How Many Times Has DIY cost you BigTime??

[DieselDaze]

All went well 'til "\CRUNCH/".....

Tonight I changed my oil in my truck, no big deal right? think again...
After I changed the oil I pulled it off the ramps, pulled back in my garage to level it as I only was able to pick up the last 3 qrts of synthetic gear oil the store had last week when i did the rear diff. tonight i had bought the 4th, so i jump under there with my trusty Snap-On Blue Point Utility light.. (that i've had for 15yrs) pump the oil in... done... all the time remembering the lights under the truck... but i've been tormenting (or should i say) letting my dog torment the cat that's in the garage.. its sick I know but it was funny as heck.. anyhow i got side tracked thought i'd be nice reposition my truck so my wife could also park in the garage, when i hear 'crack'... what was that? AHHHH my light!!! knowing the whole time it was thrashed.. that light 15yrs ago was like $200 what would a replacement be today? maybe cheaper as technology's improved so much..

Moral to my rant is: yeah this little $50 oil change cost a whole lot more doing it myself... but then again, at least i got to do it, it was done right adn i know what went in there to begin with.

How much has you DIY stories cost you ??

 

[WanaDmaxsub]

Pulled the fill plug out of the used oil container and set it on the edge. Pulled the oil pan drain plug. Rolled out from under the truck to start the fuel filter change while the oil was draining. Stuck my head in the wheel well and saw that the used oil container was spilling oil all over the driveway...the wind had blown the plug back into the container so the oil had no where to go...I spent the rest of the morning cleaning used diesel motor oil from the driveway and the side walk...

 

[sweetdiesel]

Greased the steering shaft on my 05 and never secured the steering wheel.I ended up wrecking the wires in the steering colum 500 bucks to fix And the list goes on and on

 

[paint94979]

So far all of my DIY's have cost me is 3x the estimated time that it should take. A turbo swap took 3 full 8 hour days, Lift Pump and modded pickup install took about 1 1/2 day's due our(Neens and I) discovery my stock fuel sending unit was COVERED and I mean covered thick with rust so there was one dealership about 1 1/2 hour away that had one. Installing 3 inch boost tubes and testing for boost leak took about 6 hours. But honestly if it wasn't for my friends especially Chris none of it would have ever worked right the first time:hug:

 

[SSchmi5519]

Exhaust has fallen off x.x million times.

Thats about the extent of my damage report.

Waiting for it to come off this next time. The flex is barely hanging on to the bottom of the stack. Just won't slip on there!!!!!

 

[JS2TZU]

after painting my :chevy:86 Chevy stepside Candy green,we finished the 12 inch suspension and we bolted up the 44inch boggers to check the height. evrything was pretty much put together but the bed was still off. Before we put the bed back on i let my friend talk me into taking a spin in a pasture, because the exhaust wasnt finished I was running it with open headers and I started gettin carried away. Doing donuts and burnouts. As I started doing a burn out the boggers thru up a $&It load of stones this baseball sized stone comes right thru the back window stones scratched my new paint job from the back of the cab all the way to the hood, on top of that the open headers started a small fire in the pasture that the fire department had to put out.

 

[McRat]

Yup, I've done my share of screw-ups. Having LBZ heads on my LLY engine was one.

But the truth is, shops often don't fair much better.

I bring my truck in for it's first oil change so I have documentation. I buy the oil and filter so I know they can't screw that up.

So I go get something to eat, come back, and the truck is still in the bay.

"What's wrong?"
"You bought the wrong oil filter. You need to get the right one, and we don't have it."
"Naw, trust me, that's the same filter, it's just a different brand."
"No way. Your filter is much smaller than the one you bought."

And he holds up the Allison filter...

 

[WolfLMM]

Damn Pat, that guy makes me feel smart, thanks for sharing lol.

 

[gmduramax]

So far all of my DIY's have cost me is 3x the estimated time that it should take. A turbo swap took 3 full 8 hour days, Lift Pump and modded pickup install took about 1 1/2 day's due our(Neens and I) discovery my stock fuel sending unit was COVERED and I mean covered thick with rust so there was one dealership about 1 1/2 hour away that had one. Installing 3 inch boost tubes and testing for boost leak took about 6 hours. But honestly if it wasn't for my friends especially Chris none of it would have ever worked right the first time:hug:

Pictures opcorn:

 

[The Neens]

Pictures opcorn:

It looked like this, only more rust colored...

Seriously, it was fubar'd...Luckily Santa Paula Chevrolet had one in stock...

 

[Chromer]

Changing my fuel filter in the driveway, which is about a 7 degree downslope (sucks, I can't check fluids at my own house). About the 6th time I've done it on a 6 month old truck, so I'm pretty good at it

I was wearing my good Merrill hiking boots while working; mistake #1. I use a plastic milk carton cut in half to catch the fuel from the filter so it doesn't get all over my driveway; mistake #2 as the thing is too flimsy.

So I take the old filter off and set it in the open milk carton while I am straddling the milk crate I sit on for pulling the filter. My feet get tangled up and plop; there goes a pint of #2 right into my boot

$140.00 pair of hikers down the tube.

