.

Got this one out of one of the car mags, when trying to free a stuck fan, don't take the bolts all the way out, then start the car, the guys idea worked, right through his radiatior.

Did this one to myself, Always check your jacks and jackstands for cracks. Droped the front left tire on my knee not good.

Don't even buy the hayes manual, f-ing useless.

Don't start car in a windstorm. under tree, heavy winds, my friends truck, hood off, new engine. The fan made for a good chiper.

Don't pull too hard on that air dam when making sure it's on tight and still intact.

And finally NEVER wear sandals when doing anything but washing you car. A\C pump, heavier than I thought. That one hurt but no broken bones. I'l try to remember more tomarrow.

Range Officer Firing Line Indoor Shooting Ranges - Burbank, stop in have a blast hehehe

Oh yeah don't clean your gun then load it in front of your friends new dirt bike. By girlfriend's brother shot my Yamaha 250, had to buy whole new engine (hey payed, heavily)

86Chicken

Here's one my dad learned while changing spark plugs ...

Do not wear a metal watch band while working near the back of the alternator.

Nice scar to show for it.

Dale

sunbound

never have your girlfriend remove the waterpump for you when your under the car, and you legs hanging out the front... needless to say, this happened to me last weekend... i should have thought, ok, heavy part attached right above my groin....

needless to say, no action that night.

jon

lonsal

iTrader: (2)

I can play. Don't engage the starter to check if the clutch safety switch works after a manual tranny swap WITHOUT having the tranny installed yet. Helpfull hint: A Dremel tool is usefull in deburring the dings on the tines of the pressure plate after you manage to get the throwout bearing dislodged from it. We won't discuss how I know this. 8^)

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90 RS Convertible
Owner: Top-Down Solutions
(626)369-0040

http://www.sc3gfb.org/members/lonsal.html
http://www.taskerinc.com/gs3/profiles/Lon_profile.htm

five7kid

iTrader: (14)

Me too, me too!

When you get the distributor back in wrong, don't take the number one spark plug out to find #1 TDC on the compression stroke while your brother taps the starter because the fire coming from another cylinder through the open intake valve through the spark plug hole will burn your fingertip and you'll hit your elbow on the fender and your head on the hood.

Unless you disconnect the power to the distributor first, that is...

(lesson learned 29 years ago)

------------------
82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car, now w/86 LG4/TH700R4. 2.93 limited slip. 2-1/2" cat-back, ZZ3 intake, Accel HEI SuperCoil. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily driver, work-in-progress (LG4 CC system w/'87 LB9 block, ZZ3 cam, ported World 305 heads, Hooker 2055 headers, 3" Catco cat & 3" catback, restalled TC, Spohn SFCs).
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. '66 396, 9.7 CR forged TRWs, Weiand Action+, Holley 750VS w/4150 conversion, GK 270 cam, Magnum rockers, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" Hedders & 3" Warlocks, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & Trans-Scat shift kit, MegaShifter, 3.08 8.2" 10-bolt w/Powertrax, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Idles smooth @ 600 RPM in D. Best 15.02/95.06 @ 5800' Bandimere (corrected 13.93/102.4 @ sea level).

[This message has been edited by five7kid (edited October 04, 2001).]

poncho9789

1) do not change trans and not the clutch. A friend of mine needed to replace his tranny and I tried to talk to him into putting a new clutch in at the same time. Were do you think were 2 mos. later?

2)do not get drunk in the dark and loose the opti-spark (or many other parts)on a LT-1.

3) do not forget to put in the oil pan plug and pour 6 qts of moble one on the driveway.

4)do not use regular o-rings on any part to due with fuel. needles to say that pump leaked.

5) do not put a cheeply made part in your car just becuz just becuz it's cheep. It will cost you more in the long run.

6) do not use a pos jack that doesen't keep preasure or jack up all the way. It will go out on you at the wrong time. (mustang jacked up in the air and couldn't get the car down after a clutch change and couldn't get it down for one week)

z28onTweenkies

Heres a couple:

1)Dont totally strip out your interior leaving only the front seats and throw all the screws and bolts into one bucket.
2)Definitely replace a broken trans mount, i found out the hard way i had to replace it after a long brakestand.
3)Be careful when working with bolts around the distributor; dont drop it in that area behind the engine.
4)When replacing the line to the radiator puke tank or the tank itself, be sure to use hose clamps.


------------------
1987 LG4 Camaro z28

Performance
KN airfilter, flowmaster 80 series and catco high flow converter, 180* thermostat, edelbrock performer intake

System
Panasonic CQ-DF200U deck, fosgate speakers (hpc1369, frc2246), fosgate 400a4 amp

elevario

I know mine are pretty basic but I learned from them. When pushing a wrench, use a open hand or you'll look like you just knocked out all of the teeth of a metal mouth teenager (Braces) And my brother also learned the hard way with changing plug wires, Only do ONE at a time. He took them ALL off and we were stuck the rest of the day fixing it when it should have only lasted like half an hour!

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1992 Polo Green RS 3.1L K&N conical and working on the ram air....

"Yeah, it's a V6 SO WHAT!?"

johnsjj2

I've got some. More of a story line than rules, but still funny.
My father and I are both deathly afraid of snakes. Anything bigger than an earthworm, or the tallywacker qualifies as a snake!! When my father and I went into our old shop that had a dirt floor, we found that someone used a tree stump as a chair. He was going to pick it up and put it in the burn pile. As he readied himself to do this, (I was about 12 at the time) he noticed a Gardener Snake on the back side of the stump. He freaked for a second then we killed it. So he picks it up, and turns to take it outside. He stepped on a rod bearing so that one end was under his foot, and this forced the other end to clamp down on top of his little toe area. He about crapped his pants, he dropped the stump and ran all the way out screaming at the top of his lungs. I can not put into words the sight of a 40 year old man running the 100 meter dash in 5 seconds, screaming the whole way.
I was payed back later for the laughter while I was putting in tranny pan bolts on my friends Cutlass. You know when you can't see something, you tend to close your eyes to feel around for the bolt/hole/nut, whatever it is? Well as I opened my eyes, I had a 3 ft snake in my face with his tongue slithering at me. This is the only time I will admit I screamed like a girl as I came out from under that car, and ran all the way up the hill to the highway,(about 30 yards). I was terrified. My firend who owned the car, just fell on the ground and laughed as I tried to tell him there was a snake under his car. We later found it climbing up the firewall, and procceded to kill it. I do have one rule:
When working under a car, make sure you have enough clearance to safely move around, and not hit your head. I can not count how many times I have pulled a double whammy, where I hit my head on the bottom of the car, and in effect slammed it onto the ground. Those really hurt, so don't try it!!
Another rule: Fatten up the idle mixture on a carb equiped engine before adjusting the rocker arms. Nothing worse than having oil shoot onto glowing red headers just to ignite. This is under the pretense that a lean mixture will cause glowing headers, I have heard that rich will do this too.



------------------
Joshua Johnston
1991 Z-28


350, T-5, K&N, Ported Vortec heads, Edelbrock RPM, Holley 750 D.P., HEI, 11.07:1 CR, Comp Cams Roller-.510"/.520"-282*/288* dur., Shorty Headers, Dual 2.5 Exhaust,Dynomax Bullet Mufflers, T&R Motorsports custom air intake

firbird

do not get 3rd deg burns on your legs with a happy mix of gasolines and a spudgun and the car is on the other side of a washed out road 50 miles back in nowhere, car will need body work

james_fearn

* don't check for vacuum leaks by your AFPR. plenum, and runners with throttle body cleaner, make several passes, and perhaps oversaturate the area, which is in close proximity to an MSD'd HEI. (no damage, but big ball'o fire).

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1985 Z-28, 350 TPI, T-Tops, edelbrock 6085 heads, ZZ4 cam, accel base/runners & 24 lb/hr inj., ported plenum, everything gasket matched, crane AFPR, SLP 1 5/8 headers, single 3" flowmaster catback, 3" Catco cat, modified tranny, 165 ECM & ARAP code, MSD 6AL/wires, edelbrock STB, Spohn SFC/LCA/PR, GW "wonderbar"

firbird

*do not misread tq specification!! do not try to put your water pump on at 90lb tq just because you did read the book wronge on a new engine.
*do not check spark pluges when you have hot headders
*do not forget to bring a jack and remember a spare on a trip
*do not kick your lo3 when you take it out of your car, its hevey
*do use to much violence on your car becasue it will return the favor buy putting you in time out without a ride
*do not drive around without vacume going to your breaks and get stuck in traffic
*do not leave wires hanging down over the break pedals
*do not where flip flops wail driving, fun when you get the gas stuck and going right towards a minivan.
*****fbodys where not made to handle in the rain*****

david roush

iTrader: (1)

Here's another . When you borrow a friends car and they tell you "NOT TO DO SOMETHING". Don't to it,there is usually a very good reason! Borrowed a friends car that burned oil and he told me if i put oil it let the car set for at least a half hour. (Didn't know it but the drain holes in the head was clogged up). Stopped at a gas station put oil in, started the car, took a sip off my soda and lit a cigarette and was ingulfed in a cloud of smoke,looked like something out of the game spy hunter,must of left zero visibility for two square blocks after i hauled *** out of there...poor gas station attendant. And always remember when working on a car..."FORCE IS NOT THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING !!!!!"

[This message has been edited by david roush (edited October 03, 2001).]

Chris Etemadi

This is what my friends could say.

When your Friend goes out of town do not jack up the car and steal the wheels Intending to polish them, and put the car on 2 CINDER blocks.

What happened, It sat there for 4 days. the day before I got back they were puting my wheels back on. One was on and the car got off balance and It fell. not a good thing. my beloved cross drilled rotors were screwed. What I got for it ALL new rotors and a brake job. I was still pissed. and a few neighbors called the cops. so for a few days after I got home cops were driving by my house about every 2 hours.

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91 Z28 5.7l Camaro
T-56,McLeod Street Clutch, Cross Drilled Brakes, KYB's,AFPR, 3.73 Gears, Borla Adjustable Cat Back, Hypertech Chip, Hooker Headers.
more to come....
My 91 Z28

Sleipnir

when working in the dark, with your car on ramps, or whatever, and your handing someone stuff, make sure it doesnt slap or smash, or maul, or break, or slam into your face, repeatedly, everytime you hand them something, and even when your just standing around. oh yeah when changing a tranny mount, make sure its facing the right way as it says in the papers that come with it, when you take them bolties off, and you put them back on, and realise they dont line up with the crossmember, MARK where you need to shave the metal off. i had to jack that fxcker up like 6 times...o yeah, when you get out from under the car, and theres still someone under there, you get that nice headrush, and start pacing out of anxiety, dont step on their ground, and make them drop heavy things on their face
i love working on cars.

83CrossfireBomb

don't - leave your stock y-pipe in and try to get headers on while installing engine, mine got tweeked a tad i think, they dont leak but that ruins getting the headman y-pipe for it, since my "custom" one is kinda crappy.

get some plug wire looms, lucky i had a couple sets of the same kind of wires to play with after they got toasty.

don't - leave your sludge covered 305 sitting on a tire in the middle of your yard because you were in a hurry to get the lift you rented back on time. now i either have to buy or rent another lift, or tear down the motor where it sits to haul it off.

don't leave the buckets of drained coolant and tranny fluid to sit in the rain and get very full and giggle about your roommates cat taking a drink.

if at all possible, don't do an enige swap on a half grass, half gravel drive. its not fun pushing a loaded engine lift around on it and using boards where its real difficult to move. plus if you drop a bolt or nut and dont pick it up right away, you wont find it untill you ran out and bought a new one. and rocks hurt your back.

like someone else said, dont rent a lift, unless you plan on never ever needing one again. i've got 90 bucks into a rented lift.

invest in a heavy duty floor jack, the kind with a twist handle that doesnt come off, not a 20 dollar one from walmart.

be gentle when you put your speedo cable back on your speedo gear housing, unless you feel like getting a new metal one anyway.



------------------
former 305 crossfire fuel injection
350 cubes
hooker headers
750 vac secondary
700r4 with shift kit
--------------------
"no man with a good car needs to be justified."

Pukka

Never decide to check if your T-tops are properly locked while you are going 65mph!



------------------
92 Camaro RS, LO3, 5-spd, T-tops

Performance:
K&N Open Air Filter, Edelbrock performer TBI intake, Fastchip Prom, Timing +4 degrees, Centerforce clutch, Xact 8mm wires, SLP 1 3/4" Headers (coated), Flowmaster Catback Exhaust, Z28 Grille w/aftmkt fog lamps, MacEwen white-face guages
Electronics:
Alpine 8030 Alarm System, Valentine One Radar Detector (How did I ever drive without one?), Pioneer DEH 7450 Head Unit w/6-pack CD changer, Pioneer DEQ 7600 Sound Processor, 2 Kenwood KAC-846 Amps powering 2 12" Pro Red subs, 2 Pioneer 6x9 and 2 MTX 4x6 speakers.
NEXT UP: TBI mods, 3.42 gears w/Torsen posi

El Guapo

Never take your car for a test drive after engine work w/o shutting the hood completely.
The sight of your hood shaking then shooting back at the windshield is a sight to behold. On a positive note, the squeaking under the hood had stopped.

Murphy's car law "If there is a hole for a bolt to fall into your engine through, it will"

If you think you wont need a part, you will

If you think you can rig a part, you cant

When you're rebuilding an engine, get it professionally cleaned. You might find a crack. (I didnt till the second time, then I did find a crack)

When under any car, make slow position adjustments. Dont worry about remembering this one. The car will remind you if you forget.

When R&Ring the flywheel, be careful, the teeth are sharp. (My scars are fading)

An exhaust leak CAN cause an engine fire. (Too rich)

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS mark where a part goes. Unfortunately, the car will only grin at you if you forget this one.

Dont put your harmonic balancer on by using the retaining bolt. If you do, it will break and the car wont give it back.

Finally, cars were invented to help us poor souls learn new and creative curse words. For those moments when normal words lack the depth of emotion these events cause.

Clayton

Scania

Reminds me of the time when i installed my headers. Nothing worked so i had to modify many parts even though the box said Camaro 82-92. So dont trust anyone that was my lesson. Let mi give you a tip, If the cables to the spark plugs doesnt fit when the headers are in place use cables from a chevy van instead.

NTChrist

If your exhaust happens to fall off at the cat, don't decide to rip it off at the road side.
I pulled over with a buddy in the car the exact instant after the intermediate pipe disconnected from the cat. I looked underneath the car to tell where it had come from. I still had the stock exhaust at that point, so I figured I could rip the intermediate pipe off at the muffler, or the bend over the rear diff. Well, after yanking on it a few times, I couldn't get enough leverage, as I was on my knees leaning over. I decided that I was going to lay on my back, directly under the pass. side door. One hand was going to grab the intermediate pipe, while my buddy grabbed my other outstretched hand. Well, it turns out my friend is a little stronger than I predicted, and he ended up lifting me right off the ground. My hand slipped down the pipe, and ended up catching on the rusty, broken flange. Sharp shards of rusted metal went straight into my hand as my friend continues to pull! I was in so much pain, I couldn't say anything!
I'll never do THAT again!

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No guts, no glory.

Sleipnir

i just wanted to see if this could happen, has anyone checked the trunk release button while driving? ive always been curiose...never had the ***** to try it.

mcconahay37

iTrader: (3)

Here's another one. It's new as of today. DON'T BREAK THE F***ING HOOK IN YOUR TRANSMISSION THAT ATTACHES TO THE DETENT CABLE. This week really sucks @ss.

breathment

when working on a transmission under your friends T\A and its parked on a step drive way with nothing blocking the wheels and no working E-brake. don't accidently move the shifter linkage so it pops into neutral with ur whole body under the car and it starts rolling backwards with you underneath it and all your friend can do to stop it from rolling backwards is to grab the already broken hood, which is probably what saved my life, but iv never moved from under a car so quickly without hitting my head.!! at least i now know what the shifter linkage looks like!

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- David
88' GTA 5.7L TPI MODS---&gt; air foil, K&N, Shift Kit, 180* therm, TB bypass, Gutted CAT, Flowmaster 80 Series

johnsjj2

I was working under my LeMans one time, car was on 2x8 ramp boards. I was under the driver side hooking up the shifter. I was in a hurry, and moved the arm to reverse, and the car rolled on top ov me. It stopped once the A-arm couldn't go over my back. (Once it started moving, I rolled onto my belly, yeah the car was up that high) My arm was pinched under the front tire. My friend pushed the car up so I got out, but I was torn up pretty good.



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Joshua Johnston
1991 Z-28


350, T-5, K&N, Ported Vortec heads, Edelbrock RPM, Holley 750 D.P., HEI, 11.07:1 CR, Comp Cams Roller-.510"/.520"-282*/288* dur., Shorty Headers, Dual 2.5 Exhaust,Dynomax Bullet Mufflers, T&R Motorsports custom air intake

Guest

When you get the car back from the dealer after they practially replaced the engine, make sure all the hoses are tight and all the fluid reservoirs are full.

Dont accidentally spill transmission fluid (that the dealer forgot to add) on the hot exhaust unless you like fire.

When the car gets hot after driving just a few minutes, check the hose clamps before you add fluid to the empty radiator.

Dont use your bare hand to check if the upper radiator hose has pressure, unless you like blisters.

Dont listen to the dealer when he calls the ticking noise from the engine 'normal'. Its not normal, its a cracked cam thats just waiting to send a rod out the side of the oil pan.

When the ticking noise under the hood stops, dont attempt to drive the car home.

When you are jacking the front of the engine up to get the transmission in, make sure that things like aftermarket engine bay bracing wont break off the fittings on the back of the AC compressor. No, its not a tire making that hissing noise.

See rule above about setting timing on a Ford. Read 10 times. Keep a copy taped to the timing light, just in case.

When taking off a radiator cap on a hot engine, after bleeding off excess pressure leave the cap on for at least 2 minutes before you take it off unless you like hot coolant in your face.

Dont clean items in a drain pan filled with gasoline unless the item is small or the drain pan is bolted to something solid so it doesnt attempt to splash said gasoline all over you.

Never attempt to remove a part that you have not checked the availbility of for a replacement part. This is the time it breaks.

Never use the factory jack to jack up the car to check the brakes on anything other than completely level ground that is clean and not slippery, otherwise it will slip and fold up like a lawn chair, leaving the rotor imbedded in the pavement.

Im sure theres more, but I cant think of them right now.

Rob P

iTrader: (1)

Don't use a screwdriver to pry off the intake manifold. You might just break the tip off the screwdriver unknowingly. It might just drop into the number one cylinder, and might lodge between the piston and cylinder wall for awhile. Then it might pop out and bury itself in the number one piston! Then you might have to pull the motor and eventually either rebuild or buy a new ZZ4.

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Rob P
89RSconvtZZ4TPI Edelbrock Intake
SLP Dual Cold Air Intake 1 5/8" Headers Semi-Siamesed Runners, IROC
suspension, alum shaft. Numerous mods.
92Z28convt5spd (stock)
71Impala convt 402BB
BETTER DRIVING THRU SUPERIOR HORSEPOWER!

z28onTweenkies

never play music from your car when working on it, then try to start it a few days later only to find out you drained the battery of all of its juice. never work on your fuel pump and just put a bolt in the inlet line from the tank unless you like wasting all of your fuel all over the driveway.

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1987 LG4 Camaro z28

Performance
KN airfilter, flowmaster 80 series and catco high flow converter, 180* thermostat, edelbrock performer intake

System
Panasonic CQ-DF200U deck, fosgate speakers (hpc1369, frc2246), fosgate 400a4 amp