At least I had the foresight to hold on to them. Almost threw 'em in the trash, and then decided to leave them out in the sun for a few days. It's been 6 months now, and I can almost wear them in the house

Dohhh

 

[TrentNell]

when building my trans i was transfering from the trans jack to the trans stand and had to roll the jack 6" and saftey chain was off and the trans fell off the jack broken extension housing ( $550.00) and when pulloing the starter the soiliniod broke where the crank wire atatched new starter (225.00 ) that one cost me an extra 800 bucks, and i am a mechanic , but its not excluded to your diy's i have seen many things happen in shops we are all human mistakes happen .

 

[juddski88]

I am glad that I have not broken anything that I had been trying to fix (other than fry the ECM with a corrupt file that another DP member had made)....knock on wood....but i have spent about 3-4 times the "recommended" time it takes to do pretty much anything

Turbo swap, LBZ CP3, EGR delete, and exhaust work - 10 days
Transmission swap and E-locker install - 16 hrs
Lift Kit swap, Brakes, rear axle seals, Ball joints, st. stabilizer, suspension stops - 4 days
AMP steps - 8 hrs
Road Armor bumpers and lights - 8 hrs
Pulling hitch and driveshaft loops - 6 hrs

and more....

 

[duramaximizer]

A tire rotation on my car cost me about 300 dollars after I sent the jack through the oil pan.

Helping a friend out working on the clutch on his grizzly cost me about $300.

I have fried 3 ecms, and those were never easy "um your truck wont start."

A turbo swap in dad's truck took us 4 days, but it was done right. Cleaned everything with a hot water pressure washer including the radiator, transcooler and condenser. I am pretty sure that it wouldn't have gotten done at the dealer. Not to mention I spent 3 hours washing little pieces out of the intercooler until nothing came out but pure hot water. Would the dealer have said "good enough" after a couple of wash outs?

I lost $50 in break pads on my kodiak fourwheeler because I run them down too far and I didn't smooth up the rotter before I put the new pads on. I effectively smoothed them up with the brake pads.

Oh and I tore a boot on that same break job floping the caliper out of the way. That boot costed 10 bucks but took about 4 hours to change.

So far I am way behind but I'm so much farther ahead.:rofl:

 

[Noreaster]

I was changing upper ball joints, didnt have it straight & accidently pressed it. You could drop the balljoint in, had to get another UCA from junk yard.

I did my brakes & was testing how much boost I could hold & snapped the shaft in the power steering pump.



Wheres Ben hiding? I want to hear the story about the bouncing Allison again.

 

[juddski88]

Wheres Ben hiding? I want to hear the story about the bouncing Allison again.

LOL..i think that is one of my favorites as well....and mike's motor flipping forward....that a good one too.

I was helping my buddy change his oil in his Sonata one time and he was trying to drive up on ramps and stopped halfway up.....i just waited to see what happened next :angel: as i had done this to my mom's van before and learned the hard way.....yep, he gunned it and then shit his pants :rofl::rofl::rofl:

 

[malibu795]

BBC found out the hard way that the mains were .010 under last machinist didnt stamp the crank. 3000rpm @ 25psi with a HV oil pump and cold oil... should be pegged at 80-90psi bought a new verinail calibler guage old one was trashed.. $200

most of my stuff resulted in having to buy tool i didnt have..

turbo 400 in tools alot os 12pt 1/2 drive socket and compressor, light,

engine build, new tq wrenchs, plyiers, screw drivers 300$ still need one that will go to 300lbft build time 21 days instead of 10

head gasket change T-handle allen wrenches, and sockets$300

water pump 36mm socket both 1/2 and 3/4 drive $70

in my 75 some one swap a 14b in the truck ... unbalance drive shaft, broked th350 housing, that was $700 plus i went and re-did all the u-joints and front wheel bearings. had to use a oxy-acetaly trouch to get the u-joints loose

first engine build i did.. ruined set of pistons, couple bellhousings... external balance crank with interanel balane balancer adn FW 10:1 compression on 87octane. cost 2,000 bought new 383 stroker kit from speedo motive

 

[juddski88]

x2 bout the tools...when doing the turbo project we went to sears every other night and between the two of us spent $750 on stuff

 

[McRat]

I nearly crippled myself once on a DIY project.

I was installing a floor shifter in a Ford pickup in the driveway. The driveway had a slight incline. I hooked up the linkage and everything was cool, took it for a test drive, but it needed just a touch more adjustment. I climbed underneath and tried to adjust it, but I couldn't reach it easy. So I popped it in neutral from underneath to make it easier. OPPSS!! The truck started rolling backwards with me underneath it. Guess I forgot to set the parking brake. I'm crawling on my elbows as fast as I can trying to out from under the truck, and it barely misses me, rolls across the street and up on a neighbor's lawn. But nothing was hurt.

 

[03 D-max]

:rofl:

I nearly crippled myself once on a DIY project.

I was installing a floor shifter in a Ford pickup in the driveway. The driveway had a slight incline. I hooked up the linkage and everything was cool, took it for a test drive, but it needed just a touch more adjustment. I climbed underneath and tried to adjust it, but I couldn't reach it easy. So I popped it in neutral from underneath to make it easier. OPPSS!! The truck started rolling backwards with me underneath it. Guess I forgot to set the parking brake. I'm crawling on my elbows as fast as I can trying to out from under the truck, and it barely misses me, rolls across the street and up on a neighbor's lawn. But nothing was hurt.

:rofl: